Like many utilities, the City of Maryville has been attacking inflow and infiltration through sewer rehabilitation for many years and enjoying robust growth, further enhanced by post-COVID immigration to the area. This combination, along with water efficient appliances, means their wastewater has been strengthening faster relative to flows and the plant is reaching or exceeding capacity sooner than expected. Operators have done well to implement operational procedures to manage the elevated plant loadings, however, at peak flows there have been compliance issues that are unacceptable. An expansion was needed, and the City partnered with Jacobs to identify the right path forward among the many possible choices, each with their own set of benefits and challenges. Finding the preferred defensible solution is a process. This presentation will present the process of evaluating the plant, the options for expansion that were identified, and the selection of the preferred alternative. The plant evaluation portion of this effort included several steps. First, flows and loads data for a period of 10 years was collected and evaluated to identify current year conditions and to establish a baseline for developing 20 year future growth estimates. Next, the existing plant was evaluated using a whole plant biological process model to assess each process’s capacity relative to current loads, identifying those with limitations. Third, considering the future flow and load estimates and anticipated future compliance limits, the universe of available solutions for expanded liquids and solids treatment were screened, and then shortlisted, to identify realistic alternatives. The shortlisted alternatives were then developed, sizing processes for the projected future conditions, to include development of conceptual layouts and life-cycle cost estimates for each. With this information, the City was in a position to evaluate each alternative and make a selection of the preferred alternative. The process for selecting the preferred alternative is an evaluation that scores each alternative relative to non-monetary and monetary factors. Non-monetary attributes answer the questions “what plant do we want to own and operate?” and “does this put us in the best position for the future?”. Examples of non-monetary attributes are operational complexity, expandability, and proven technology. The City developed the list of non-monetary factors and their associated weighting as well as the overall weighting between non-monetary and monetary categories. Non-monetary scores for each alternative are assigned first, so that monetary information does not bias the scoring. The scores are then combined to identify the alternative with the highest overall score. With this information, Maryville selected their preferred alternative for expanding the plant, a decision that has a sound basis and is defensible to City leadership, regulators, and rate payers.