Groundbreaking Ceremony for Joint Plant

Groundbreaking Ceremony for Joint Plant

August 9, 2015

9/8/2015

​A groundbreaking ceremony was held on Tuesday, September 8th for the Smith Mountain Lake Water Treatment Facility. This celebrated the beginning of construction the first jointly owned and operated water treatment facility in Virginia.

The Bedford Regional Water Authority (“BRWA”) and the Western Virginia Water Authority (“WVWA”) signed an agreement May 7, 2014 to work together to develop a new water treatment facility at Smith Mountain Lake. This new facility was designed with expansion capabilities to meet both utilities joint water needs through the year 2060.

“This is an exciting project that represents the best that comes from working together to meet the needs of the region. Expanded treatment and distribution of drinking water from Smith Mountain Lake was detailed in 2010 as part of the Long Range Water Supply Plan, completed in conjunction with the Roanoke Valley Alleghany Regional Commission. The BRWA and the WVWA understood that working together on this project would be the best for all customers,” said Harvey Brookins, WVWA Board of Directors Chair.

At the groundbreaking ceremony, representatives from Franklin County, Bedford County, the Town of Bedford, the Western Virginia Water Authority, the Bedford Regional Water Authority, and Black & Veatch spoke about the impact and importance of the project for the region. Throughout all the speeches, the theme of the event clearly surfaced as partnership.

“The new Water Treatment Facility is the heart of the system and the water lines connect our communities. As important as the facility and waterlines are, the greater good will come from the partnerships that have made this possible. The partnerships breathe life into this system and give us the ability to think through the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead,” said Elmer Hodge, BRWA Board of Directors Chair.

Under the partnership concept, the two water authorities will equally share the ownership and the operation of the new Smith Mountain Lake Water Treatment Facility. Plans for the facility, anticipated to be operational by the end of December 2016, are to construct a 3-million gallon per day treatment facility that could be expanded to 6-million gallons per day within the framework of the new building. The existing facility, owned by BRWA, is a 1-million gallon per day facility of which 400,000-gallons per day are allocated to the Western Virginia Water Authority.

The Long Range Water Supply Plan recommended expanding the treatment and distribution of drinking water from Smith Mountain Lake to meet the growing water needs within the region by 2060. This new facility will allow for the drinking water and fire protection needs of current and future customer to be met.

The facility is being constructed as a progressive design/build agreement with Black & Veatch and Overland Contracting. CHA is the engineering consulting firm that is the local design/build representative for the project.