St. Joe – Spencerville Regional Sewer District Launches Major Wastewater Infrastructure Project

On Sept. 4, 2025, the St. Joe–Spencerville Regional Sewer District hosted a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of a major wastewater treatment plant improvement project. This project represents a vital investment in public health and environmental protection.

The St. Joe – Spencerville Regional Sewer District’s Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) was originally constructed in the mid-1990s with one extended aeration packaged treatment plant housed in a steel tank. The plant was expanded in 2002 with the addition of a second packaged plant. Over the past two decades, the steel tanks and access platforms have experienced significant corrosion. The west wall of
the south package plant failed and was replaced with a concrete wall. The tanks can no longer be fully emptied for maintenance or repairs because the walls of the steel tank bow inward from the external pressure of soil and groundwater, creating a dangerous situation for plant staff and a risk of catastrophic failure of the tanks. The mechanical equipment used for the treatment process has also reached or exceeded its useful life, and multiple pieces of equipment failed during the planning and design process. The plant also received a new effluent limit on its NPDES permit and is under a schedule of compliance to make improvements to the plant to meet the new limit.

Due to the significant deterioration of the existing WWTP facilities and interconnected layout of packaged plant systems, the plant must be replaced almost in its entirety. The project includes demolition of the existing packaged wastewater treatment plants and construction of new concrete extended aeration tanks and equipment, secondary clarifiers, a UV disinfection system, aerobic digesters, blowers, and a generator. This project replaces aging infrastructure and will ensure safe, reliable wastewater treatment for the community well into the future. The project will also allow the plant to meet new effluent limits that have been added to its NPDES permit.

The total cost of the project is $7,300,000. The project is being funded with a $750,000 grant from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) and a loan from the State Revolving Fund. By replacing facilities that have reached the end of their useful life, the District will continue to reliably meet state and federal permit requirements while supporting growth in the community.