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  915 Valley Road, Gillette, NJ 07933 • 908-647-8000. For other numbers, see the directory. |
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WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT PLANT TOUR
This is an oxidation ditch.
This is a final clarifier.
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Did you ever think about how sewage gets over Long Hill from the north side of the town to the treatment plant in Stirling? We pump it. At the bottom of Skyline Drive in Millington stands a small brick building. All the sewer lines in the Old Forge, Skyline Drive, Carlton Rd, Basking Ridge Rd, Rayburn Rd and Cross Hill Rd areas of Millington, and the Lupine Way area of Stirling flow into that building. Inside, there is a 10,000 gallon holding tank, an emergency generator, and two 40 horsepower pumps. Those pumps push the sewage through an 8 inch "force main" that runs under Skyline Drive up over the top of Long Hill Road. From there, it flows downhill through larger sewer mains to the treatment plant. |
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| This is just one of SEVEN sewage pumping stations in the Township. There are 2 on the north side of Long Hill, and 5 more in lowlying areas along Valley Road. | |||||
Moving the wastewater around in the treatment plant requires a large number of large pumps. The pumps are controlled from this Main Power Distribution panel, and two others.
The wastewater plant could not function without its pumps running. You can imagine what would happen. Therefore, the plant is equipped with a 500KW diesel emergency generator to keep everything running during service interruptions from the power company. This generator is tested weekly.
Treated effluent is disinfected in this chamber which is lined with ultraviolet lamps. When the plant was upgraded in 1992, we eliminated the use of chlorine for this step. There are 160 ultraviolet lamps in use in this stage of the plant.
The solid waste remaining after treatment is called sludge. It is hauled away to a sludge disposal facility where it is incinerated or used as landfill out-of-state. This 6,500 gallon truck comes 3 times a week.
This picture shows our employees working to remove a blockage in a residential service lateral. The township is responsible for cleaning blockages and other maintenance from the sewer "cleanout" closest to the street, out into the main sewer system in the township's right-of-way. If the blockage is between the dwelling and the "cleanout" closest to the street, the property owner is responsible.
The pictures on these two pages were taken by Mario Bonaccorso , the Wastewater Treatment Plant Superintendent. If you have questions or would like to know more about how the plant works, click the link and send email to him.