The City of Otsego maintains two municipal Wastewater Treatment Facilities. The East Facility was established in 2000 and the West Facility 2004.
Otsego West Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF)
Located at: 7551 Lancaster Avenue
The Otsego West Wastewater Treatment Facility has been serving the community since 2005. It cleans wastewater from homes and businesses using natural biological and chemical processes.
Wastewater travels through the city’s sewer system and is pumped to the facility, where debris and sand are first removed. The water then enters aeration tanks where beneficial microorganisms break down organic waste. Afterward, the water moves to a Membrane Bio Reactor (MBR). The MBR is a tank with membrane filters in it similar to a water filter in your home but on a larger scale. The water is then filtered through the membranes, and the microorganisms are returned to the head of the plant or wasted to our solids handling process.
The treated water is disinfected using ultraviolet (UV) light before being safely released into Otsego Creek and eventually the Mississippi River.
The facility currently treats about 600,000 gallons of wastewater per day and is nearing its capacity. An expansion project is underway that will increase treatment capacity to 1.4 million gallons per day and add new technology to improve water quality and support future community growth.
Check out this video showcasing the recent expansion of the Otsego West Wastewater Treatment Facility. DuPont Water Solutions visited to film how advanced treatment technology is helping growing communities like Otsego boost capacity and stay ahead of state and federal wastewater regulations for years to come.
Located at: 5850 Randolph Avenue The City of Otsego's East Wastewater Treatment Facility began operations in 2000 and has grown with the community adding capacity and treatment technology improvements. The Facility is a Class A Major Facility with a designed flow of 900,000 gallons per day and current flows nearing 500,000 gallons per day. The Facility uses a Conventional Activated Solids process with extended aeration to accomplish Biological Nutrient Removal (BNR) meeting permitted regulatory requirements.
Wastewater is collected from the surrounding sanitary system and pumped to the facilities pretreatment building by three lift stations. Grit and screenings are removed preparing influent flow for biological treatment. Microorganisms use the fresh wastewater as their food source, mixed and allot time to stabilize the wastewater within the aeration basin. A clarifier is used to settle out those microorganisms and direct them back to the aeration basin and the clean water flows to disinfection prior to existing to the Crow River.
In 2022 a site improvement was completed to incorporate solids processing to meet the highest quality biosolids designation. The minimized building footprint and compact process serve both the East and West Wastewater facilities' solids treatment.
Biosolids
The City of Otsego is now meeting Class A exceptional quality biosolids! This product is a semi-solid material meeting the most stringent pollutant, pathogen and vector attraction reduction requirements under EPA regulation. The material is processed within the Biosolids Building thickened using a centrifuge and pasteurized using lime resulting in an outstanding fertilizer resource. The site is currently processing near 35 tons of material.
Did you know that many products including wet wipes that are marketed as “flushable” don't degrade in the City's sewer system? Although these products sometimes make it through the private property owner’s sanitary sewer service line, they won't break down like toilet paper. This means that clumps of these sturdy, non-degradable products often plug sewer lines and lift stations which causes blockages and backups. If the product doesn’t fall apart like toilet paper, if it contains any cloth or mesh fibers, or if it continues to stay intact after being wet and used, then please be mindful of the City's sewer system and place it in the trash, not the toilet.
The City of Otsego has 80 miles of sanitary sewer pipeline. Most of the lines are in the street and some are through utility easements. All sanitary sewers lead to a lift station to get pumped to the WWTF (there are a total of 10 lift stations and 24 pumps between them). The City cleans approximately 20% of the system on an annual basis. Lines requiring a higher level of maintenance are cleaned more frequently. This routine maintenance helps to prevent blockages and backups.
Sanitary sewer lines are cleaned using high-performance sewer cleaning equipment. A cleaning nozzle is sent upstream from one manhole to the next using water pressure then pulled downstream using water jets to scour the interior of the sanitary pipe. Any debris in the pipe is pulled back with the water and removed using the vacuum portion of the cleaning truck.
During the cleaning process, air occasionally can vent into a home causing water in the toilet bowl to bubble and occasionally splash outside of the bowl. If during the process sewer odor is detected the traps in your home should be refilled. These effects may occur during use of higher pressure needs when cleaning lines that have a steep slope, a plugged roof vent or other various home waste and ventilation intricacies. As crews are servicing the area, please close toilet lids.
