Faced with a looming 2017 deadline to reduce nutrients released into the Chesapeake Bay watershed, the City of Baltimore’s Dept. of Public Works is pushing to complete more than $500 million of improvements at its Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant. Under the city’s ambitious plan, crews are constructing one of the world’s largest nitrogen-removal filters, a dozen clarifiers, six large activated-sludge reactors and new pump stations, as well upgrades to existing facilities.
“The volume and velocity of these projects is impressive,” says Shane Lippert, area manager for Archer Western Contractors, which is building two of the projects. “The city is up against the wall as far as the deadline. It was a daunting task walking in.”