Portfolio Helene Emergency Response Services

• Significant Flooding Damage: The Town of Spruce Pine’s wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) faced severe flooding from Hurricane Helene, leading to power loss, damage to essential components like the electrical room, one of the clarifiers, the chlorine room, and the rotating screen at the headworks.
• Assessment and Immediate Plan: WithersRavenel, along with contractor partners, quickly assessed the damage. They decided a complete rehabilitation would take too long and proposed a plan to restore temporary plant operations through critical repairs and temporary improvements, such as minor repairs to Clarifier I, structural improvements to Clarifier 2, replacing key electrical components, rehabbing the rotating screen, and building a temporary discharge.
• Swift Restoration: The WWTP was operational within eight weeks after the storm. Temporary mobile WWTP units were procured to ensure essential services like schools and a state prison could reopen during the interim period.

Following the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, the Town of Spruce Pine reached out to WithersRavenel for assistance in restoring wastewater collection and treatment infrastructure. The Town’s WWTP experienced significant flooding, resulting in:

• Power loss through complete destruction of service to site
• Electrical room filled with floodwaters, leaving 18 inches of silt and preventing operation of all parts of the plant, even after power was restored
• One of two clarifiers being undermined on one side due to wash out under the structure
• Destruction of chlorine room and chlorine contact chamber
• Destruction of rotating screen at headworks and debris/silt filling the headworks channel after flooding

WithersRavenel, in collaboration with multiple contractor partners, assessed the site within days after the storm event. Due to the extent of the damage, it was determined that a complete rehabilitation of plant infrastructure would require months of construction, thereby prolonging the restoration of plant operations for an unacceptable period of time.

Instead, WithersRavenel formulated a plan for restoring temporary plant operations by rehabilitating key plant elements and reconstructing temporary improvements. The plan involves:

• Restoring use of Clarifier I for clarification via minor repairs
• Performing structural foundation improvements to Clarifier 2 and repurposing the tank to be used for chlorine contact/ dechlorination
• Replacing key electrical components required to power site
• Rehabbing the rotating screen by replacing key parts
• Building a temporary HDPE discharge out of Clarifier 2

The WWTP was back online within eight weeks of the storm event. In the interim, we located and helped the Town quickly procure two mobile WWTP units to place at key locations, allowing for the reopening of multiple schools and a state prison.