Town of Webster to Offer Tours of Water Pollution Control Facility

Webster, N.Y., April 28, 2022 – The Town of Webster, NY has announced a new opportunity for residents to take an in-person tour of the Walter W. Bradley Water Pollution Control Facility, located at 226 Phillips Road. Visitors will learn about the state of the current facility, along with planned upgrades, and transformation to a Water Resource Recovery Facility. 

This facility was originally constructed in 1968. Three of the secondary clarifiers were updated in 2020, however the majority of this facility remains unchanged from the last major upgrade completed in 1980. The next phase of the facility upgrade project is slated to begin this summer and will encompass improvements to buildings, equipment, and employee working conditions. Currently the Sewer Department has 15 employees who oversee management of the facility, along with 22 pump stations, 3,000 manholes and 400 miles of sewer mains across the Town of Webster. 

One of the main components to this upgrade project will be the installation of new sludge drying equipment. The Town will be creating a fertilizer from biosolids, to be utilized by local agriculture. This in turn will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as the Town will be diverting biosolids from landfills, thus reducing use of diesel fuel for hauling of sludge to a landfill. These equipment upgrades will also create biogas for reuse, which will reduce both methane emissions and natural gas usage at the facility. 

“This project will upgrade and enhance our facility to allow us to continue treating sanitary waste from both Webster and parts of Penfield, as well as, giving us the ability to accept organic waste to be utilized in our digesters to create methane gas, which will then be converted to heat from some our buildings and processes,” states Art Petrone, Deputy Commissioner of Public Works. “We will also be installing a biosolids dryer which will produce a fertilizer to be utilized by the local agricultural community, and in turn, divert biosolids from landfills.” 

Starting in May, the Town will be offering in-person tours of the facility, to educate visitors about our treatment process, and the environmental benefits of the upgrade project. Residents can also view a virtual facility tour and learn more about the facility upgrades on the Town website. 

Tour Sign Up Link:   https://ci.webster.ny.us/695/Plant-Tours 

Virtual Facility Tour Link:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrP70kKFlpk 

Plant Upgrade Presentations Link:   https://www.ci.webster.ny.us/512/Plant-Upgrades