In keeping an eye towards our region’s growth and to serve our customers more effectively and efficiently, construction to expand our Water Treatment Plant (WTP) is wrapping up in the coming weeks. The project, which began in 2020, adds the capacity to treat another 10 million gallons of water per day, allowing us to meet customer demands for years to come. 

GUC’s existing Plant was placed into service in 1983 with a capacity of 12 million gallons per day (mgd). An expansion to the Plant was completed in 2002, resulting in the rated treatment capacity of 22.5 mgd, which has now increased to 32 mgd.

The expansion took place in two sections. On one side of the main Plant building is a new superpulsator clarifier. On the opposite side of the Plant building is an additional chemical storage facility. The following is a brief recap of each new section.

Superpulsator Clarifier
This newer technology called Superpulsator (or “Super P) combines rapid mix, flocculators, and sedimentation into a single tank. Super Ps eliminate the need for additional sludge collection and removal facilities, which take up a lot of space. 

Now that the Super P construction is complete, the Plant can split the water clarification flow from the impoundment. The conventional gravity-fed side will continue handling some of the water intake, while the new Super P will handle the rest.

Chemical Storage Facility 
The new chemical storage facility is located across from the original bulk storage facility, which will remain in place. This building houses the new aluminum sulfate and orthophosphate tanks, while additional sodium hydroxide and sodium hypochlorite tanks were added to the existing building.  

“We’re excited to see this project wrap up,” said WTP Facility Manager Julius Patrick. “We are now one of the few water treatment plants in North Carolina to operate with two different water clarification sections.”