King George Service Authority OKs $38,500 study of Dahlgren wastewater plant after engineer warns upgrades needed to meet nutrient limits

The King George County Service Authority voted to approve a $38,500 contract with Bowman to develop a prioritized plan of repairs and upgrades at the Dahlgren Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The study will scope equipment and structural work, produce planning-level cost estimates and phased priorities, and include workshops with operators and county staff; Bowman principal Bob Crowlinger told directors the plant was retrofitted to meet Chesapeake Bay nutrient limits and now struggles to meet the low total-nitrogen permit.

Crowlinger said the plant “really was not designed initially to meet that kind of permit,” and that several pieces of the treatment process need engineering review. He pointed to aging aeration drives and an installed submerged media retrofit that is “not effectively helping” nitrogen removal. Crowlinger recommended a planning document that ranks immediate safety and compliance work,…