Operations » Field Operations » Sewer Conveyance (Collection)

Sewer Conveyance (Collection)

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 by the MWA to the community.  A well maintained sewer system ensures that lines do not become blocked, thus risking sewer overflows or backups into residences and businesses.

Wastewater collected through the MWA sewer system reaches the Lower Poplar Street or Rocky Creek Water Reclamation Facilities (for wastewater treatment) via gravity flow and/or pumping stations located in lower elevations.  Together, these two plants have a treatment capacity reaching 42 million gallons per day (MGD).

Currently, there are approximately 1,000 miles of sanitary sewer mains in the MWA system, which includes 55 lift stations to help convey the sewer to the treatment plants.  There are also over 23,600 manholes within the MWA system.  Eight major pumping stations and additional, smaller pumping stations support this collection system.

The 55 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 a 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 the system.  From the inspection of these pipes through the CCTV program, MWA crews are able to develop projects to properly maintain the sewer system.

The MWA treats an average of 36 million gallons of wastewater every day, operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week.