EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA · PROJECT
Wastewater Lagoon and Basin Cleanout
4,400 Tons of Sludge Removed From an Aeration Basin Untouched Since 1967
U.S. Waste solidified and hauled 4,400 tons of sludge from a basin four feet deep to a Subtitle D landfill, removed catwalks and a failing concrete skirt, maintained dewatering throughout the project, and left the basin in a clean, reworkable state for relining while the rest of the treatment plant stayed online.
Lagoon & Basin Cleanout Project Overview
An aging wastewater treatment facility in eastern North Carolina sat a couple hundred yards from a river in one of the state's nutrient-sensitive watersheds.
Its aeration basin had been in continuous service for nearly six decades and had never been cleaned out. Sludge had built up across the entire basin, reaching four feet deep in places, and the infrastructure around it was failing.
U.S. Waste walked the basin, developed an approach within minutes, and ran the full scope as one coordinated project: sludge solidification and removal, structural demolition of catwalks and a failing concrete skirt, dewatering maintenance throughout the project, waste characterization, transportation, and disposal documentation. One dedicated project manager backed by an experienced team coordinated every phase from the first site walk to the final load ticket. The crew finished in under six weeks, including time lost to a rain delay, and left the bottom and sides in a clean, reworkable condition ready for relining.
Lagoon & Basin Cleanout Challenges
The basin had been in service since it was constructed in 1967 and had never been cleaned. The floating covers had already been removed and the basin dewatered, exposing the full scope of the problem.
Sludge covered the basin end to end, four feet deep in places, and all of it had to be characterized, solidified, removed, and hauled to a Subtitle D landfill.
Sludge Was Only Half the Problem
A 16-foot-wide concrete skirt poured along the top edge of the basin was cracking and sliding inward.
The soil beneath it had eroded, undermining the slab and accelerating the failure. Old rusted metal catwalks and handrails over the basin also had to come out. Once cleared, the bottom and sides needed to be left in a clean, reworkable condition so the facility could bring in a liner contractor to reline the basin.
The Risk
The facility sits in eastern North Carolina's low-lying coastal plain,
a couple hundred yards from a river.
The original clay liner was aging, and the risk of water escaping the basin was real. A liner failure at that distance from a waterway, in a nutrient-sensitive watershed,
turns an operational problem into an environmental and regulatory one. The facility wanted to get ahead of it, not react to it.
Lagoon & Basin Cleanout Challenges
The basin had been in service since it was constructed in 1967 and had never been cleaned. The floating covers had already been removed and the basin dewatered, exposing the full scope of the problem. Sludge covered the basin end to end, four feet deep in places, and all of it had to be
characterized, solidified, removed, and hauled to a Subtitle D landfill.
The Risk
The facility sits in eastern North Carolina's low-lying coastal plain, a couple hundred yards from a river. The original clay liner was aging, and the risk of water escaping the basin was real. A liner failure at that distance from a waterway, in a nutrient-sensitive watershed, turns an operational problem into an environmental and regulatory one. The facility wanted to get ahead of it, not react to it.
Sludge Was Only Half the Problem
A 16-foot-wide concrete skirt poured along the top edge of the basin was cracking and sliding inward. The soil beneath it had eroded, undermining the slab and accelerating the failure. Old rusted metal catwalks and handrails over the basin also had to come out. Once cleared, the bottom and sides needed to be left in a clean, reworkable condition so the facility could bring in a liner contractor to reline the basin.
OUR APPROACH
Lagoon and Basin Cleanout Process
U.S. Waste project managers walked the basin in its dewatered state and began offering workable solutions within minutes. The team recognized it as a sequencing problem with a clear answer and developed an approach built around safe access and controlled removal.
Dewatering and Solidification
The basin had already been dewatered before U.S. Waste Industries mobilized. Throughout the project, the crew maintained pumps to keep the basin drained as rain pushed water back in. With the basin accessible, the crew started at the perimeter, solidifying and removing material along the edge to establish firm footing. From there, they maintained a continuous wall of solidified sludge that held a clear, stable egress path throughout the job.
Equipment and Execution
A long-reach excavator worked from the top of the bank, reaching over the solidified wall to stabilize wet material on the far side. The basin was too deep from the top of the dike for the long-reach to handle alone, so a standard tracked excavator entered the basin on solidified ground to work the material from inside.
That sequencing is what made the wall method critical: the solidified material had to be firm enough to support a machine working inside the basin. A compact track loader handled grading and material movement along the bank. Haul trucks staged on geotextile-lined pads at the surface received loaded material for transport. The crew pushed the wall forward across the basin, load by load, until they reached a clean bottom all the way across.
Waste Characterization and Disposal
Before any material left the site, the sludge was characterized and profiled to confirm the disposal pathway. Every load was documented with shipping records for transport to a Subtitle D landfill. Dozens of haul truck trips moved 4,400 tons off site.
Site Controls and Plant Continuity
Pumps ran continuously to keep the basin dewatered, especially during rain events that pushed water back into the work area. Erosion and sediment controls stayed in place throughout the project given the proximity to the waterway. Confined space protocols were followed for all work inside the basin. The rest of the treatment plant continued normal operations the entire time.
Structural Work and Relining
With the basin cleared, the scope shifted. The crew removed the rusted catwalks and handrails, demolished and hauled the failing 16-foot concrete skirt, and left the bottom and sides in a clean, reworkable condition ready for the facility's liner contractor. A rain delay hit mid-project. The crew adjusted the schedule and kept the sequence intact.
One Project Manager, Start to Finish
One project manager, backed by an experienced team coordinated every phase from the first site walk to the final load ticket: solidification, equipment mobilization, waste characterization, disposal facility acceptance, hauling logistics, structural demolition, dewatering maintenance, shipping and disposal documentation throughout the project.
Lagoon and Basin Cleanout Project Results
Here's what happened when our team showed up.
4.4K
Tons of Sludge Removed and Hauled to a Subtitle D Landfill
< 6
Amount of Weeks From Mobilization to Final Load Ticket
57
Years of Accumulation Cleared to a Clean Bottom
ZERO
Safety Incidents
Regulatory Violations
Facility
Downtime
The crew cleared the basin to a clean bottom through sludge up to four feet deep, removed rusted catwalks and a failing 16-foot concrete skirt, maintained dewatering throughout rain events, and delivered full disposal documentation from the first load to the last. The basin was left in a clean, reworkable condition ready for relining.
The facility addressed the aging basin and liner conditions before a potential failure created an environmental or regulatory issue.
Lagoon and Basin Project Photo Gallery
Is Your Basin Next?
Wastewater treatment facilities across eastern North Carolina and the broader Southeast operate basins, lagoons, and clarifiers that accumulate sludge over years of service. Many of these systems were built in the 1960s and 1970s and have never been fully cleaned. Aging liners and failing infrastructure quietly become liabilities, especially at facilities near rivers and nutrient-sensitive waterways where a release carries environmental and regulatory consequences.
U.S. Waste plans these projects around safe access and full-scope execution. A facility can dewater a basin, clear it, handle structural demolition, replace a liner, and receive complete disposal documentation in one coordinated project from one project manager, instead of stitching together separate vendors and hoping the paperwork connects.
One Team
Sludge solidification, structural demolition, dewatering maintenance, waste characterization, transportation, disposal documentation, and basin preparation for relining. Most facilities piece this together across three or four contractors. USW runs it as one project with one set of records.
Real People
Your project manager walks the basin, builds the plan, coordinates every phase, and answers when you call. No ticket queues. No automated menus. One vendor who knows your site, your schedule, and where every load went.
We Start First
Deep sludge, failing infrastructure, no obvious access. These are the jobs most teams walk past. U.S. Waste is built for them. We bring a method, not a guess, and we have the equipment and crew to execute it.
Lagoon and Basin Cleanout Services
- Sludge solidification and removal
- Basin and lagoon dewatering
- Floating cover removal
- Waste characterization and profiling
- Disposal documentation and manifests
- Haul truck logistics and transportation
- Structural demolition and removal
- HDPE liner installation
- Side regrading and site restoration
- Confined space operations
- Erosion and sediment controls
If your facility has a basin, lagoon, or clarifier that needs work, start with a quote. One project manager handles the rest.
Request a Quote
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Lagoon Cleanout Services
Basin dewatering, sludge solidification, removal, liner installation, and full disposal documentation nationwide.
