Prince George County staff say Hopewell plant can take 2 MGD now but needs upgrades for more

Prince George County engineers told the Board of Supervisors on Feb. 25 that a draft capacity evaluation of the City of Hopewell wastewater treatment plant shows the plant could accept up to 2 million gallons per day (MGD) from Prince George with minor upgrades, but that larger flows would require substantial improvements.

County Engineer Robert Holcomb summarized a draft report prepared for the city and said the study’s main purpose was to determine whether the plant could receive as much as 5 MGD of additional flow from Prince George County. "The purpose of the study for Prince George County's purposes was to determine the current capacity of the plant and its ability to receive up to 5 more MGD of additional flow from Prince George County," Holcomb said.

The report says the facility operates on two treatment trains — a domestic side and an industrial side — and that domestic and industrial flows are combined before discharge. Holcomb said solids-handling problems are already limiting capacity, and the plant is close to design limits for total suspended solids (TSS). He warned that tighter ammonia limits proposed by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) — reductions Holcomb characterized as roughly an 80% cut in permitted ammonia — could force major upgrades. "If that's the case, they're going to have significant issues in meeting that limit," Holcomb said, saying consultants had estimated the cost "in the tens of millions of dollars and approaching $100,000,000" if the permit limits are not relaxed.

Holcomb summarized key capacity figures from the draft: the domestic side is currently processing roughly 9 MGD, at about 61% of its design flow; the draft assumes completed solids-handling improvements; and even with improvements the report estimated a long-term availability up to about 3.6 MGD without an expansion — short of the 5 MGD Prince George had sought. "The maximum without an expansion of the plant that we could get is 3.6," Holcomb said.

Holcomb also said the plant director has recently certified the city could accept 2 MGD immediately, but that would come with conditions: required plant upgrades (costs not yet estimated), a fiscal analysis to set rates, a discharge location determination and city-council approval. He said Prince George must also decide whether to pursue a VEDP (Virginia Economic Development Partnership) $10 million grant that requires a 2 MGD treatment and supply commitment and an agreement with the receiving treatment entity by April 1. "If they're looking for a very well buttoned up agreement, I do not think we can meet that April 1 deadline unless they extend the deadline," Holcomb said.

Board members and staff asked operational and liability questions about mixing industrial and domestic flows, consequences of spills, and the plant's current performance. Deputy City Manager James Gasson of Hopewell told the board the city believes it can accept 2 MGD with minor upgrades and that the city council would need to approve any agreement. "From my director's understanding, we are capable of accepting 2,000,000 gallons relatively immediately with some minor upgrades," Gasson said.

Holcomb flagged other technical constraints: the formerly installed 18-inch HDPE pipeline has about a 14-inch interior diameter and would not meet hydraulic needs, so a new route and pricing are being explored. He also said the draft did not include cost estimates and that the county planned follow-up work with consultants and the city to identify probable costs and next steps, including attending a design-build conference to evaluate procurement approaches.

The board received the report as information and asked staff to return with cost estimates and a recommendation on how to meet the April 1 VEDP-related timeline.

Ending: County staff framed the Hopewell evaluation as an interim step: 2 MGD appears achievable with targeted upgrades, more capacity would require multi-million-dollar plant improvements or a formal plant expansion, and the county must decide quickly whether to press for a VEDP grant that carries an April 1 deadline.