Abandoned wastewater treatment for Dow AFB Housing (Capehart) | Bangor

On August 1st, 1964, Bangor town manager proposed a cleanup project that would help turn the Kenduskeag stream from an open pit sewer into a stream again, with the help of some Air Force infrastructure; this included connecting a Dow AFB's sewage treatment plant to the rest of the system -- that would service a big chunk of the west side of Bangor. 

The proposal to connect the Air Force waste water treatment facility to the rest of the city's system gave a project start date of 1965, local records indicate the sites inclusion in the city's sewer system in 1973 and then the sale of the facility itself in 1980. Connecting this facility to the rest of the city's system did help to clean up the Kenduskeag significantly, but nobody has done anything with the site since 1980. Save for some creative redecorating. 

 

Nestled in a wooded area, far past the end of a subdivision road that goes nowhere, lay the ruins of Dow AFB's wastewater treatment area. Built in the mid 1950s to manage waste from adjacent Air Force housing, and connected to the rest of the city's systems in the early 1970s to address concerns of rising pollution in the Penobscot river and surround bodies of water (and to 'help' the City of Bangor build a 400 acre park along the banks of the Kenduskeag), the facility stands disused and hidden among brush today.

Major investments were made as late as 1973, when the city connected the facility to the rest of the sewer; the project had a price tag of $2m (downgraded from $2.5m in 1971)...which, adjusted for inflation would be $10,643,828 in 2014 dollars. However, that figure also includes all of the other "interceptor" lines, a system of which this site was only a part.

The facility's connection to the rest of the city's sewer system was a result of national pressure to meet anti-pollution standards as early as 1971; and honestly, the Kenduskeag stream was quite literally full of shit prior to these improvements. Neighboring towns even wanted to pay to use the facility, and records show that by 1978, the plant was still in use.

Not surprisingly, it had its origins (much like many other neat things standing around here...) as an Air Force related facility from back when Uncle Sam turned some of the swamps on the city limits into 530 units of Air Force housing back in 1963. The facility was built to handle waste from airmen and their families. I reached out to a local who had been a student studying wastewater treatment at Eastern Maine Community College (then EMVTI) in the late 1970s. This was their response:

"Actually, our class toured it several years after it was shut down. The instructor we had who gave us the tour used to work there as an operator in the air force. It was owned and operated by the air force, as it’s function was to treat the sewage outflow from the Capehart Housing development. (which was Air Force housing for airmen and their families ) The treatment plant was built long before 1973, I think in the 50’s. I visited there in the spring of 1979, and it was long abandoned then. You could still see the large “clarifier” tank, and the pumps and valves in the “control house”.

An interceptor line was installed when the city sewer system was extended to that area, MAYBE that’s the 1973 date that you found."

 - Local man who toured the area as a student, in 1979.

The site in the early 2000s.

A treatment pit -- Early 2000s

 According to this article from February 25th, 1971, this secondary treatment site was designed to disinfect water after it had been processed by the primary system. It even got increased federal funding that year for some retrofitting thanks to Senators Muskie and Chase-Smith.

"Secondary treatment would remove the remaining bacteria from sewer water. This is accomplished by several systems, the addition of chemicals and air bubbles being two of them....completion of the secondary treatment system will bring the Penobscot River up to a "B" classification, safe for swimming."

-Bangor Daily News

"Bangor Must Build Secondary Sewage Treatment Facility by the end of 1974"

Appearing February 21st, 1971

As soon as 1972, local media was already hypothesizing about how cleaning up the area could help revitalize it. And even copy from 1973 reported that the project was going well and also indicated the presence of a 'collection terminal' near an I-95 overpass, proximate to the Kenduskeag stream. The project was finished by late November/early December of 1973. The facility was designed to take waste from the area of Broadway and Ohio street and process them, rather than letting them drain into the Kenduskeag.

In the photo above, you can see construction crews on State St in Bangor working to connect the "interceptor" line facility to the rest of the system in February of 1973. In the photo below, you can see crews working farther up toward the Kenduskeag treatment facility.

Less than ten years after the $2m investment, in 1981, the Bangor Daily News ran an advertisement indicating that the facility was to be sold.

 

The only thing that looks like it's been done since the time it was sold off is the demolition of an 800 square foot concrete office building shell.  All that is left now are the concrete treatment areas, a few building shells and the rusting steel roof of one of the facilities' tanks.

Site photos from 2000's credited to ue-bangor.tripod.com. For more information, please visit their site. 

Update: 04/24/13

I had contacted Bangor's old civil engineer, he was gracious enough to send a reply. I'm scrubbing name and contact information, as I felt guilty about looking him up to bother him with my weird curiosities.

 "Yes, that water treatment plant was constructed to serve the so-called Old Capehart housing project, located south of the Davis Road. I believe that your dates of 1962-63 are probably correct.  At that time, that area was not served by the City sewer system, which did not extend much beyond Griffin Road.  At about the same time, we were just in the process of building Bangor's wastewater treatment on lower Main Street, and extending interceptor sewers up along the river; all of Bangor's public and private sewers were still dumping into Kenduskeag Stream and thePenobscot River untreated. It wasn't until the mid-70's that the interceptors were finally extended up the stream, first to Griffin Road, and a short time later to the Capehart plant.  The City had taken over the Capehart housing by then, and didn't want to have to continue the operation of the Capehart plant. In fact, when all the interceptors were in place, we were able to increase the sewered area of the City by 40%, including the Bangor Mall - Hogan Road area, and many of the new outlying residential areas. "

Update: 04/29/2013

It is important to note that the sewer interceptor project was a significant factor in cleaning up the Penobscot. The Capehart facility is just one piece of a puzzle that did a great service to this area.

Photos sourced from ue-bangor.tripod.com -- the site is currently posted no trespassing.