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Groundwater Treatment Facility Receives Draft Groundwater Withdrawal Permit
November 13, 2002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Larry Foster,
General Manager - JCSA
Phone: (757) 253-6806
(James City County) On November 12, 2002, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) issued a draft groundwater withdrawal permit to James City County for the County's planned Groundwater Treatment Facility. The draft permit is an important next step in the County's efforts to increase the public water supply. The facility will withdraw and treat water from the Middle and Lower Potomac Aquifers, reducing reliance on the Chickahominy Piney Point Aquifer (the aquifer used by most private residential wells in the County). Combined with existing public wells, the facility will provide water to meet the County's public needs through 2013, when the withdrawal permit will need to be renewed and expanded.
According to Bruce Goodson, Chairman of the James City Service Authority (JCSA) Board of Directors and member of the County Board of Supervisors, "The draft permit is another major accomplishment in meeting the water needs of James City County. Thanks must be given to Senator Tommy Norment and the staff of the Department of Environmental Quality for their assistance in completing the permit process and the issuance of the draft permit."
The draft permit sets forth the conditions placed on the JCSA, the permit holder, for the groundwater withdrawal. These conditions include limits on the amount of water that can be withdrawn from the various aquifers used to support County water needs. In addition, the Permit includes conditions for reporting and monitoring the aquifers. The official permit can be issued in early 2002 after the mandated public comment are completed.
Site development for the facility has already begun. Construction, estimated at twenty million dollars, will begin in early 2003 and be completed by late 2004. The facility will be completed in two phases. The first phase will produce 2.5 million gallons of water per day (mgd) through 2010. In 2010 the second phase will increase withdrawal capacity to 5.0 mgd. The JCSA will continue to operate thirteen existing well facilities in order to meet projected water demands.
The facility will use a reverse osmosis treatment process, which uses synthetic membranes to remove undesirable salts and minerals, mainly chloride and fluoride. Fluoride is considered good for teeth and bones, but not at the levels found in the groundwater from the Potomac Aquifers in this area.
Approximately 80% of the water will be delivered to JCSA's water distribution system for public consumption. The remaining 20 percent, which includes a concentration of the removed minerals, will be discharged into the James River near the Jamestown Ferry. A permit for the discharge is expected to be issued the by DEQ in late 2002 or early 2003.
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