By Heather McDonald

The village of Plover is looking into a newer technology for reducing contaminants in its wastewater, one that could provide additional benefits for the village and its residents.

The Village Board approved contracting with its own engineering company to come up with cost figures for utilizing Clearas, a biological nutrient recovery process that would use algae to reduce phosphorus as well as other contaminants such as nitrates from the water during treatment.

“We will have to do a treatment plant improvement project to remove phosphorus,” Village Administrator Dan Mahoney said. “Village staff has discussed a company that can not only remove the phosphorus that the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is going to require us to remove, but goes above and beyond by removing other contaminants through the same process.”

The new system could also result in a lower rate for utility customers over the long-term, he said.

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