Brunswick County’s Northwest Water Treatment Plant’s new low-pressure reverse osmosis system is expected to be operational by year’s end.
The project’s surety, in this case Zurich American Insurance Co. and Federal Insurance Co., and contractor Oscar Renda Construction anticipate that expanded water treatment capacity at the plant will be available this month, according to a county update.
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County officials do not expect the original price of construction, $167.3 million, to change, despite project delays.
Crews have wrapped up work on a new rapid mix structure where raw water will be quickly blended with coagulant chemicals in a process that neutralizes particle charge before moving to the next step of treatment.
Other upgrades that are now complete include the super pulsator clarifier, which combines the process of flocculation, or gentle stirring to combine small neutral-charged particles into larger particles, and clarification functions in one basin; and the addition of eight new dual media filters and backwash equalization tank.
The upgraded treatment system will remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, including GenX, and 1,4-dioxane from the plant’s water source, the Cape Fear River. The plant’s capacity is being doubled from 24 million gallons per day to 48 million gallons per day.
“Brunswick County will continue to take all actions necessary to protect the best interests of our residents, who have waited far too long for a solution to remove PFAS from our drinking water,” county officials said in a release. “Brunswick County will provide another update on the latest project milestones in the coming months.“
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