The team at the Weirton (West Virginia) Wastewater Treatment Plant wanted to make a great impression on visitors pulling up to the gate. Part of that was a new sign.

“We had the sign made in 2012 by Signs Limited in Wintersville, Ohio,” says Rick Ohalek, assistant director of the Weirton Sanitary Board. “They did the design artwork and made the flat sign. Our staff did all the other work: concrete, posts, trim and lighting. In addition, we had signs with the same artwork made for all of our buildings and tanks.”

The Weirton plant (4.0 mgd design) was first built in 1956 as a primary clarifier facility. It was upgraded to secondary treatment standards in 1977. “Since then, we have gone through several upgrades, which include UV disinfection in 1998 and autothermal thermophilic aerobic digestion in 2008,” Ohalek says. 

“We upgraded our main lift station and installed a 5-mile-long force main directly to the plant. We also installed a new emergency generator. Our staff is very skilled in all aspects of construction.” 

The team installed a band screen (JWC Environmental), constructed a block building to house the ATAD equipment and installed a new rotary press (Fournier Industries). “The work our employees have performed over the years has saved our customers thousands of dollars,” Ohalek says. “Our sewer rates are 18th lowest among the 319 bona fide sewer utilities in West Virginia.”

The plant serves about 10,000 customers. The collections system has about 3,400 manholes, 121 miles of sewer line and 21 lift stations.