Through this natural recycling process, nutrient-laden wastewater is productively used on farmland instead of flowing to Delaware's environmentally fragile inland bays and waterways. Here, natural microorganisms break down the biological matter. Settable solids fall to the bottom of the lagoon and undergo anaerobic decay. The lagoons are 14 feet deep and are formed from earthen berms with a geocomposite liner and protective soil cover. Riprap slope protection stabilizes the freeboard area.
Treated water is disinfected with sodium hypochlorite.
The effluent can be either stored in the 32 million-gallon effluent storage lagoon or pumped to the land application system. The land application system utilizes five center pivots, which can operate independently or in combination. The fully automated system, designed by Steve Hudson the Director of Maintenance, is controlled by a programmable logic computer. The irrigation field consists of 320 acres, leased from the State of Delaware s Division of Parks and Recreation. The land is farmed and planted with wheat, barley, clover and permanent forage crops.