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County updates on Moyock mobile plant, Ocean Sands repairs and Waterside inflow issues
Summary
Public utilities director Ken Griffin briefed commissioners on five treatment plants, progress reaching compliance at the Moyock temporary plant, plans for a permanent Moyock regional plant, and continued inflow and monitoring‑well issues at Ocean Sands and Waterside areas.
Currituck County’s public utilities director told the Board of Commissioners on Feb. 17 that county wastewater operations are progressing but face several technical and timing challenges as population and development increase.
Ken Griffin gave a system‑by‑system update covering five wastewater treatment plants and collection systems: a temporary (mobile) plant in Moyock (Boyack), Maple Commerce plant in the Commerce Park, Waterside (serving Walnut Island/Waterside Villages/Grandy), the small Mayotte Commons plant, and Ocean Sands on the Outer Banks.
On the Moyock mobile plant Griffin reported that the leased mobile system was delivered in late September and brought online in January. Two rounds of sampling were collected in January; the plant is in compliance for 13 of 14 parameters but is slightly over the nitrate‑nitrogen average because the second sample exceeded the limit and the regulatory average requires both samples to be under the threshold. Griffin said he has asked NCDEQ how many months of consecutive compliance are required before the moratorium on new connections can be lifted; the county has not received a definitive timeline but expects a “few months” of consistent compliance. The county currently operates the mobile plant on a three‑year lease; Griffin said the design of a permanent Moyock regional plant (sized 300,000–400,000 gallons per day) is underway, with permitting and “shovel ready” status targeted for September and construction estimated to begin January 2026 and finish August 2027.
Griffin said the mobile plant is operationally intensive and that staff have been working nearly full time to bring it into compliance. He said the county will not attempt to purchase the leased plant as a permanent solution; the permanent design is in progress and the mobile lease provides cover while design and permitting continue.
Maple Commerce, a 40,000‑gallon‑per‑day plant, has been operating near 29,000 gpd and returned to full compliance after addressing significant inflow sources; Griffin recommended adding a SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system so operators and the vendor could monitor operations remotely and reduce surprises at sample time. He also recommended that future expansions avoid proprietary plant controls so county staff could more easily interact with third‑party vendors for repairs and operation.
Griffin said Waterside/Villages/Walnut Island face chronic infiltration and inflow problems and that the county recommends a comprehensive collection‑system master plan for the area, including force‑main and gravity upgrades. He proposed an estimated $170,000 for a design study to identify collection improvements and potential funding sources, and urged that the consultant selected assist with securing federal grant dollars.
Ocean Sands (Outer Banks) is a large plant with 600,000 gpd capacity; peak flows have reached about 490,000 gpd and are higher during flooding events. Griffin said required headworks improvements were completed after DEQ notices and that the county has asked DEQ to waive penalties because installation took longer than initially projected. A remaining issue at Ocean Sands concerns monitoring wells that do not appear to be functioning; Griffin said DEQ’s senior engineer needs to inspect the wells with county staff to decide on repair or replacement and the county is awaiting that field visit.
Griffin reminded commissioners the county has roughly $16,000,000 in state funding available for some of the Moyock regional work and that county staff are pursuing additional state grants to cover any gaps. Commissioners asked about timelines, phasing and construction procurement; Griffin said a design‑build approach was selected to compress schedule where possible and that the three‑year lease on the mobile plant aligns with the planned August 2027 completion of the permanent Moyock plant.
Several commissioners reiterated concern about long‑term staffing and operational intensity for temporary/mobile plants and the challenge of recruiting qualified operators and medical providers in the county. Griffin said the county is coordinating with IT and SCADA vendors, DEQ, local engineering consultants and the finance office to keep projects on schedule and to pursue grants.
