WCSA’s request for a special-exception permit was recently approved by the Washington County Board of Supervisors. The permit is one of many steps in a process for potentially building a new wastewater treatment plant in the county.
Several potential expansion options have been offered for providing additional capacity to meet an anticipated need for 1.5 million gallons per day over the next 40 years. Three of those solutions include expanding capacity with the Town of Abingdon, with which WCSA has an agreement to handle 1 million gallons per day. Another suggested option is to expand capacity with BVU Authority, with which WCSA has an agreement to handle 572,000 gallons per day. The third option is to build another plant.
WCSA is currently considering a site along Bordwine Road for the potential treatment plant. If constructed, the proposed plant would initially provide another half-million gallons per day, and could later be expanded to provide 1.5 million gallons per day. It is estimated that the necessary permits from the Department of Environmental Quality will be received by the end of 2015, while it may take up to two years to complete design work and obtain the required financing for the plant project. In the meantime, WCSA continues to work with the Town of Abingdon and BVU Authority to explore the other suggested options.