GUC’s Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) cleans an average of 9 million gallons of wastewater a day used for residential and industrial purposes before it is released back into the environment. The removed by-products of the treatment process (called biosolids), are then put to good use. We don’t just simply dispose of them, which is more expensive and harmful to the environment. For many years, we spray irrigated these residuals on 274 acres surrounding the treatment plant. The biosolids acted as a soil conditioner to grow coastal Bermuda-Winter Rye grass. Biosolids are an excellent soil conditioner because they are high in nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen--good for land, but bad for rivers. GUC then contracted with a cattle farmer to graze 200 cattle on the grass. The program operated successfully from 1985 to 2005. 

Due to regulatory changes, the WWTP is no longer able to apply biosolids to the land adjacent to the plant. More stringent crop nitrogen limits have resulted in a fifty percent reduction in the volume of biosolids that can be land applied. An analysis determined that it was more cost effective for GUC to construct a dewatering facility at the WWTP. This facility, which was completed in December 2005, reduces the amount of water in the biosolids so they can be transported to a private compost facility in Chatham County.  At the Chatham County facility, the material is mixed with other ingredients to make high quality compost that is sold to landscaping companies.