WASTEWATER TREATMENT
DEPARTMENT CONTACTS
Brandon Schrader
Wastewater Treatment Plant Superindendent
Phone: 269-659-7250


General Information
Phone: (269) 651-6520
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Wastewater Treatment

The City of Sturgis Wastewater Treatment Plant serves over 3,500 sewer customers residing in the City of Sturgis and the surrounding area. These customers, both residential and industrial produce over 1,400,000 gallons of wastewater per day. The department is responsible for operating the wastewater treatment plant and sewer system, as well as enforcing the sewer use ordinance with a system for permitting, sampling and inspecting the industrial users subject to regulation.

The goals of the wastewater treatment department are:

  • To provide a high quality effluent as efficiently as possible.
  • To anticipate changing environmental regulatory trends and be prepared to meet those challenges.
  • To maintain good relations with industrial customers while enforcing controls to protect worker health & safety, the treatment plant and the environment.
Residential Customers

For information on setting up service for an existing residence with sewer service, contact utility customer service at (269) 659-7254 or visit Sturgis City Hall. If you need to install a new sanitary sewer lateral, use the form below and return it to the City Engineer’s office, located at Sturgis City Hall (130 N. Nottawa). For more information on rates, terms and conditions, and customer service, please visit the Utilities page.

If you are experiencing a sewer backup or other service emergency, please contact 269.651.2879 during regular business hours (7:30 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday) or after office hours, contact Central Dispatch at 269.467.4195.

Industrial Customers

Industrial Customers setting up service fall under the City’s Sewer Use Ordinance, and in most cases require a Wastewater Discharge Permit.  You can find information on both the Ordinance and permit below.  If you have questions, please contact the Wastewater Treatment Plant Supervisor at (269) 651-6520.  The discharge permit application can be faxed, emailed or mailed to:

FAX: (269) 659-2500

MAIL: 
City of Sturgis Wastewater Treatment Plant
2101 Treatment Plant Rd.
Sturgis, MI 49091-8720

Treatment Process

The plant is designed to treat an average of 2.8 MGD (million gallons per day) and a maximum of 3.6 MGD. We treat the wastewater with a combination of physical, chemical and biological methods to reduce the pollutants to a level acceptable for discharge to the fawn river. The equipment required to do this consists of 46 pumps that move liquids or sludges, 18 machines that move air or gas, 16 tanks used for settling, mixing or storage, 11 process flow measuring devices, numerous systems for controlling the processes and a laboratory for assessing plant performance and providing data for reporting requirements.

Description of Plant Processes
Screw Pumps Two screws, 39” diameter 0-3.3 MGD each, convey raw wastewater from the 24”
interceptor sewer and Fawn River Crossing Lift Station forcemain to the Headworks
Building
Influent Screening

One automatic fine screen, continuous filter belt with ¼” openings on a 75° angle,
automatic cleaning with screenings compactor. Disposed of at a sanitary landfill

One manual bypass bar screen for use when fine screen is offline for maintenance,
35° angle with 1” spacing, screenings cleared with a manual rake
Grit Removal Sand and gravel can cause problems in pumps and other mechanical devices. A
single Grit Concentrator removes grit particles and concentrates them in a sump at
the bottom of the unit. Two grit pumps, each rated at 200 gpm at 25’ TDH, conveys
grit slurry to a grit washing unit and classifier. The grit is conveyed into a tipping
bucket dumpster for disposal at a landfill.
Surge Basin Stores flows above 5.2 MGD (Peak Hourly Flow Capacity). Following a surge event,
wastewater is routed to the screw pump wet well at a controlled volume.

One tank measuring approximately 45.67’ by 28’ with 8’ SWD, with a 76,500-gallon
capacity.
Influent Flow Meter 12" Parshall flume with a 9” insert, with ultrasonic transducer level sensor
Primary Clarification Large settling basins, which remove settleable solids and floatable materials.
One(1) circular 35' diameter with 8' SWD, one 45' square with 8'SWD, one
55'diameter with 10'SWD
Trickling Filter
Pump Station		 Three variable speed non-clog centrifugal pumps lift the water to the trickling filters;
each rated 2500 GPM @ 31.0' TDH. Firm pumping capacity with largest pump out of
service is 3700 GPM.
Trickling Filters

Large beds of rock, 6.5 feet deep, through which sewage trickles. Microorganisms

growing on the rocks remove waste materials by consuming wastes.
Two, 104' diameter, four-arm reaction driven distributors, with aluminum domes.
Forced ventilation with two fans per filter.
Solids contact /
Flocculation Basin		 Aerated basin in which microorganisms sloughed off from trickling filters are mixed
with concentrated sludge settled and returned from the intermediate clarifiers.
89,000 gallons, three positive displacement blowers 10HP, 140 cfm @9psi, each.
Intermediate lift
station		 One screw, 48" diameter 0-44.4 MGD @ 16.5TDH to lift water up to intermediate
clarifier #1. Water flows to intermediate #2 by gravity.
Intermediate
Clarifiers		 Settling basins that allow sloughed off microorganisms to settle then be returned to
the solids contact basin.
One- 60' diameter with 14'SWD. One- 24' by 120' with 12' SWD.
Flow measurement,
pumping, Nitrification Tower		 12" Parshall flume with ultrasonic transmitter to measure flow to tower.
Three variable speed non-clog centrifugal pumps rated at 2500 GPM @ 63'TDH lift
the water to the top of the tower where it trickles down thru plastic cross flow
media. Microorganisms growing on the media remove ammonia.
Nitrification tower is 55' diameter, 30' deep with mechanical variable speed
distributor. 72,800 cu ft. of media.
Final Clarifiers

Settling basins that allow sloughed off microorganisms to settle out.

Two 24' by 120' with 12' SWD.
Chemical Treatment Phosphorus is removed with the aid of Ferrous Chloride and polymer addition with
settling of this sludge occurring in the intermediate clarifiers along with
microorganism sloughing’s.
Chlorine addition is after final clarifiers to kill harmful bacteria.
Polishing Pond A lined pond allows time for the chlorine to disinfect and then dissipate before
addition of Sodium Metabisulfite to remove excess chlorine before discharge.
Final Flow Measurement /
Cascade Aerator		 24" Parshall flume with ultrasonic transmitter for flow measurement ahead of Static
cascade steps to introduce additional oxygen into water before release to the Fawn
River.
Residuals Management Excess biosolids (Sludge) are processed in anaerobic digesters to decompose. The
decomposition yields a slurry, which is somewhat like a peat slurry. In addition,
methane gas is generated and used to heat the digester. The digested sludge is
stored in liquid form awaiting recycling to agricultural land.
Two anaerobic digesters 350,000 gallons each. One 140' diameter with 14' SWD
storage tank-1,600,000 gallons.