New machinery will allow the Blue Ridge Wastewater Treatment Facility to “handle any future growth,” said the plant’s superintendent, James Weaver.
Mayor Rhonda Haight, council member Christy Kay and State Representative Johnny Chastain cut the ribbon on the city’s Waste Water Treatment Facility after it received several major upgrades.
“The project will directly benefit our citizens for generations to come,” Haight said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Haight praised those who helped build and maintain the plant, as well as those who otherwise made the construction possible.
The city spent $5 million on the upgrades, Haight said.
Most of the money came from a $4.25 million loan at a 2.34 percent interest rate to be paid back over 25 years, Haight said.
The rest came from a $750,000 grant with a 15 percent principal forgiveness, she added.
“That sounds like a sound use of taxpayer money to me,” she said.
For a city like Blue Ridge, a functioning wastewater facility is essential. Waste has to go somewhere.
“This plant works like the human body,” said Weaver. “We’re just speeding up nature.
The upgrades were badly needed, Weaver said. The original plant was built in 1998, and some of its machinery parts were no longer available.
“This will increase our sludge processing and capacity by 50 percent,” he said.
Staff sometimes had to hand-clean grates that separated waste.
The plant’s new systems have remote monitoring technology for environmental regulation compliance, an improved bar screen to clear out solid waste, a new de-watering press for wastewater sludge, Weaver said.
“It got us by, but barely,” he said of the plant’s old equipment.
The plant’s new systems can purify water for up to 2,400 households, Utilities Director Rebecca Harkins said.
This number is about twice the number of households Blue Ridge has now.
After it has been purified, the plant releases its water into Dry Creek, a primary trout stream. This fact means the plant must meet high standards for water purity, Weaver said.