Taneytown hears engineering briefing on wastewater compliance, water-loss improvements; council approves Memorial Drive design

Brian Lubinow of engineering firm CDM Smith told the Taneytown mayor and city council on June 9 that the city’s wastewater plant and water-distribution system have seen measurable improvement after a series of upgrades and collection-system repairs. The council also approved moving forward with design and construction services for the Memorial Drive water-main replacement.

The presentation summarized work the firm has done for the city over decades and focused on two priorities: meeting the state’s enhanced nutrient removal requirements at the wastewater treatment plant, and reducing nonrevenue water in the city’s drinking distribution system. “One of the major upgrades was to go to ENR, Enhanced Nutrient Removal,” Lubinow said, noting the plant’s limits — a total nitrogen ceiling of 4 milligrams per liter and total phosphorus of 0.3 milligrams per liter — that were set in 2017.

Lubinow described a multi-year framework to meet those numeric annual loads that combined treatment-plant redundancy and spare parts, targeted sewer-collection work to reduce inflow and infiltration (I/I), and prioritized lining and replacement of older terracotta and cast-iron pipes. The consultant said the plant’s May monitoring showed average concentrations of about 3 mg/L total nitrogen and 0.13 mg/L total phosphorus, and that current projections put the plant “on track” to meet its annual load allocation.

A core compliance detail Lubinow explained is the plant’s “floating cap”: the allowed annual load (pounds) is a function of flow through the plant up to the permitted design flow (1.1 MGD). That makes monthly tracking and projections important, he said, because higher flows both raise the annual load cap and make treatment more difficult. Lubinow said much of the plant’s earlier noncompliance traced to excessive stormwater and groundwater entering the sewer system; the city has televised pipe runs, prioritized lining or replacement, and plans a manhole-rehabilitation bid expected in July.

On drinking water, the firm reported substantial reductions in water loss compared with the early 2000s. “Back in 2009 the average pumped flow per day was over a half-million gallons per day,” Lubinow said; he attributed the decline to mains replacement projects (for example, Baltimore Streetscape, York and Frederick Street, Roberts Mill Road) and new, developer-installed real-time leak sensors. Council members noted water-loss percentages in recent years have generally fallen to the mid-to-high single digits or low teens — a range Lubinow called “very good.” He also warned that aging residential meters tend to record low and that routine meter replacement is standard practice to keep billed consumption accurate.

Council approved a motion to award the design and construction services for the Memorial Drive water-main replacement; staff described the job as roughly 2,500 feet of old cast-iron and asbestos-containing transite main to be replaced, with design work scheduled this summer and fall, bids in winter, and construction next year. Council discussed phasing and traffic restoration so scheduled community events (notably a late-spring carnival) would not be unduly disrupted.

The consultant remained at the meeting for questions and to help staff answer design and scheduling concerns.