Each year every locality with a public sewer collection and treatment system is asked to send in a report for their previous year’s activities. This is a requirement by the state for their records and a way to report to the citizens in each community what their system is like and how it has been doing. This article serves only as a summary of the report, but the report in its entirety can be found here.
In February of 2017, we received our EPA Administrative Order by Consent, which required improvements to our collection system within 5 years. We can finally report that we have completed ALL requirements related to this AOC and were removed from the order in May 2025! We continue to work on repairs to the system so we don’t face similar issues in the future.
The Collection and Distribution crews continue to search for and fix new issues that arise. Due to their efforts, there have been no inflow and infiltration problems reported in the system again during the past 12 months. They have responded to and unstopped 157 laterals and 93 sewer mains, cleaned 2.88 miles of additional sewer mains, and inspected almost 7 miles of mains with a special sewer camera. Overflow events do continue and are difficult to prevent, though they have decreased. The city experienced 7 events during the past 12 months for a total loss of 36,600 gallons. Of that, 26,830 gallons reached surface waters. Storm runoff from heavy rain was the cause of 3 of these events, but the others were caused by roots and debris. We will soon have a contractor treating our lines showing high rates of root intrusion.
The treatment system for the city consists of one wastewater treatment plant. We are also in charge of the New Street Wastewater Treatment Plant, but it all goes to the pump station next to that plant. The Mebane Bridge Wastewater Treatment plant can treat up to 13.5 million gallons a day, but for the past twelve months, the facility only averaged 2.949 million gallons a day. This is a slight decrease from last year. Much of our plant is original from 1967, but we have completed a few upgrades and have more planned. Currently, construction is underway to upgrade our aeration basin. We are still planning to switch to liquid chlorine once the water plant plans are revised and approved. Our Maintenance and Operations staff do a fantastic job keeping everything running properly and staying up to date with the new processes. For the past 12 months, we have had no violations at the plant.
The city is doing as much as it can with what resources it has to protect the system, but many events are out of our control, such as flooding from heavy rains. A lot of problems that occur can be prevented by you as a community being educated and aware. Remember to wipe solids off dishes into the trash and never pour grease into the sink. Even if you have a garbage disposal, realize that the disposal is only designed for the little scraps that make it through. Also, wipes of various kinds still make it into the system. They can cause blockages in your household pipes as well as the lines in our system. All wipes should be disposed of in the trash can, no matter what kind they are. All efforts by our citizens are appreciated and needed. There is information on the website if you would like to learn more. If you have any further questions about our sewer system, please feel free to contact the City. One of us will be happy to answer any questions you may have and even conduct quick tours of our facility as time allows.
