$52M Wastewater Upgrade Done

United Water has completed $52 million in improvements to East Providence’s wastewater treatment plant on the Riverside waterfront, according to the Providence Journal.

"Well, about 99 percent," said a United Water representative. "But finished for the grand opening today."

The representative was referring to a mid-day ceremony at the treatment plant on Wednesday, Oct. 17, that drew about 70 dignitaries and officials. That ceremony marked the end of the work, according to the Providence Journal.

The improvement work by United Water on the 54-year-old plant is described as “the first major upgrades at the plant since 1998.”

The upgrades to the plant were to include a new odor-control system, replacement of the Watchemoket Pumping Station on Veterans Parkway, and adding a system which uses microorganisms that use oxygen, instead of chemicals, to remove phosphorus and nitrogen when the water is treated, according to United Water in a story in Patch in 2011.

Some East Providence residents have long complained of sewage overflows during heavy rains. The facility serves about two-thirds of the city's 50,000 residents and also treats wastewater from Barrington, which pays East Providence for the treatment.

East Providence was forced by the state to lower nitrogen levels at the Riverside plant “and to curb overflows of sewage when rains inundate pump stations,” according to the newspaper.

While doing that work, it gave the operator a chance to make plenty of other improvements at the same time. Among the improvements: reducing odors and installing more energy-efficient equipment.

United Water has a 10-year contract with East Providence to operate the plant.