Wastewater

Many of us don't give much thought to the water that flows down the drain - out of sight, out of mind. But, what happens to that water is vital to our health and to the environment.

Similar to our watershed protection initiatives, our wastewater treatment plants play an important role in the cleanliness of our waters. Prior to the construction of treatment plants, raw sewage polluted our waters and negatively impacted wildlife and the environment.

The Portland Water District operates and maintains four wastewater treatment plants and provides wastewater services to Cape Elizabeth, Cumberland, Gorham, Portland, Westbrook, and Windham. These plants treat wastewater and produce two environmentally friendly end products, clean water and biosolids. The clean water is safely released into our waters and the biosolids (wastewater solids), or sludge, is treated and recycled as an inexpensive fertilizer for farmers.