History of WPC

It can be said that Huntsville's wastewater treatment system is itself a "baby boomer".  Public wastewater treatment plants were first built in Huntsville in the period of high growth following World War II.

Public sewers had been around in Huntsville for many years prior.  These sewers did not transport sewage to treatment plants for cleaning and disinfection, however.  There were no treatment facilities.

Instead, sewers emptied directly into ditches and streams.

In the Baby Boom period following the war, the City initiated a major wastewater collection treatment system improvement program.  In 1957, a site on Spring Branch was selected for Huntsville’s first wastewater treatment facility.  This facility would treat wastewater from the main downtown area.  The facility, named Huntsville Sewer Plant No. 1, was constructed in 1959.  It could initially treat up to 10 million gallons per day (MGD) of Huntsville’s wastewater.  This treatment facility is now known as the Spring Branch Wastewater Treatment Plant, and can treat an average of 41 million gallons of wastewater per day.

Huntsville did not stop the improvements with that project.  In 1960, the City started a project to build sewers along Aldridge Creek, to serve the Jones Valley area.  A pump station moved the wastewater to a new facility for treatment.  In the mid-1960’s, plans were developed for a new facility, the South Huntsville Wastewater Treatment Plant.  This facility was designed to initially treat 300,000 gallons of wastewater per day.  This facility is now known as the Aldridge Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, and can treat an average of 8.4 million gallons of wastewater per day.

Today, Huntsville's wastewater collection and treatment system serves over 60,000 sewer customers.
The system consists of:

• 6 wastewater treatment plants, capable of treating nearly 80 million gallons of wastewater per day;

• 1,300 miles of underground sewer pipes
  (ranging from 8 inches to 78 inches in diameter);

• 33,000 manholes
  (to access the system for maintenance);

• 57 pumping stations.