Walter W. Bradley Pollution Control Facility
Faced with high water quality requirements for discharge to Lake Ontario, in 1976 the Town and the Village embarked on a cooperative effort to find the most economical solution for residents of the Webster community.
Wastewater from the Town of Webster and a portion of Penfield flows to the treatment facility from 21 pump stations and approximately 270 miles of sewer pipe. The Town of Webster’s 12 treatment plant employees are responsible for the operation and maintenance of the lift stations, sanitary sewers and treatment facility. The chief plant operator and plant operators are responsible for staying abreast of all regulations that the Department of Environmental Conservation and Environmental Protection Agency set forth for the operation of a wastewater treatment plant and collection system. The Town has one collection system foreman that oversees the maintenance of the 21 lift stations and sewer pipes throughout the Town. There are four maintenance mechanics that assist in pump repairs and any mechanical issues in the treatment plant and pump stations. There are two laborers who take care of the grounds and other miscellaneous tasks and one office manager.
The Town’s treatment plant SPDES permit allows for 7.5 million gallons a day to be discharged into the lake. The Village of Webster operates under the Town’s SPDES permit. The Village makes up for 2.5 million gallons a day of the 7.5 million gallons and goes through a pipe at the west end of the treatment facility and is only chlorinated by the Town’s treatment plant before it is discharged into the lake, the Village treatment plant on Webster Road handles all other treatment before it is sent to the Town for chlorination.
The Town’s treatment plant utilizes the activated sludge secondary treatment process and is capable of producing a treatment effluent that exceeds State and Federal requirements.
There are three digesters which aid in the breakdown of the sewage converting it to water and methane gas, the gas is recaptured to fuel the boiler system in the sludge process building to reduce natural gas costs to the treatment plant.
The Town disposes of 210 wet ton of sludge each month – to put this in perspective that would fill approximately 96 - 6 wheeled dump trucks each month.
The treatment plant also maintains a New York State certified laboratory, which tests samples from various locations three times a day for chlorine residual, settable solids, pH, temperature, total coliform, BOD and various other tests. These results have to be reported to the State on a monthly basis.
The employees of the treatment plant take pride in keeping Lake Ontario one of the most valuable resources in the Northeast United States.