Dunn ensures safe drinking water through new treatment plant
The City of Dunn’s water system includes one conventional treatment plant. It also has valves, hydrants, three elevated storage tanks, one booster pump station, and about 115 miles of pipelines.
The City of Dunn withdraws water from the Cape Fear River and treats this water to federal and state standards using a conventional treatment plant with a capacity of 8.0 million gallons per day (MGD). The City is allowed to withdraw up to 12.0 MGD from the Cape Fear River. Currently, the average daily withdrawal is approximately over 3.0 MGD to meet the demands of the service area.
There is on-site finished water storage at the WTP in two clearwells of 1.0 MGD and 3.0 MGD capacity.
Upgrading an aging plant
The current plant was originally constructed in the 1960s. However, it has since been upgraded and expanded to provide water for an increasing population over time. The plant has reached the end of its expected service life. Therefore, action is required to replace the City’s potable water supply production capability. In addition, the City has become aware that additional potable water is required for surrounding communities to sustain their growth. It is not fully understood to what extent communities need or are willing to share in the cost for these water resources.
Dunn – a regional water provider
Dunn is positioned to be a regional provider due to its ability to from the Cape Fear River. WithersRavenel has been assisting the Town with identifying sites and evaluating the sites to determine feasibility. This process includes analysis of conveyance requirements for those respective locations. We also helped identify appropriate funding mechanisms to help pay for the plant—including USDA. Additionally, we helped develop conceptual planning for the new plant.
WithersRavenel’s involvement
WithersRavenel provided a range of project management, site evaluation, engineering, stakeholder coordination with regional communities, and grant/loan funding services.
Most recently, we have teamed with a partner to relocate the raw water intake electrical controls and replace a 24″ raw water line. This was done as part of a BRIC (Building Resiliency Infrastructure and Communities) application. This was done as part of the risk and resilience funding stream.