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MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS | Northwest Metro Wastewater Expansion Would Raise Capacity From 43 Million to 67 Million Gallons a Day
Metropolitan Council proposal would replace a Brooklyn Park lift station with a larger facility across the Mississippi River in Fridley as the region prepares for future population growth
BROOKLYN PARK, MN (September 9, 2026). A major piece of wastewater infrastructure serving the northwest Twin Cities could be substantially expanded under a Metropolitan Council proposal that would replace an existing Brooklyn Park lift station with a larger facility across the Mississippi River in Fridley.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency announced Tuesday that it has extended the public-comment period on the Metropolitan Council Environmental Services proposal through October 12, giving residents and other interested parties additional time to weigh in on the project.
The existing Brooklyn Park lift station is permitted to process up to 43 million gallons of wastewater per day.
The proposed Fridley facility would have permitted capacity of as much as 67 million gallons per day, an increase of 24 million gallons.
That amounts to an approximately 56% increase in permitted daily capacity.
The MPCA says the additional capacity is intended to accommodate future population growth in the northwest metropolitan area.
Under the proposal, Metropolitan Council Environmental Services would construct the new lift station along the Mississippi River in Fridley and decommission the existing facility on the Brooklyn Park side of the river.
The project would also rehabilitate the wastewater pipes crossing the Mississippi River between the two communities.
Lift stations are a critical part of regional sewer infrastructure because wastewater cannot always move through the system by gravity alone. The facilities move wastewater between different elevations so it can continue through the collection and treatment system.
The proposed facility would also contain monitoring equipment, odor-control equipment and backup power intended to maintain operations during power interruptions.
The scale of the proposed capacity increase provides another measure of the infrastructure planning accompanying continued growth in the northwest metro.
Brooklyn Park and communities farther north and west have experienced substantial residential and commercial development, placing long-term demands not only on roads, schools and public safety services but also on water and wastewater systems that are less visible to residents.
The Metropolitan Council operates the regional wastewater system serving much of the Twin Cities metropolitan area through Metropolitan Council Environmental Services.
The proposed Fridley station would therefore serve a regional function rather than operate solely as municipal infrastructure for either Fridley or Brooklyn Park.
Its location along the Mississippi River also places the proposal within the state's environmental permitting process.
The MPCA's review gives the public an opportunity to examine and comment on the proposed project before the permitting process moves forward.
The agency's decision to extend the comment period means written comments will now be accepted through October 12.
The proposal does not mean the Brooklyn Park facility's current 43-million-gallon daily limit is being exceeded. Rather, Metropolitan Council Environmental Services is seeking substantially greater capacity as it plans for future population and wastewater demand across the northwest metro.
If approved and ultimately constructed, the project would shift an important component of the regional wastewater network from Brooklyn Park to Fridley while retaining and rehabilitating the pipeline connection across the Mississippi River.
For communities experiencing continued development, the project represents the kind of infrastructure expansion that often has to occur years before future population growth reaches the levels for which the system is being designed.
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