Plant Spotlight: City of Henderson, Kerr Lake Regional WTP

Originally printed in the Winter 2016/17 issue of NC Currents magazine.

General

The Kerr Lake Regional Water System (KLRWS) is located in the City of Henderson, NC, north of the Triangle on Kerr Lake and is accessible by I-85. The system provides water to approximately 50,000 customers. The City of Henderson is the main shareholder in a partnership of three, which also includes the City of Oxford and Warren County. Together, these providers supply water to Franklin County, the Village of Kittrell, the Town of Stovall, Vance County, and parts of Granville County. The Kerr Lake Regional Water Treatment Plant (WTP) is a 10-mgd facility with capacity for 15 mgd; daily average is around 7.0 mgd. The water source for the WTP is Kerr Lake.

WTP Background History

The concept of a regional water system came about around 1973 to 1975 when the Miller Brewing Company was interested in relocating to the City of Henderson. Because the Kerr Lake Regional WTP was not producing enough water, however, Miller Brewing Company decided to relocate to Eden, NC, resulting in a significant economic loss for the city and its surrounding communities. As a result, the City of Henderson, City of Oxford, and Warren County – with the collaboration of the city manager of Henderson (Melvon Holmes), the city manager of Oxford (H. T. Ragland), and the president of the Soul City Company (Floyd B. McKissick Sr.) – decided action needed to be taken in order to secure more water for their communities and attract other businesses to the region. They joined forces and set out to procure funding.

At the time, McKissick Sr. was developing Soul City, NC, which was one of the new cities across the country that were being funded by the federal government. These new communities were built in areas that had little resources to help them obtain water, roads, housing, and other basic human needs. McKissick Sr.’s first request for funding from the federal government was turned down, but he didn’t let that stop him. He went to Washington, DC, and convinced Nelson Rockefeller to get the funding he needed. After these efforts, it took several years to develop a plan, and L. E. Wooten of Raleigh was eventually hired as the consulting firm to help construct the Kerr Lake Regional WTP. The WTP was completed in 1974 and is still owned today by the City of Henderson, the City of Oxford, and Warren County.

Treatment

The Kerr Lake Regional WTP is a conventional treatment system, consisting of coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, and filtration. Aluminum sulfate is the primary coagulant with polymer used as an aid; liquid hypochlorite is used for disinfection. In 1996, the WTP performed filter rehabilitation on all four of its filters and conducted a capacity study. As a result, it was approved as the first WTP in the state to have the ability to use a high-rate filtration in order to increase its capacity from 10 mgd to 15 mgd, without the need for a physical upgrade.

Solids Management

The basins in the sedimentation process have a “spyder” system that draws alum sludge off the bottom of the basins and sends it to two thickeners and a square cement holding clarifier. Supernatant is then decanted back to the lake, with the solids being land applied and handled by Granville Farms.

Operations

The Kerr Lake Regional WTP can be operated almost completely by its SCADA system. Most pumps and valves can be controlled from the control center in the main building. With a mostly consistent raw water source and low raw-water turbidity, operational challenges are minimized. When fully staffed, there are 12 available operators, and any operational challenges are handled promptly, effectively, and efficiently.

Staff

When staffed to capacity, there are 13 fulltime employees that work at the Kerr Lake Regional WTP. There is one director/ORC and one chief operator/ back-up ORC. There are seven operators, two maintenance personnel, one lab analyst, and one administrative secretary.

Staff Development

Table 1 on the previous page shows the certification requirements for all employees at the Kerr Lake Regional WTP. In addition, staff members are highly encouraged to go beyond requirements and attain the highest level of certification possible, where appropriate. Any available classes that employees wish to attend are always considered, taking into account schedules, time, and available funds. Cross-training is also highly encouraged. In order to accommodate a WTP that needs to be operated for 24 hours a day and seven days a week, the Kerr Lake Regional WTP has two shifts per day. Each operator has a three-day work week, with two 14-hour days and one 12-hour day. The director, chief operator, chemist, maintenance staff, and administrative secretary all work eight hours, Monday through Friday.

Health and Safety

The KLRWS takes the health and safety concern of its employees very seriously. Working around bulk chemicals on a daily basis and smaller chemical amounts in the Chemical feed Lab Filter consoles

Awards

The Kerr Lake Regional Water System has received numerous awards and achievements, as listed below. • NC AWWA-WEA Best-tasting Water º 1st place: 2000, 2001, 2002 (First and only WTP to win three times in a row) º 2nd place: 1989, 1994 • NC Rural Water Association Best-tasting Water º 1st place: 2013 º 2nd place: 2014 º 3rd place: 2011 • NC Rural Water Association Spirit Award 2003 • NC Rural Water Association – Certificate of Achievement Source Water Protection (First WTP in the state to complete) • NC’s Area Wide Optimization Program º 2004-2005 and 2007-2015

Future Plans

A major expansion of the Kerr Lake Regional WTP to double its capacity size from 10 mgd to 20 mgd is in the works for Fiscal Year 2018-2020.

Contact Information

Christy Lipscomb, Director/ORC
Email: clipscomb@ci.henderson.nc.us
Phone: 252-438-2141 Fax: 252-438-7866