City Services

Infrastructure: Wastewater

Welcome to Waste Water Treatment

• Wastewater Treatment Plant
• Sewer Maintenance
• Accounts and Bills
• Outside Water Meter Program
• Lost Water Abatements
• Industrial Pre-Treatment
• Combined Sewer Overflow Program
• Contacts

The City of Bangor’s Sewer Fund provides a safe and economical means for the conveyance and treatment of residential, commercial, and industrial waste water, thereby protecting the quality of the surface waters of the City of Bangor, State of Maine, and beyond.

Wastewater Treatment Plant

The City’s wastewater treatment plant is a state of the art facility that provides both primary and secondary treatment. Expanded in the early 90’s, the plant utilizes the latest in today’s treatment technologies to insure that water discharged to the Penobscot River meets or exceeds all State and Federal requirements.

As wastewater enters the plant, solid and floatable materials are removed. Primary treatment then allows a significant proportion of the solids suspended in the waste stream to settle out and be collected. Once primary treatment is completed, the wastewater receives secondary treatment, which is a biological process. The plant utilizes an activated biotower along with suspended growth to treat the wastewater entering the secondary process. The treated water is then chlorinated to kill bacteria and dechlorinated before being released into the Penobscot River. Solids removed from the waste stream are dewatered and composted for reuse at a private composting facility.

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Sewer Maintenance

The City is also responsible for maintaining the sewer system that brings wastewater to the treatment plant. This includes periodic inspection, cleaning, and repair of the system to insure that wastewater moves freely and blockages are avoided. The City is responsible for maintaining the main sewer lines. Individual homeowners are responsible for the maintenance and repair of their house connections, the lines which run from the building to the City line that is normally located in the street.

If a backup in a City sewer main is affecting your property, please call 992-4250 (Bangor Public Works, 24 hours) and the necessary personnel will respond to your emergency.

Sewer Accounts and Billing

Establishing an account. To establish new sewer service for your property, contact the Engineering Department at 992-4250 to obtain a street opening permit. There is a fee for the permit that includes inspection of the sewer connection and any disturbance to the street as a result of the new sewer connection.

Changing an account. To change the name of the person responsible for paying for an existing sewer service, contact the Bangor Water District at 947-4516 and request the change. A signature is required to make the change. The Water District office is located at 614 State Street.

Sewer bills. Water and Sewer bills are sent on a quarterly basis. Both the water and sewer bills are based on your quarterly water use measured by a water meter usually located in your basement or utility closet. Most locations are equipped with a remote meter that allows it to be read from outside the building. Water meters are the property of and are read by the Bangor Water District. Sewer bill inquiries can be addressed by calling 207-992-4470. 

Sewer bills are considered past due 31 days from the billing or postmark date, whichever is later. Bills can be paid by cash, check, money order or MasterCard credit card. Please include your bill stubs with payment and note the account number on your check. You may write one check for both water and sewer payments. You can pay your water and sewer bill

by mail:

Bangor Wastewater Treatment Bangor Water District
760 Main Street
Bangor, ME 04401

Payable to:

City of Bangor Payable to Bangor Water District
PO Box 1129
Bangor, ME 04402-1129

in person:

Bangor Water District -- 614 State Street

Bangor Wastewater Plant -- 760 Main Street

Any Bangor Savings Bank Branch - Must bring entire bill

By MasterCard Credit card

Contact Official Payments Corporation by telephone at 1-800-272-9829 or their website at www.officialpayments.com. You will need the jurisdiction number (2908). Sewer payments are Option 2. Your MasterCard account will be debited the entered amount and you will be given a confirmation number for the transaction. There is a fee for this service that is based on the amount of the transaction.

Payments may also be deposited in a drop box located in the lobby of Bangor City Hall outside of the Treasury Office.

Failure to pay your sewer bill may result in a lien against your property. Landlords who expect their tenants to establish their own sewer accounts and pay their sewer bills should take care to insure that these bills are paid in a timely manner to avoid liens, interest, and lien discharge costs.

Charges for service. For most residents, the minimum quarterly charge for sewer service is $56.64.  Under this minimum, you are allowed up to 1200 cubic feet of wastewater. For each 100 cubic feet over the minimum, the charge is $4.72. The average Bangor household uses approximately 2,000 cubic feet of water per quarter, which results in a quarterly sewer bill of $94.40.

Outside Water Use. Since water used outside of the home does not reach the sewer system, the City has established an outside metering program to allow residents and businesses to measure outside water use and have it deducted from their sewer charges. Click on the link in the box on the upper right hand side of this page for more information on this program.  Click on the link in the box on the upper right hand side of this page for information on this program under Chapter 252-25 Section H.

Abatements for Lost Water. From time to time and through no fault of the property owner, water leaks or other problems may result in the loss of a significant amount of water. While such leaks generally result in this water reaching the treatment plant, the costs to treat this "clean" water are significantly less than that of normal wastewater. The City has established a lost water abatement program to assist property owners who have experienced a significant leak. You can apply for an abatement by sending a letter explaining what happened, how the problem was remedied, dates of problems and invoices for the repairs.  Mail your request for abatement to Brad Moore, Superintendent, 760 Main Street, please include a contact number.  You can also find out more by calling us at 992-4470.

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Industrial Pre-Treatment Program

Federal and State Regulations require that the City maintain an industrial pre-treatment program that is designed to work with industrial and commercial customers who meet certain criteria. The intent of the pretreatment program is to protect the sewer system and wastewater treatment plant from pollutants that may be discharged to the sewer system by local industries. These pollutants may have the potential to upset the wastewater treatment plant and cause pollutants to "pass-through" the plant untreated, or partially treated, and then be discharged to the Penobscot River. This program is also designed to protect sewer system and plant personnel by controlling and, in some cases, prohibiting the discharge of dangerous wastewater into the sewer system. The United States Environmental Protection Agency recognized the City’s Industrial Pretreatment Program as one of the best in the country in 2002.

Combined Sewer System

Much of the City is served by a combined sewer system that carries both wastewater and storm water. Such systems are frequently found in the Northeast, where sewer systems were first established along streams or drainageways and were designed to carry both storm water and wastewater. In general, such systems are designed to carry a water flow equal to four times the flow experienced in dry weather. When the capacity of the system is exceeded, the system then "overflows" into surface waters such as the Penobscot River and the Kenduskeag Stream.

The City of Bangor is in the final stages of a 15 year, $40 million Combined Sewer Overflow Control program designed to eliminate and/or reduce overflow events. This program has included capacity expansion at our treatment plant to allow more storm water to reach the plant and be treated; sewer separation projects designed to separate sanitary and storm sewers; and the construction of underground storage tanks designed to capture storm flows and allow them to be routed to our treatment plant once the storm peak has passed.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency has recognized the City’s program as the best in the country in both 1996 and 2003.

To learn more about this program, click on the links to the upper right.

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Contacts

To learn more about our wastewater system and the programs and services we offer,

EMAIL US at: wwtp@bangormaine.gov

CALL US at: 207-992-4470
FAX US at: 207-947-3537

WRITE US: at City of Bangor
Wastewater Treatment Plant
760 Main Street
Bangor, ME 04401

VISIT US at: 760 Main Street, Bangor ME 04401

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