Otis, MA Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant
Otis, MA Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant
Groundwater Discharge Compliance on a Small Municipal Budget
The town of Otis Massachusetts qualified for Rural Utility Service (RUS) funding from the Department of Agriculture in 1999 to provide sewer for a portion of the community. Their engineering firm Camp Dresser & McKee (CDM) selected an Aquapoint Bioclere™ wastewater treatment system because of the stability of the fixed-film treatment process and the low installation and operating costs. Bioclere’s compact footprint also minimized land usage and the impact on the surrounding community. The treatment units are sealed, insulated and fed with warm air from the system’s control building to combat the cold 5⁰C water that enters from an aged collection system in the winter months. The system is owned and operated by the municipality as part of a distributed network of wastewater infrastructure.
The project was permitted under Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MADEP) Ground Water Discharge Standards requiring a level of treatment that would preserve the life of the drain field and reduce nutrient loading to the groundwater. Effluent from the dual train Bioclere trickling filter process is polished through a denitrifying deep bed sand filter and UV disinfection prior to discharge.
Design Characteristics
| Influent | Effluent | |
| DESIGN FLOW (GPD) | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| BOD5 (mg/l) | 250 | < 30 |
| TSS (mg/l) | 250 | < 30 |
| TKN (mg/l) | 50 | – |
| AMMONIA‐N (mg/l) | 40 | <2 |
| NITRATE-N (mg/l) | – | <5 |
| TOTAL-N (mg/l) | – | <10 |
| FECAL (MPN/100ml) | – | <200 |
Performance Data
- System Commissioned: 1999
- Detectable Limit for BOD & TSS: 2 & 5 mg/l respectively
- Data Source: MA DEP Records
| DATE | BOD5 (mg/l) | TSS (mg/l) | TN (mg/l) |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAY. 2004 | 14.00 | 22.00 | 6.46 |
| JUN. 2004 | 14.00 | 5.00 | 10.24 |
| JUL. 2004 | 6.00 | 5.00 | 3.76 |
| AUG. 2004 | 6.00 | 5.50 | 12.00 |
| SEP. 2004 | 2.00 | 8.00 | 5.10 |
| OCT. 2004 | 29.00 | 10.00 | 5.88 |
| NOV. 2004 | 17.00 | 9.00 | 6.16 |
| DEC. 2004 | 28.00 | 9.30 | 4.33 |
| JAN. 2005 | 16.00 | 7.00 | 7.10 |
| FEB. 2005 | 15.00 | 10.00 | 6.70 |
| MAR. 2005 | 19.00 | 11.00 | 6.27 |
| APR. 2005 | 18.00 | 6.00 | 7.40 |
| AVG. | 15.33 | 8.98 | 6.78 |
System Diagram
