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Mooresville begins public review of wastewater-capacity options, including plant expansion, interbasin transfer and partnership with Charlotte
Summary
Staff told the board that three main alternatives remain under consideration to address wastewater capacity: expand the town plant and discharge, build a pipeline and pursue an interbasin transfer back to the Catawba, or partner with Charlotte for wastewater conveyance.
Town staff presented an update on wastewater-capacity planning, describing three primary alternatives under study: (1) expand the Mooresville treatment plant and increase discharge at the existing outfall, (2) obtain an interbasin transfer certificate and construct pipeline infrastructure to return treated wastewater to the Catawba Basin, or (3) partner with the City of Charlotte to send wastewater to Charlottes system.
Staff said the update follows five public meetings across affected basins and that the town sent about 1,600 mailed and emailed notices and posted on social media to inform stakeholders. Attendance at public meetings was modest (staff cited roughly 25 attendees across meetings) and included elected officials, local staff and members of the public; staff said comments ranged from environmental concerns about interbasin transfer to ratepayer questions about cost and requests to limit development to avoid plant expansion.
Staff said they will continue accepting public comments through Dec. 21 and will present a deeper analysis in January that will include environmental effects, constructability, phasing options to spread costs, and preliminary cost analyses and estimated borrowing impacts on rates. Staff said an early placeholder cost figure used in previous studies was $150 million (2020 dollars) and noted prices have increased since then; staff plans to provide worst-case cost scenarios and debt-service estimates to show potential rate impacts before additional vetting for grants or other funding.
Staff said they are working with consultants and that Januarys meeting will include a staff-recommended alternative and an explanation of required environmental documentation and permit limits (speculative limits) that will affect costs. A second work session in February would allow the board time to consider a consensus direction (not a formal vote) to advance environmental documentation and permitting. Staff noted some short-term capital projects are underway in the town's northern service area to support growth while the long-term capacity decision proceeds.
No formal decision was taken in the briefing; staff warned the choice involves statutory, regulatory and political considerations and emphasized costs, environmental review and inter-jurisdictional coordination will drive the recommendation.
