Our team worked with the Town of Middleborough to design an iron and manganese water treatment plant (WTP) that would treat the Town’s East Main Street wells. Our services included planning, treatment process, and building design, site design, permitting, and stormwater improvements, along with construction services.
The East Main Street site includes two gravel packed wells that have a combined capacity of approximately 900 gallons per minute. The iron and manganese concentrations in the wells typically have concentrations that exceed the Secondary Maximum Contaminant Levels established by MassDEP. The Town had previously attempted to control iron and manganese levels by the addition of a sequestering agent. However, the process was not effective and it limited the use of these sources.
A biological filtration treatment system was recommended due to its low capital and operational costs. This project is the first in Massachusetts to utilize biological filtration and Tighe & Bond obtained MassDEP approval for the use of this new technology. The facility was designed to meet the 4 log removal through the use of an in-plant baffled clearwell. Construction began in early 2016 and the water treatment plant was brought on-line in December 2018.
After bringing the new WTP on-line, the client noted a drop in customer dirty water complaints. The WTP consistently meets water quality goals and continues to generate much less backwash waste compared to alternate treatment technologies that are more traditional. In 2020 this project received the ACEC/MA Engineering Excellence Bronze Award.
