Baltimore Approves $263M Improvements at Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant

Baltimore's spending board approved a $263.5 million contract for improvements at  the Back River Wasterwater Treatment Plant. 

The Board of Estimates awarded a contract to Archer Western Contractors, LLC on Wednesday to build an Enhanced Nutrient Removal Facility at the plant, located at 8201 Eastern Blvd., according to a news release. 

"This project is an integral part of the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Program mandated by the Maryland Department of the Environment," Public Works Director Alfred Foxx said in the news release. "When completed, it will dramatically reduce the nutrients that contribute to algae blooms which reduce the oxygen content in the water and cause fish kills."

Construction on the site will include:

• A pumping station with a 300 million gallon-a-day capacity
• 52 biological filters 
• Roadways
• Underground utilities 
• Modifications to activated plants two and three