The City of Oak Ridge broke ground Wednesday on its new water treatment plant, which could cost $78.3 million.
The new plant will use a technology known as ultrafiltration membranes, a type of purification that uses very fine membranes. It will be along the Clinch River at the city’s water intake off Pumphouse Road south of Bethel Valley Road.
“This plant provides every drop of water to our 31,000 residents from Elza Gate on the east, to the Preserve on the west, and to all (U.S. Department of Energy) facilities, most notably Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Security Complex, which will soon include the new Uranium Processing Facility,†said Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch. “Our new plant will produce high-quality drinking water and deliver it through new pipelines more reliably and efficiently than current operations.â€
The current water plant was built in 1943 on a ridge above what is now the Y-12 National Security Complex.
“This location has become untenable long-term due to erosion along the ridgeline,” Oak Ridge Public Works Director Patrick Berge said in an October 10 memo to City Manager Mark Watson. There was a landslide near the access road to that water plant in February 2019.
DOE owned and operated the existing water treatment plant at its Y-12 facility and sold water to the City of Oak Ridge for distribution to Oak Ridge residents and businesses. On May 1, 2000, ownership of the water treatment facility was transferred to the City of Oak Ridge.
“The replacement of the 80-year-old conventional treatment plant will allow the city to keep up with its growth and treat up to 12 million gallons of water per day while also meeting critical water demands for the Department of Energy for its long-term operation of world-leading research and manufacturing in the Oak Ridge area,” the municipal government said in a press release.
The city will use funding from the State of Tennessee Revolving Loan Fund and Environmental Protection Agency’s Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA).
“The EPA has provided $21 million in loans as the smallest of the large cities in the first round of WIFIA funding,†Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said in the press release. “Congressman Chuck Fleischmann has helped with additional federal funding in an anticipated $8.5 million.â€
The city said the Oak Ridge Public Works and Finance departments have been instrumental in developing a plan to replace the existing 1943 plant.
Besides the plant itself, other parts of the project include construction of raw water intake pumps, traveling screens, a finished water pump station, and water pipelines as well as the rehabilitation of the existing finished water tanks, the press release said.
Jacobs Engineering Group designed the new plant and will also be involved in construction administration. On Monday, October 10, Oak Ridge City Council approved contracting with Bowen Engineering Corporation for the construction project.
“Public Works Department water plant and operations employees are charged with maintaining the system and ensuring a safe and sufficient supply of water will be delivered to its customers,†Oak Ridge Berge said in the press release. “This new plant is going to be crucial in making sure we’re able to continue to do that, and today’s groundbreaking was the first step in the process.â€
Builders intend to have the plant, located on Pumphouse Road, ready to provide water by Spring 2025. For more information, contact Oak Ridge Public Works at (865) 425-1875 or visit OakRidgeTN.gov.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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