While working with the PST+ strain, we observed that high P biomass would settle out of culture much faster than the wild type. Settling velocity is a key variable for biological phosphorus recovery, as it determines the size and throughput of the flocculation tank for dewatering (Figure ). To observe this phenomenon qualitatively, we performed a 96-well plate based settling assay. As depicted in Figure , cells settling in a dome shaped well create a pellet of high absorbance biomass when observed from below. By monitoring this increase in absorbance over time and normalizing to the absorbance of a fully settled pellet, changes in settling velocity can be compared between strains. We observed a trend across 36 replicates (wells) of faster settling rate and increased final settled percentage within the first 30 minutes (Figure ).