Publication select ▼
The new Mount Clemens septic receiving station is able to separate non-processable materials from processable sewage waste, leaving everything that cannot go into the wastewater treatment system to be placed in a dumpster and carted off to landfills. Two units make up the station.
Photo by Dean Vaglia
MOUNT CLEMENS — At the Mount Clemens Wastewater Treatment Plant, sewage dumping has long been handled in a laborious and outdated way. But as of mid-March, its management has been mechanized.
“We’re extremely proud of this new facility in Mount Clemens,” Mount Clemens Mayor Laura Kropp said. “It’s not exactly glamorous, but we’re excited that we’re … not only increasing capacity, but more importantly, we’re increasing sustainability of not only being able to receive septic and Vactor (sewer cleaning) waste, but also to preserve the integrity of our system of our entire wastewater treatment facility.”
Given a ceremonial ribbon-cutting March 14, the new septic receiving station replaces the former open-air pit with new equipment that separates materials without creating major environmental risks.
“It’s a state-of-the-art facility to collect leachate. ... It’s one of the top septic receiving stations in Michigan now,” said Kyle Seidel, senior project manager at engineering firm Anderson, Eckstein & Westrick. “We use all the new information (and) new technology, and this is one of the best facilities in Michigan.”
The Mount Clemens septic receiving station processes waste from outside of the city’s wastewater system, which is brought to the station from companies and municipalities with trucks equipped to relieve septic tanks or vacuum-clean sewers. As the sewage is pumped out of trucks and into the station, machines separate the sewage from non-processable waste solids such as rocks or logs, ejecting them into a dumpster. Sewage then goes from the station to the wastewater plant, while the non-processable solids are sent to landfills.
It is an improvement over the city’s prior septic receiving system, which involved dumping the waste into a pit and making it the wastewater plant’s job to sort out non-processable solids. Along with no longer taxing the wastewater system with possibly harmful solid objects, the new station cuts down on the possibility of contaminating the surrounding areas by fully enclosing the process to the station, plant and dumpsters.
“The difference between having to store this waste in an open-air pit — an open-air lagoon — and processing it this way is huge,” said state Rep. Denise Mentzer, D-Mount Clemens. “You had an open pit of sewage; we don’t have that anymore. That’s huge environmentally because it’s not leaking into the ground, it’s not affecting anything, it’s not having waterfowl swim into it and become contaminated. It’s better for the environment; it’s a lot better for wildlife that run across here, and just simply not having an open pit full of horrible smells … is a wonderful thing.”
Costing around $3 million to build, the station is expected to help improve the revenues of a service that brings in around $1 million to the city annually, according to figures provided by City Manager Gregg Shipman.
“This new facility will bring in septic and Vactor (sewer waste) from not only Macomb County — because we are the only receiving station in Macomb County — but also parts of St. Clair, Oakland County and Wayne,” Kropp said. “This is a revenue generator for the residents of Mount Clemens. It is the only facility, so we need this facility to run properly for this area.”
The station is designed to operate autonomously. Dumpers can enter the facility with a key fob at any hour and can begin dumping once they hook their truck up to the station. Where the prior process required a city worker to oversee dumping, automated metering in the station means the amount of sewage dumped is tracked accurately and dumpers are automatically billed accordingly.
Around $2.5 million of the project’s funding came from the state, which provided the city with a $6.2 million loan from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. Other uses of the funds were for repairs to wastewater and combined sewer infrastructure through pipe bursting and open cut projects.
The investment into the receiving station is expected to bear fruit far into the future. While the city aims to become a Great Lakes Water Authority customer in the coming years, the wastewater facility will remain active, and the station will remain in place to relieve customers and generate revenue. Seidel expects the machinery inside the station to be operable, with proper maintenance, for 20 years.
