Officials are celebrating the near completion of Rowan County’s long-awaited water treatment plant. As of Morehead City Council’s regular March meeting, the Morehead Utility Plant Board (MUPB) announced the plant is at ninety percent completion. They said contractors are working on finishing touches, like paving and internal plumbing, but the plant’s mechanics are operational.
Holly McGrath-Rosas is the General Manager of MUPB. She said the previous water treatment plant was in disrepair, and the new water treatment plant will bolster water quality for Rowan and the other eight counties in the service region. She added many people take their own running water for granted.
“You just want it to turn on and be clear and you want to be able to flush it down and it go. So, there is an incredible amount of work that goes along with that and to be able to provide you safe, at a certain caliber and quality of drinking water. You might not necessarily know it by taste or anything like that, but we know it,” said McGrath-Rosas.
When MUPB began planning the project eight years ago, McGrath-Rosas said their goal was to implement the best technology available, like activated carbon treatment, to ensure the plant’s longevity.
“We geared it up and made provisions, for as regulatory requirements get more stringent, we’ll be able to do that and be able to provide the highest quality of water to all of our customers. And our customers’ customers, because we’re considered a regional water treatment plant,” said McGrath-Rosas.
McGrath-Rosas added the project’s cost doubled to 54 million dollars during the COVID-19 pandemic, but thanks to contributions from the state legislature, customers won’t see the plant’s cost reflected on their bills.
The Rowan County Water Treatment Plant’s ribbon cutting will take place April 17 at 10 a.m., and officials say the event is free and open to the public. The new facility is located next to its predecessor on Filtration Plant Road in Morehead.