Methuen Construction Meets December 31, 2019 Milestone for Substantial Completion of New Treatment Process for Peirce Island Wastewater Treatment Facility

Portsmouth, New Hampshire -- The City of Portsmouth is pleased to report that the general contractor for the Peirce Island Wastewater Treatment Facility Upgrade project, Methuen Construction, met the December 31, 2019 milestone to achieve substantial completion of the Biological Aerated Filter (BAF), the central component of the new wastewater treatment process.  

Methuen Construction completed the necessary work over the holiday period to finish this phase by December 31, 2019 the extended deadline under the Consent Decree that mandates the City’s upgrade of the Peirce Island Wastewater Treatment Facility to secondary treatment.  The City’s consulting engineering firm, AECOM, has confirmed that substantial completion of the BAF has been achieved.   

Start-up operations for the treatment of wastewater through the high-rate treatment technology or BAF, provided by wastewater treatment systems subcontractor Veolia-Kruger, will be ongoing for the next several months with the goal of achieving compliance with permit limits by April 1, 2020, as required by the Consent Decree.  

City Engineer Terry Desmarais said, “The City appreciates the significant effort that Methuen Construction and its subcontractors, including Veolia-Kruger, undertook to complete the required work over the holidays and meet the deadline.  Project work will continue through 2020 as other elements of the upgraded facility and restoration Peirce Island amenities are completed.”