Wastewater Management

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Preserving the Legacy of 2000-2003
Wastewater Management

NOTICE: During the heavy rains in the summer of 2000, the Wastewater Plant ran critically near capacity. We sent a letter with your 2000 Final Tax Bill and enacted a voluntary ban on all sewer connections. During the heavy rains in May and June of 2003 the Wastewater Plant also ran critically near capacity.

In the spring of 2002, you may have noticed several white trucks working in the town. They belong to our contractor, Pipelining Products, and they are repairing 56 manholes with substantial leaks. The process involves drilling holes through the leaking manholes and pumping an expandable grout through that hole. The grout finds the path of the water leaking into the structure and seals it. Then the manholes were resurfaced with a concrete material to make sure leaks can not find another entry.


	This aerial photo looks east. Valley Road is to the left and the Passaic River is to the right. Click for a larger image.

The Township manages wastewater (sewage) at a Treatment Plant built in the 1930s and enlarged in 1975, 1984 and 1991. The plant is now licensed to process 900,000 gallons of wastewater per day, and is currently operating at about 85% of that permitted limit.

Approximately 88% of the town's residential housing units and nearly 100% of the commercial/industrial sites are connected to the sewer system. The Master Plan (1995) discourages further expansion of the sewer treatment plant and sewer line extensions, except to reach areas of significant septic dysfunction.

The sewage treatment plant operates under Federal and State regulations for a plant located on "F3 waters". That means the discharge has got to be clean enough that it does not harm the fish life in the Passaic River.

Residents pay for Sewage Treatment through their Annual Sewer Tax.

Please do not put disposable diapers, baby wipes, paper towels and feminine hygene products or plastic applicators into the sewer system. They do not dissolve or break down, they clog up the pumps, and they have to be removed during processing. This results in added cost to the Township.

Guidelines for reducing pollution in our environment are located on our Environmental Commission page.

Aerial picture of Sewage Treatment Plant

This is an oxidation ditch. Click for a larger image.

This is a final clarifier. Click for a larger image.

Follow the pipe for more pictures.

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.

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.

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