Mar. 31--With the possible exception of his plentiful Penn State paraphernalia, Steve Douglas' office looks like any other manager's -- spacious, with seating for guests, a desk, a flat-screen monitor, windows.

But step outside, take a deep breath, and you might notice the difference.

"We're not going into that building," he said, pointing to the headworks facility at the York City Wastewater Treatment Plant during a February tour. "You'd have to change clothes."

Douglas, a mustachioed man in his mid-50s, is the general manager at the roughly 50-acre plant, which serves sewer users from York City, North York and West York boroughs, Spring Garden Township and parts of Manchester, West Manchester, Springettsbury and York townships.

Where it goes: When wastewater flows into the

plant through a 72-inch main, it contains everything that was flushed or drained out of sewer customers' homes or businesses, including solids, Douglas said.

By the time it's discharged as clean effluent into the Codorus Creek, the water has been pushed through multiple filtration processes, screened by helpful bacteria and pounded by disinfecting UV rays, among many other steps.

The plant is in the midst of costly upgrades -- some to upgrade outdated equipment, some to bring the facility into compliance with tightened federal standards for the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The city and its sewer authority understand the effect such big-ticket fixes have on customers, Douglas said, but

they are "no-frill projects" necessary to keep the plant current technologically.

"We're aware of the impact that (upgrades) have on the rate payers," he said.

The York City Council earlier this year approved a 50-cent sewer rental increase per 1,000 gallons used per month.

The average sewer customer uses about 6,000 gallons monthly, York City Business Administrator Michael O'Rourke has said. That translates to a sewer bill of about $39 a month.

The plant is saving where it can, having become as automated as possible during Douglas' three decades there. A staff of 72 has been cut through attrition to about 30 full-time employees, thanks largely to developing technology.

Complex: The process might seem fairly straightforward -- dirty, gritty water goes in; clean water comes out -- but the liquid's route through the plant is almost unapproachably complicated.

And it is, at moments, very serious business. Before beginning the tour in February, and before taking a single question, Douglas said he wanted to make one thing very clear for readers:

Sewer customers must stop pouring grease into kitchen drains.