Opening of North Windham wastewater plant delayed
The North Windham Wastewater Treatment Plant is delaying its opening after initially expecting to come online last weekend. (Courtesy of Roger Cropley)
The activation of the North Windham Wastewater Treatment Plant, the centerpiece of the long-gestating North Windham sewer project, has been delayed again after its scheduled launch last weekend was called off.
Town Manager Robert Burns said the delay primarily stemmed from issues with the interface between the plant’s computer control system and the pumps and sensors in the building, issues the town is troubleshooting.
This is not the first delay the plant has experienced. Windham was initially targeting a start date in late June, but issues with piping, which Burns said have been resolved, shifted the timeline.
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Burns was cautiously optimistic, and said the town was expecting the plant to start receiving wastewater within the next two weeks. The town is continuing to work with Shaw Brothers, the main contractor for the project, connecting businesses with the sewer line.
While the plant is run by the Portland Water District, the town is in responsible for connecting businesses to the sewer network, with multiple North Windham locations, such as Hannaford and Walmart, having been connected while the town waits for the green light from the water district.
The North Windham Wastewater Treatment Plant is a membrane bioreactor located in the vicinity of Manchester Elementary School. The plant is designed to handle 160,000 gallons per day, with the potential to expand to 320,000 gallons per day. It is permitted to discharge 154,000 gallons per day of treated effluent. The plant will operate largely autonomously, with operators working at the plant for a couple of hours on weekdays.
The North Windham Sewer project has been in development since 2021, when the town entered into an agreement with Portland Water District to put a sewer site together, and voted in favor of a Clean Water State Revolving Loan the following year. The main impetus for the project was to clean up the nitrogen and phosphorus in Windham’s groundwater, which was over EPA limits in many parts of town and polluting the nearby Presumpscot River.
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Tagged: portland water district
Rory, an experienced reporter from western Massachusetts, joined the Maine Trust for Local News in October 2024. He is a community reporter for Windham, Raymond, Casco, Bridgton, Naples, Standish, Gray,. More by Rory Sweeting
