Scarborough Sanitary District reports promising pilot treatment performance, staffing moves and infrastructure upgrades

The Scarborough Sanitary District heard an operations update Thursday that highlighted a running pilot wastewater treatment system, personnel hiring progress and equipment upgrades.

The Superintendent told trustees, "Our average effluent flow was 1.7 million gallons a day," and said effluent quality was within permit limits with reported removal rates of 95% and 97% for two monitored measures. The superintendent described a pilot treatment plant that is "fully nitrifying and settling well" and said the district will move its sampling location to capture all influent sidestream flows and evaluate whether that affects pilot performance.

Trustees were told a micrologic controller at pump station 8 was replaced after it skewed flow data until recalibration. The district installed Vapex ozone units at pump stations 2 and 11 to control odors; the pump station 11 unit will replace an existing carbon scrubber, officials said. The superintendent also noted the district presented a training on nitrification and denitrification at a wastewater-operator school attended by about 20 people.

On staffing, the superintendent said the administrative-assistant posting drew 45 applicants, which were reduced to a shortlist of 13; three candidates were interviewed and two withdrew, and the board will extend an offer to a selected candidate. Recruitment for collection-system labor yielded 18 applicants, five were shortlisted and at least one desirable candidate will be offered employment, the superintendent said.

The board was briefed on property and insurance matters. District staff reported a draft purchase-and-sale agreement for a Higgins Beach property with an anticipated closing in late August and said engineering firm Underwood had presented three building arrangement options that will have to consider current flood-elevation design. An insurance-renewal review with Clark Insurance indicated a projected premium increase of roughly 8.5% to about $103,000–$104,000 per year; staff said adjustments to coverages may bring the cost back in line with the 2026 budget.

Trustees posed no questions during the report and moved on to correspondence and other agenda items.

The superintendent's presentation and figures were recorded in the district packet and discussed publicly during the meeting; the board did not take any additional formal action on pilot operations during the session.