Oldest Town In West Virginia Adopts Modern Wastewater Treatment System

Utilizing the Aqua-Aerobic^® MBR to Meet Chesapeake Bay Initiatives

Along the banks of the Potomac River and nested in the lower Shenandoah Valley, sits the quaint and historical Shepherdstown, the oldest town in West Virginia with nearly 1,200 residents and home to Shepherd University which serves about 4,000 students. The town attracts visitors year-round who come to take in the shops and bistros along German Street and visit the town’s many historical landmarks including the Mecklenburg Tobacco Warehouse. This 1920’s landmark housed the town’s waterworks that supplied water to Shepherdstown residents until the mid ‘70s.

The importance of water led to new developments over the years in treating the town’s wastewater. In 1978, Shepherdstown commissioned its first public sewage treatment plant, an extended aeration system which utilized multiple treatment basins and clarifiers.