LORAIN — Members of Lorain’s Sewer and Water Advisory Board got an up close look at the city’s wastewater treatment plant during a tour Thursday afternoon.

Superintendent Alex Burki led members through the plant off Alabama Avenue, pointing to areas with upcoming renovations, like renovations to the digester complex and $3 million to recondition aging primary tanks.

“Just flushing it isn’t free, that’s where the process starts,” Burki said. “Getting safe sewage out into the lake takes a lot of time, money and equipment.”

The Black River plant handles an average of 12 million gallons per day, and is designed to handle an average flow of 15 million gallons per day. During storms it can max out at 35 million gallons, Burki said, but some storms have reached rates of 50 million gallons.

The original plant was built in 1954, with another tank added in the early 1970s. The digester, which uses microorganisms to break down organic matter in the sewage, was overhauled in the mid-1990s.