Beyond the Tap, Part 5: The Surrounding Infrastructure
“Beyond the Tap” is a multi-part series by Floyd Times that breaks down the challenges facing the Floyd-Floyd County Public Service Authority. Part 5, “The Surrounding Infrastructure,” addresses obstacles for expanding the Authority's service area.
“Beyond the Tap” is a multi-part series by Floyd Times that breaks down the challenges facing the Floyd-Floyd County Public Service Authority. Part 5, “The Surrounding Infrastructure,” addresses obstacles for expanding the Authority's service area.
There are several scenarios in which the Floyd-Floyd County Public Service Authority and its wells could be stretched thin by future development, a position that has prompted the PSA Board to begin actively looking for sites for new wells, which would increase the system’s capacity.
Hurt and Proffitt Engineer and Project Manager Matt Gross, who works with the PSA Board on the technical side of things, said the wastewater treatment plant was last significantly upgraded to increase capacity around 2004.
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While the process of finding new well sites is ongoing, adding big businesses to the PSA’s service area would stretch the system’s capacity far more than adding homes, Gross said. He noted that the “impervious cover” of roads, houses, driveways, etc., is not typically enough to make a significant impact on the local water table, which is driven by recharge.
“Thirty homes at 300 gallons per day (gpd), the Virginia Department of Health’s predicted flow for a home with three people, would have less impact than a new single commercial customer that wants to use 20,000 gpd,” Gross said.
Gross explained that the current water system normally produces about 120,000 gallons per day of its “theoretical” 240,000 gpd capacity. “That same water becomes wastewater and flows to the PSA wastewater treatment plant that is rated for an average daily capacity of 250,000 gpd,” he said. It currently processes about 100,000 gpd.
Mike Maslaney, Chairman of the PSA Board, said keeping a “comfortable margin between our average capacity and peak capacity,” which is required by the Department of Environmental Quality, allows PSA officials to “work through any potential breaks or problems.” He explained that increases to peak flows would lead to the needed increase of processing capability.
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In terms of current well functionality, Maslaney said that the PSA has not performed any “draw down tests” since 2016 and doing so would allow officials to “have a better handle” on the system’s overall capacity. Draw down data is collected every 10 years, and Maslaney previously noted that he hopes the process will be completed sometime this spring.
“The PSA currently has the capacity to handle residential developments, up to a point,” Maslaney noted. He said the process is further complicated by the prospective development’s proximity to the existing system.
“If the new development passes already installed and operating water and sewer lines, then it is very easy for them to connect to our system,” he said. “If the new development does not pass our system, then the cost of extending the PSA system to the new development will have to be borne by either the developer, the awarding of a grant, or some other incentive by the state or local government.”
Alongside capacity, another factor that limits the PSA’s ability to expand is the aging of components throughout the system.
Maslaney said a lot of the water and sewer pipes were laid in the 1940s, ‘50s, and ‘60s, and the system includes pipes of various materials. The water side is mostly PVC, ductile, cast iron, and some galvanized pipes, Maslaney explained, while the sewer side is PVC, concrete, and some terra cotta.
“We have about 29,000 feet of concrete sewer pipe in our system that is 10-20 years past its rated life expectancy,” he said. “We have been actively replacing and lining our sewer pipes over the past several years, but there is much more work that needs to be done.”
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“The PSA has performed maintenance on some of the equipment installed during that time and from the original Rotating Biological Contactor (RBC) plant construction back in the 1980s,” Gross noted. “The bearings on the original RBC’s for the plant lasted approximately 40 years before replacement was needed.” An RBC plant is a system that uses a fixed-film treatment to remove pollutants from wastewater.
Additionally, Maslaney said, grant funds and money from the American Rescue Plan Act “have gone a long way toward reducing the amount of pipe breaks we have been having” on major water lines. “There are still several other major water lines that need attention as well.”
Other system components, such as sewer pump stations, are also nearing the end of their rated life, Maslaney said. “There are several parts of our system which have remained untouched in the past 10 years.” He explained, “We have been so busy fixing and replacing known problem water and sewer lines that we have not been able to do any preventative maintenance in several areas. We are hoping to be able to increase this maintenance in the coming years.”
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