Wastewater Division

Unlike the Water Division, the Wastewater Division has only been in existence since 1979, however they have many similarities. Licensed professionals operate a 2.5 million gallon per day (MGD) treatment facility for over 2530 customers and processes approximately 290 million gallons of sewage, inflow and infiltration yearly.

The major components of the wastewater system are treatment and collection. The treatment facility was considered state of the art in 1979 and became almost obsolete overnight with the technology advancements of the 80’s. With the closing and relocation of the mill complexes, which the plant was designed for, dry weather flows have only approached 35% of design capacity, yet the plant operates at optimum efficiency due to multiple stages of process and equipment. As part of the issuance of the USEPA NPDES Discharge Permit, the treatment facility underwent a major upgrade that included tertiary treatment.  These improvements began in 2017 and were completed in 2021.

The collection system ranges in pipe sizes from 8 inches to 36 inches and traverses approximately 50 miles across the urban areas of Uxbridge. Over the years, through pipe deterioration, joints leak allowing pipes to become underground drains for ground water. This, coupled with illegal connections of floor drains and roof drains, leads to processing clean water mixed with the raw sewage. As part of our capital planning, an inflow and infiltration study (I & I) has been completed to determine the locations and severity of I & I and to plan a course of action to reduce the flowage. Aged equipment replacement, mechanical and technological updates and expansion required by EPA permitting along with building maintenance are also priorities of the plan for the upcoming years.