Departments
Sewerage Conveyance
The Sewer Conveyance System of the MWA carries sanitary sewage through a series of pipes throughout Macon and Bibb County, to the Authority's two water reclamation facilities at Lower Poplar Street and Rocky Creek.
Often overlooked by many people, sewer conveyance is one of the most important services offered in the community. A well maintained sewer system ensures that lines do not become blocked, risking sewer overflows or back ups into residences and businesses.
Wastewater collected through the MWA sewerage system gravity flows or is pumped to either the Lower Poplar Street or Rocky Creek Water Reclamation or Water Pollution Control Facilities. Together, these two plants have a treatment capacity reaching 42 million gallons per day (MGD).
Currently, there are approximately 900 miles of sanitary sewer mains in the MWA system, which includes 52 lift stations to help convey the sewer to the treatment plants.
There are also with over 20,000 manholes within the MWA system. Six major pumping stations and additional smaller pumping stations support this collection system.
Most of the sewer mains installed prior to the 1960's were constructed of concrete and clay pipe. Mains made out of these materials have deteriorated over time and have allowed root intrusion and water infiltration into our system. The Authority is currently funding a number of projects designed to reline manholes and sewer mains. These relining projects actually involve procedures to install new pipe liners inside of the old existing pipes. This procedure reduces the probability of pipe degradation and root intrusion.
The 52 lift stations facilitating sewer collection are all connected to a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system. The SCADA system includes a network of alarms connecting the lift station to our 24-hour service desk, which will alert personnel when there are electrical power outages or other problems needing immediate maintenance attention. Signals are sent from each lift station to the central plant through radio antennas, which are located at each of the lift station sites.
The MWA also has two Closed Circuit TV (CCTV) crews to take video pictures of the interior condition of pipes in our system. From the inspection of these pipes through the CCTV program, we are able to develop projects to properly maintain our system.
The MWA treats an average of 36 million gallons of wastewater every day, operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Maintenance and Construction
As one might expect, a system this large and complex needs a lot of maintenance. To accomplish this, the sewer conveyance department has two combination vacuum/jetter trucks that can either pump out sewers or clean them with high-pressure water. The Authority also operates two jetter trucks, which only have the capacity to clean.
The MWA has sub-divided Bibb County into a total of 18 basins/sub-basins for cleaning and maintenance purposes. There are four crews that spend each day cleaning the basins. Basins have been prioritized based on the condition of the pipe and the number of problems in the past, so the Authority can establish a daily cleaning program for each of these 18 basins.
The Authority's master plan of capital improvements has a long-term goal to provide sewer connections and conveyance for the entire city of Macon and Bibb County, making it one of the few systems in the state to provide such comprehensive access to sewer services.
For more information on the Sewer Conveyance System at the MWA, please contact Ray Shell at (478) 464-5637.