The Orono Water Pollution Control Facility is a secondary activated sludge wastewater treatment plant. The original facility was built in 1970 with a design flow capacity of 1.84 million gallons per day. In 2006 the facility was upgraded, to increase capacity, eliminate outdated inefficient processes, provide biological nutrient removal process, make energy conservation improvements, make physical plant improvements, and work continued to eliminate combined sewer overflows.
The Facility treats between 375-450 million gallons of wastewater per year, depending on rainfall amount and serves 1330 users including the University of Maine, the single largest user. Approximately 1200 cubic yards of sludge are removed per year and shipped to Juniper Ridge in Old Town. Operations at the plant consist of laboratory testing, equipment and building maintenance, process control, and solids handling. The facility is staffed with 5 State of Maine licensed operators. Additional responsibilities include maintaining 22 miles of sanitary sewer and 4 pumping stations.