Center Township Sanitary Authority

Items for Attention/Concern

Fats, Oils & Grease - Residential/Business

DO NOT FLUSH THESE ITEMS

Inflow and Infiltration

Elkhorn Run Water Pollution Control Plant

The plant is located along Elkhorn Run Creek in the Van Kirk section of Center Township. It provides wastewater treatment services to all of Center Township, along with a small portion of Monaca. Currently, the plant processes an annual average flow of 1.3 million gallons of wastewater per day. The plant operates under NPDES Permit No. PA0037940.

The process used for the treatment of wastewater at the plant is called Activated Sludge. Activated Sludge is a biological wastewater treatment process which speeds up the decomposition of wastes in wastewater being treated. Activated Sludge is added to waste-water and the mixture (mixed liquor) is aerated and agitated. After some time in the aeration tank, the Activated Sludge is allowed to settle out by sedimentation and is disposed as needed. The remaining wastewater then undergoes more treatment.

Wastewater is collected from homes and businesses which then flows to the plant. The plant utilizes physical and biological processes (above) to remove the harmful pollution from the wastewater. After treatment, the treated water is released into the Ohio River. Learn more about The History of the Center Township Sanitary Authority and The Elkhorn Run Treatment Plant Process.

Elkhorn Run Treatment Plant Laboratory

 Prior to 2006, state certification was not required by laboratories to perform all of the lab tests required by their NPDES Permit. In 2006, the PADEP published the final-form rulemaking for the State's Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program, requiring in Chapter 25 of the state code that all wastewater analyses must be performed by an accredited laboratory. All laboratories were given the option of performing their own testing with earned certification, or contract out to an accredited commercial laboratory. In an effort to save money and maintain control over testing, The Center Township Sanitary Authority chose to receive state accreditation from the PADEP. The certification program, designed by the PADEP, requires that all laboratories be audited for quality control in use of appropriate chemicals leading to accurate results in the testing of discharged wastewater.

  A representative of the PADEP conducted an on-site assessment of the Sanitary Authority and awarded its initial accreditation in 2007. To maintain its accreditation, the laboratory must be staffed with DEP licensed operators and lab technicians. Periodic inspections are done by DEP Personnel. These inspections include testing for procedures, glassware and all instruments and equipment. The CTSA National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit requires the Authority to report the following tests to DEP on a monthly basis; Flow, Total Residue Chlorine, CBOD5, pH, Total Suspended Solids and Fecal Coliform. The Lab is certified on an annual basis.

Collections Program

The Sewer Collections Program is primarily responsible for maintaining an estimated 15 square miles of sanitary sewer system and approximately 4,642 residential and commercial sewer lateral connections. The program covers, upkeep and maintenance of ten lift stations, execution of the CTSA FOG Plan, Root cutting, manhole inspection & rehabilitation, Inflow & Infiltration control, spot repairs, inspection of all new sewer installations and cleaning (Jetting) of larger trunk lines. Employees involved in this activity provide information by televising and benchmarking the overall condition of the sewer system infrastructure. The information is used to establish maintenance requirements, the need for repairs and development of Capital Improvement Projects.

CTSA UPGRADES HEADWORKS

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Center Township Sanitary Authority (Beaver County, Pennsylvania) has completed an upgrade to the headworks facilities at their existing Elkhorn Run Sewage Treatment Plant.  LSSE provided design and permitting services for the installation of a new mechanically cleaned bar screen and site improvements at the existing CTSA sewage treatment plant.

The existing Elkhorn Run headworks facilities consisted of an aged and ineffective comminutor originally designed to macerate solid and fibrous materials in the influent waste stream.  With the recent increased popularity of “flushable” wipes and cleaning products it has become increasingly obvious that simply grinding or shredding these materials is not sufficient to protect downstream sewage facilities and process equipment.  The shredded materials often “bulk” back together and create maintenance headaches for plant operators including clogging pumps and pipes and accumulating around process piping/equipment.       

LSSE designed a new concrete influent headworks channel upstream of the existing influent channel to house the ¼” opening screen.  The self-cleaning mechanical screen specified removes solid materials and rags from the waste stream to protect expensive downstream process equipment.  Mechanical rakes clean the screen and transport the removed items to a mechanical washer/compactor where they are rinsed, dewatered, compacted, and deposited in a dumpster for economic removal with minimal operator effort.  The overall design concept also included an emergency screen bypass pipe that re-used the existing bypass bar screen.   

In addition to the headworks improvements, LSSE also coordinated with the Operations Supervisor, Robert "Judge" Martini, to incorporate the design of site grading, paving and access improvements as part of the construction project to facilitate installation of the new screen channel and provide improved site access and mobility for plant operations. 

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