Lansdale: More Merck sewer flow could go to plant - The Reporter

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LANSDALE — Nearly a decade after the last major project, another round of upgrades could be in the works for Lansdale’s Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Council members announced last week that studies have begun on another round of upgrades to add capacity for a familiar customer.

“We’re planning on taking a lot more flow from Merck, and Merck has asked us to provide to them a proposal, if you will, for what that means from our side of things,” said councilman BJ Breish.

Lansdale’s wastewater treatment plant is located on Ninth Street and is currently rated to handle an average flow of 4.5 million gallons of sewage per day, according to the borough. A series of new pipelines and plant upgrades were developed starting in 2010 for Merck to send roughly 300,000 gallons per day of sewer flow from facilities in Upper Gwynedd to the Lansdale plant. After that project was finished and flow began in 2012, council used part of the proceeds to commission a study that, when finished in 2013, recommended roughly $3 million in capacity upgrades to the plant, upgrades finished in 2016 and observed to have helped the plant handle heavy rains in wet winters since.

Breish announced Wednesday night that council’s public works committee has begun talks on the next major plant upgrades, again prompted by Merck, and what will need to be done to the borough’s infrastructure.

“What kind of infrastructure do we need in order to take in that additional flow to our plant?” he said.

Dan Sokil - MediaNews Group

Bubbles can be seen on the top of water in a storage tank at Lansdale’s wastewater treatment plant.

According to information provided by borough Wastewater Plant Superintendent Greg Rapp, the latest talks have centered on a request from Merck to send roughly 150,000 gallons per day of additional sewer flow, 100,000 gallons per day starting in 2022 and the rest the following year. The company has indicated a willingness to consider contributing to cover the costs of the upgrades, and while hydraulic capacity to handle the flow already exists, the plant may need upgrades to handle estimated levels of increased phosphorus discharge from the Merck flow.

Possible capital projects that could address those concerns could include adding treatment at the Merck facility, upgrades to the plant’s systems, automation that could allow for real-time adjustments of certain flows, and/or the design and installation of a biological system that could help process the added phosphorous, similar to systems already in place at Upper Gwynedd’s treatment plant.

Dan Sokil - MediaNews Group

A walkway leads to the center of a circular storage tank at Lansdale’s wastewater treatment plant.

“Although our plant can handle the flow, there are upgrades that would be needed, and that have been identified, that would go along with the capital improvement plan,” Breish said.

Further developments will be discussed during upcoming public works committee meetings, he added, before giving updates on several other sewer-related items. A sewer rate study done ahead of the last round of plant upgrades may need to be updated, and talks on the department’s 2022 budget will include a look at capital upgrades needed at the plant, along with various road and infrastructure projects around the town.

“The wastewater treatment plant is pretty well covered, especially on the capital project list,” Breish said.

Lansdale’s public works committee next meets at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 3 and full council next meets at 7 p.m. on Oct. 20, both at the borough municipal building, 1 Vine St. For more information visit www.Lansdale.org.

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