The ungraded Ronceverte wastewater treatment plant is at last nearing completion, announced Dunn Engineering consultant Eric Hartwell at the Monday, Oct. 2, city council meeting.

The 12-year-long project is anticipated to be fully operational next month. The upgrades will offer increased capacity and allow for continued economic growth in the Greenbrier Valley.

The updated facility includes an upgraded pumping station, new headworks, Vertical Loop Reactor (VLR) process, which consists of three basins, two secondary clarifiers, ultraviolet disinfection, effluent filters, sludge dewatering centrifuge, and two of the existing basins have been converted into digesters. The facility will improve the disinfection system, increase efficiency and sustainability, modernize wastewater treatment equipment and create a safer work environment.

Ronceverte’s aging treatment plant has long been operating at its maximum capacity. The facility has not received any major upgrades in almost 40 years. In November 2013 the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) published the Greenbrier River Restoration Plan. The dated Ronceverte plant could not meet these limits for phosphorus removal.

To ensure that quality treatment service was to continue, Ronceverte’s facility was obligated to meet the DEP’s requirements and comply with WV Code §31-15A-17b regarding phosphorus removal to help protect one of the county’s most valuable resources, the Greenbrier River, as a water source for many communities.

The cost for the wastewater project came to $23,723,342. The city of Ronceverte received a grant of $9,241,886, which required no repayment. The remaining $14,481,456 was funded through the DEP’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund at zero percent interest.

The actual plant construction began in 2015, but the project was delayed somewhat due to impacts of the 2016 flood.

Ronceverte residents will see an increase in their sewer bill in November with a raise in the minimum monthly charge for 1,000 gallons from $15.38 to $21 immediately. Four more hikes will conclude in 2020 with a minimum charge of $33. These increases are necessary to fund infrastructure for the plant to comply with WV DEP requirements and to protect the Greenbrier River, said City Administrator Reba Mohler.

The city’s largest resale customer, Greenbrier PSD 1, has a service area including Lewisburg and Fairlea. The sewage is treated in Ronceverte and PSD 1 pays the city of Ronceverte for this service. The rate schedule is a 15 percent raise in the resale price, from $2.52 to $2.90 per 1,000 gallons. That “bulk rate” is the amount the city charges the PSD; the PSD sets its own rates based in part on that charge.

These rates were established by the WV Public Service Commission in July 2014, prior to the beginning of construction (Case No. 14-0115-S-MA). The chart below represents the rates based upon the quantity of wastewater (based on water usage).

Quantity            Current  Fall 2017

1000 gallons     $14.56   $26.91

2000 gallons     $24.10   $44.63

3000 gallons     $33.72   $62.35

3400 gallons     $37.55   $69.44

4000 gallons     $43.30   $80.07

4500 gallons     $48.09   $88.93

In other business:

• Mayor David Smith urged city residents to vote in favor of the “Roads to Prosperity” bond resolution this Saturday, Oct. 7, at one of the town’s two precincts; either the old high school gymnasium or at city hall. Passage of this road bond referendum will not increase taxes, he said. The entire state will benefit with improved roadways, bridges and jobs.
• Smith said the city will soon be in recipient of a grant to pay for the planning of more sidewalks, extending from the downtown area to Spruce Street, Walnut Street and Greenbrier Avenue.
• Ronceverte’s volunteer fire department is in need of new members, Mohler said. Interested parties should call the city hall at 304-647-5455.
• Council member Barbara Morgan announced that a spaghetti dinner event to raise funds for the 2018 Ronceverte River Festival will be held on Saturday, Oct. 28, from 4-7 p.m. at the Methodist United Church.
• In closing, the mayor asked that the public offer prayers for the people in Las Vegas, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.