ORLANDO, Fla., Oct. 14, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The upgrade and expansion of the Massaponax Wastewater Treatment Plant in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, was completed in October 2025. PENETRON ADMIX SB, a crystalline waterproofing admixture, was specified to protect the new reinforced concrete structures of the plant's treatment tanks from exposure to chemical attack.
The Spotsylvania Towne Centre, site of the Massaponax Wastewater Treatment Plant, is located in Spotsylvania County, adjacent to Fredericksburg, and the most populated county in Virginia with about 150,000 residents. The city of Fredericksburg is located only 48 miles (77 km) south of Washington, D.C., and 53 miles (85 km) north of Richmond, Virginia, and was a prominent riverport during the colonial era and the site of two battles during the Civil War – as it was situated halfway between the capitals of the opposing armies. Today, this city of about 28,000 is a popular tourist attraction, featuring the well-known battlefield park, a historic downtown with museums, art shops, galleries, other historical sites, and Central Park, the second-largest mall on the East Coast of the US.
Due to the insufficient treatment capacity and age of Fredericksburg's wastewater treatment plant, only some of its wastewater could be treated locally. The city had contracted with the Massaponax facility in neighboring Spotsylvania County to treat the remaining wastewater. The city's influent pump station was also rebuilt to facilitate sending wastewater to Massaponax.
"Because a decision was needed regarding where the remaining wastewater should be treated in the future, Fredericksburg officials opted to invest in the rebuilding – and expansion – of the Spotsylvania County facility," says Richard Farmer, Eastern Region Sales Manager for Penetron USA.
As a result, all flows from the Fredericksburg Wastewater Treatment Facility and the county's FMC Wastewater Treatment Plant are now forwarded for treatment to the newly expanded and upgraded Massaponax plant. The city's plant and the FMC plant will be decommissioned.
Constructed before 1980 and recently upgraded in 2001, the Massaponax Wastewater Treatment Plant is an Enhanced Nutrient Removal (ENR) facility. Before the most recent upgrade, it had the capacity to treat 9.4 million gallons per day (MGD) of raw wastewater – enough to process effluent from both the Fredericksburg and the FMC plants. For the long term, capacity could even be expanded to process up to 32 MGD.
The Massaponax aeration systems were upgraded and expanded to increase capacity from a rated average dry weather flow (ADF) of 9.4 MGD to 13.4 MGD, and from a peak hydraulic flow (PHF) of 25.4 MGD to a peak equalized forward flow of 34.0 MGD, including the addition of post-anoxic tanks. The project also entailed the construction of the diffuser system to deliver sufficient air flow, blowers to deliver the air, and implementation of a control program to enable tandem operation of both the blowers and aeration systems.
The durability of concrete treatment tanks in wastewater treatment plants depends primarily on protecting the imbedded reinforcement steel from corrosion. Without an adequately durable waterproofing solution, hydrogen sulfide, sulfate and chloride attack, cracking, and the overall corrosive environment of the effluent and treatment chemicals can cause rapid concrete deterioration.
Chaney Enterprises, the ready-mix concrete supplier, added PENETRON ADMIX SB as a permeability-reducing admixture to over 8,000 yds3 (6,120 m3) of concrete used for all cast on-site structures for the expanded Massaponax plant.
"In addition to the success of similar wastewater treatment plant projects up and down the East Coast, considerations of our convenient soluble bag packaging, and immediate availability won the approval of O'Brien and Gere Engineering, the project engineers, for Penetron," Richard Farmer added.
The Penetron Group is a leading manufacturer of specialty construction products for concrete waterproofing, concrete repairs, and floor preparation systems. The Group operates through a global network, offering support to the design and construction community through its regional offices, representatives, and distribution channels.
For more information on Penetron waterproofing solutions, please visit penetron(dot)com or Facebook(dot)com/ThePenetronGroup, email CRDept(at)penetron(dot)com or contact the Corporate Relations Department at 631-941-9700.
Media Contact
Corporate Relations, The Penetron Group, 631-941-9700, [email protected], www.penetron.com
SOURCE The Penetron Group
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