In 2021, GUC got a new addition to our Water Resources systems – the Town of Bethel’s water and wastewater facilities. Under the agreement, the City of Greenville owns the systems, while GUC is responsible for the operation and maintenance (the April 2021 Spotlight story can be found here). Our Water Resources Department has since put a lot of work into improving the Bethel systems, and the most recent project is wrapping up soon.  

Improvements to the two systems are being managed by GUC using $4.5 million in grants awarded by the State of North Carolina. Part of the grant money was used to study the feasibility of GUC taking ownership and making system improvements.  

Water System Improvement Update
The first big improvement project is almost complete, and it includes the town’s one elevated storage tank along with a chemical building and emergency groundwater well, both located on the premises of the tank.  

The elevated water tank, located behind The Dollar General in Bethel, needed a mixer to improve water quality within the tank.  Mixers minimize or eliminate biofilm growth by continuously circulating the water, which in turn minimizes disinfectant demand. A mixer was added into the tank as the first step in this project. 

Next was the addition of a new pump for the underground well, which serves as an emergency backup if the main drinking water supply is cut off.  

The largest part of this improvement project was the construction of a new chemical feed building that replaced a small brick hut, along with new site piping and electrical improvements. The new building has four rooms that include a chlorine feed room, ammonia feed room, remote lab for water quality testing, and an electrical room.  

The new chemical feed equipment is two-pronged. It feeds chemicals to the elevated water tank when a boost is needed and can also feed chemicals to the well water supply when it is in operation. The chemical injection point and meter, previously located in an underground vault, was also brought above ground into a newly constructed enclosure. 

What’s Next? 
While the water system improvement projects are wrapping up, our Water Resources staff are preparing to begin construction soon with the wastewater system improvements project. We will continue to share updates and construction photos in Spotlight as the project moves along.