Town consultant, Brian Lubenow, environmental engineer and project manager with CDM Smith, reviewed issues associated with the wastewater facility, and the measures he recommends be addressed.

Lubenow said that one of the main concerns is that wild water (also known as I&I/inflow and infiltration.), entering into the collection system via broken or cracked pipes is adversely impacting the facility's service capacity for future users. "Getting I&I out of the system is critically important. With no capacity, you (the town) cannot grow."

Additionally, the intrusion of wild water impacts the rate of flow through the collection system, which, if not reduced, could result in a state-mandated expansion of the physical plant. "Flow reduction means the MDE (Maryland Department of the Environment) won't expect you to expand the plant."

At the crux of the I&I problem is a collection system, which still contains old terracotta pipes, along with those made from PVC. Once-popular terracotta is comprised of clay and shale, and readily cracks and deteriorates over time. "The terracotta was installed in the 1960s and before," he said.

Another area of concern is controlling nitrogen and phosphorus in order to comply with the plant's MDE permit, one of the reasons for a facility upgrade several years ago, Lubenow stated. A combination of I&I and water flow exasperate the ability to control nitrogen and phosphorus levels as well.

Town staff continues to negotiate with the MDE on meeting permit restrictions. "Making improvements within the sewer system and well as making some optimization improvements at the plant, we hope those things come together and lead us towards compliance with our (MDE) permit."

In the effort to solve the problems, Lubenow said, "Forty percent of the sewer system has been surveyed, with the completion of the survey to occur in October (including determining how much of the lines are terracotta)." Additionally, flow-meters have been installed to monitor the flow-rate to determine which parts of the system are subject to the heaviest I&I problems.

Lubenow recommended a number of improvements that would reduce the costs of the plant's operation as well. "A tighter system equals saving money in operations, as well as (generating) additional capacity to promote growth."

Included among those recommendations, he said sentry probes should be installed at the facility to aid staff to operate the plant more effectively, the construction of a bulk-storage tank to hold a chemical that helps reduce nitrogen contact in the water. The cost of the expensive ingredient can be dramatically reduced if it can be purchased in larger quantities than that which can be stored now at the plant.

Regarding financing, Lubenow recommend that the town wastewater capacity management plan for the plant conduct a benefit assessment fee analysis (the mechanism of how the town will pay for the projects and cost-effectiveness) to help determine potential funding sources.