“BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Brunswick County’s Commissioners voted unanimously to approve construction of a low-pressure reverse osmosis plant at the Board’s budget workshop Thursday.

On April 16, the board received a report from CDM Smith, the firm hired to research and review data, conduct pilot tests and consult with experts regarding advanced water treatment methods and the presence of chemicals in the Cape Fear River, from which Brunswick County draws water. CDM Smith recommended low-pressure reverse osmosis (LPRO) as the most efficient and cost effective advanced water treatment addition to the Northwest Water Treatment Plant…

According to a news release, the report from CDM Smith showed that the pilot LPRO system set up at the Northwest Water Treatment Plant removed 45 PFAS compounds to as close to non-detectable limits as possible. In one round of testing, all 45 PFAS compounds were removed to non-detectable levels; in a second round of testing, 44 of 45 PFAS compounds were removed to non-detectable levels. In the testing results, the total sum of 45 perflourinated chemicals was 11 nanograms per liter. All but one of the perflourinated chemicals were not detected in the treated water using the best technology currently available, representatives from CDM Smith told the Commissioners…

Implementation of LPRO is estimated to cost approximately $99 million, with additional operations and maintenance costs of approximately $2.9 million per year.

‘The net present worth, the life cycle cost if you will, of reverse osmosis is almost half of the other [treatment methods and method combinations considered],’ Bill Dowbiggin, Senior Vice President and Senior Environmental Engineer with CDM Smith, told the Commissioners in April.

The release said preliminary design work has begun, with final design work expected to begin in September. The application process for NCDEQ to modify the County’s existing discharge permit began in February, and has proceeded with no ‘red flags’ from regulators. Bidding and construction of the project is expected to begin in June 2019.”

Read the full article by WWAY News