Robbinsville – Some much-needed funds are coming in to bring a water treatment plants back online.
On Monday morning, the Town of Robbinsville received word that it had been approved for a $1,741,100 block grant from the state of North Carolina, through its Community Development Block Grant-Infrastructure (CDBG-I) program. The town will receive the funds in two installments, the first being a $114,460 initial planning grant.
The remaining $1,626,640 construction grant will come to fund the construction project of rebuilding the town’s Tallulah Creek Water Plant. The plant has been down after a gasoline spill into the Cheoah River shut the plant down in 2016. During an assessment after the spill, the town discovered that many of the plant’s components were nearing the end of their useful lives.
Following the spill, an apparatus to separate fuel from water was attached to the plant.
“We found out when we got ready to start our plant, that everything had lived its life – all of your turbidity meters, tanks, other equipment,” said Robbinsville Mayor Steve Hooper.
Hooper said the grant was one of the first steps toward getting the plant up and running again, calling it a “giant step” toward making the town better.
“This here is a big checkmark for the Town of Robbinsville,” Hooper said.
He lauded several of the town’s staff, including Town Clerk Shari Birchfield and Finance Officer Sonya Webster for their roles in securing the funds. He also praised water plant operator Carrie Stewart, sewer plant operator Lamar Williams and maintenance supervisor Chadd Carpenter for their roles.
“They went out and took pictures, and took measurements of all the things that the engineering required that the state of North Carolina had to have for the grant,” Hooper said.
Hooper said that he and Webster would have to drive to Raleigh to attend a class before the town could receive its funds.
“That’s how close our grant monies are looked after,” Hooper pointed out.
He said the town would likely use the Asheville-based engineering firm McGill and Associates for the project. Robbinsville has contracted with the company for more than 30 years.
“McGill basically knows about every foot of pipe the Town of Robbinsville has in their system, water or sewer,” Hooper said.
While the Tallulah plant has been out of service, the town’s Long Creek Water Plant has been serving Robbinsville’s water needs. Hooper said the construction would likely last about a year and a half, once the construction commenced.
“Robbinsville will not put any bad water in its water pipes,” Hooper said.