North Port Utilities receives awards for water treatment

Florida Water Environment Association Presents North Port Utilities with Three Awards

The City of North Port Utilities garnered three prestigious awards from the Florida Water Environment Association (FWEA) at their annual awards conference. This year’s recognition was unusual, in that the FWEA’s scheduled conference in Orlando was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, however, the awards were presented in a virtual ceremony conducted through Zoom.

North Port’s Wastewater Treatment Plant, and the team that manages the facility, were the recipients of the coveted Earle B. Phelps Award for outstanding water quality and service. Established in 1964, the Earle B. Phelps Awards, are given annually by the FWEA to recognize the wastewater treatment facilities which have maintained the highest removal of major pollution causing constituents prior to discharging the treated effluent.

The City of Northport WWTP is a 7 MGD plant currently permitted for 5 MGD. It is a Modified Ludzack-Ettinger (MLE) facility consisting of screening, grit removal, anoxic basins, fine bubble aeration, secondary clarification, deep bed tertiary filters, chlorine disinfection, and sludge thickening. The plant produces public access reclaimed water quality effluent and a waste byproduct. The facility has one 2 1/2 million gallon reclaimed water storage tank. Sludge treatment and disposal consists of aerated sludge holding tanks followed by on-site dewatering by means of a centrifuge and hauling to a DEP permitted facility.