Frederick approves treatment plant upgrades to address NPDES nitrate violations

Frederick approves treatment plant upgrades to address NPDES nitrate violationsThe City of Frederick, Maryland, has authorized procurement contracts for new nitrate instrument controllers to bring its wastewater treatment plant back into compliance, alongside a replacement raw water pump for the Linganore Water Treatment Plant.

City Council approved $75,459 for three nitrate instrument controllers from Northeast Technical Sales to address unreliable equipment at the wastewater treatment plant.

The new controllers aim to improve biological process performance and resolve a Maryland NPDES permit violation regarding nitrate discharges into the Monocacy River.

A separate $86,375 purchase order was awarded to Sydnor Hydro for a vertical turbine pump at the Linganore Water Treatment Plant.

The new raw water pump will replace an inoperable unit, restoring critical redundancy for pumping water from Linganore Creek.

The City of Frederick, Maryland, is advancing targeted equipment replacements at its water and wastewater treatment facilities to address regulatory compliance and operational redundancy. At an August 6, 2026, meeting, the City Council unanimously approved two purchase orders totaling over $160,000 for critical infrastructure components. To address ongoing compliance issues with its Maryland National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, the city authorized a $75,459 sole-source purchase from Northeast Technical Sales for three new nitrate instrument controllers and associated hardware. The instruments sample nitrate levels in the wastewater treatment plant's reactors and flow process, providing data used to control internal recycle pumps in automatic mode. Tim Moffett, superintendent of the water and sewer facility maintenance department, informed the council that the plant's current instruments are unreliable. The poor performance of the existing equipment has contributed to excessive nitrate discharges into the Monocacy River. "Replacing these instruments is a part of an ongoing effort to improve the performance of the biological process at the wastewater treatment plant and to bring the plant back into compliance with the state of Maryland regulated nitrogen NPDES permit," Moffett stated. A recent city study using a demonstration model of the new instrument showed significantly better performance than the current equipment, giving staff confidence that the upgrade will help isolate and resolve the compliance discrepancy. In a separate action, the council approved an $86,375 purchase order to Sydnor Hydro for a vertical turbine pump at the Linganore Water Treatment Plant. The facility relies on three raw water pumps to draw from Linganore Creek for processing. Pump 2 at the Linganore facility had reached the end of its useful life and became inoperable, with parts no longer available and all temporary fixes exhausted by city maintenance staff. The replacement, which was planned and funded in the FY 2027 budget, will restore critical redundancy for the city's water supply treatment operations.