Mt. Olive buying land for sewage treatment
By Bonnie Edwards
Published in News on March 2, 2004 1:59 PM
MOUNT OLIVE -- The town has begun negotiations to buy land to start building a regional sewer system.
The Mount Olive town commissioners voted Monday night after a closed session to allow the mayor to sign an option to buy 108 acres from Carrol Cottle off James Street extension on the east side of town. The land will be used as a spray field for the treated waste. The effluent will also be used to water a tree farm that will absorb the nitrogen.
The town is also negotiating for two nearby parcels to use for the tree farm and spray field. One is 112 acres, and the other is 150 acres. The grant being used to build the regional sewer system provides $2.3 million to buy land.
Negotiations are progressing, McDonald said. "I feel we'll be able to do business. But we need all three to start the project."
He said the town can't accept bids for building the new plant until the land is bought. The system would provide sewer service to the town of Calypso, as well as allow Mount Olive to grow.
The town has faced state restrictions on its current sewer system and will be fined if it does not build a new system. At times, the flow into the plant has been more than double the system's permitted capacity of 1 million gallons per day. The new system would be permitted to treat 2 million gallons per day and is expected to accommodate the town and the region for 20 years.
Engineers have designed a new treatment plant that will use ultraviolet light instead of chlorine. Part of the irrigation system to handle the effluent will consist of spraying crops, and the other part will consist of a drip system for the trees. The town will need enough land to handle at least 1 million gallons a day. It may take as much as 250 to 300 acres to keep the flow to one inch of water per acre per week.