Retirement Community

Project Information

Date: December, 2001
Location: Blue Hill, Maine
Facility: Assisted living and progressive care
Design Flow: 3000 Gallons per Day
Wastewater Type: Institutional/Residential

This institutional facility was plagued by premature disposal area malfunctions for several years due primarily to its typically high strength wastewater and very shallow bedrock depths. The facility serves as a center for elder care and has a number of condominiums and apartments as well as assisted living and progressive care facilities.

The total facility is served by several separate disposal systems consisting of septic tanks and subsurface wastewater disposal areas. The disposal area which served twelve of the independent living condominiums had become overloaded and was in danger of having wastewater break through to the surface. The project engineer decided to divert wastewater from this system to a nearby functioning system. Advanced wastewater treatment with a custom OxyPro system allowed the second to handle the additional load by effectively doubling its design capacity. The treatment system was designed to maintain the existing gravity sewer connection while avoiding expensive blasting. The installed system produces clear odorless effluent with a combined CBOD/TSS of less than 30 mg/L.

Specific Design Challenges

Shallow Ledge
Maintain Gravity Sewer
Aesthetic Requirements
High Peak Flows
Institutional Wastewater