Summary
Johnston County engineering staff updated commissioners on the 2024 capital improvement plan, reporting a nearly $73.5 million guaranteed-maximum-price for the Timothy G. Broom water treatment expansion (completion delayed to June 2026), multiple wastewater plant and pump-station upgrades, PFAS pilot studies and SCADA modernization plans.
Kim Rainier, engineering manager for Johnston County Public Utilities, told the Board of Commissioners on Jan. 5 that the county is moving ahead with a multi-year capital improvement program that includes a nearly $73,500,000 guaranteed-maximum-price (GMP) for the expansion of the Timothy G. Broom Water Treatment Plant.
Rainier said the $73.5 million GMP was negotiated under a progressive design-build delivery with TA Loving as contractor, Hazen & Sawyer as engineer and McKim & Creed as a subcontractor. She said the project — intended to raise overall capacity from about 14 million gallons per day to 18 million gallons per day — had been expected to finish in June 2025 but is now projected to be complete in June 2026 because of supply-chain constraints and limited contractor capacity. “It’s a whole series of them, but we’re gonna get there,” Rainier said.
The county has paid out roughly $70 million so far against the GMP, Rainier reported. She explained that the GMP contains project contingency that the contractor can access for general conditions and unforeseen costs; those contingency draws, she said, are the primary reason the county expects to reach the full GMP amount.
Rainier reviewed other major projects under way or recently completed: a traditional design-bid-build expansion of the 210 wastewater treatment facility (Adams Robinson, just under $40 million) to double capacity and add reclaimed-water production; headworks upgrades at the Central Johnston County Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility (Dillinger Inc., budget just over $9.7 million); and a county-wide SCADA control upgrade (just over $3 million) to standardize operator interfaces and improve cybersecurity.
She also described a Selma flow-equalization and pumping-station upgrade that will reroute Selma and Pine Level flows to the 210 facility, plus a Buffalo Road parallel 20-inch force main (projected at about $3.3 million) to avoid overloading an existing gravity line. Contractors on those projects were reported as on schedule and slightly under budget in Rainier’s update.
The presentation covered planned work to improve redundancy for Four Oaks (pump-station modifications to pump in both directions), upgrades at Holt Lake and Neuse River pump stations, and a separate project to separate landfill leachate from sewage so leachate can be side-stream treated. Rainier said the county is evaluating PFAS removal approaches: adding powdered-activated-carbon treatment at the water plant (permitted) and piloting pretreatment or side-stream units at the landfill before leachate enters the wastewater system.
On timing and costs, Rainier said some early work packages and large equipment orders were rolled into the GMP negotiated at 60% design, and that electrical and HVAC costs have been significant drivers of contingency use. “A lot of the costs have been electrical…that’s been a challenge,” she said during a question-and-answer session with commissioners.
Rainier also said the county is coordinating with private partners, naming Novo Nordisk as funding a wastewater pump station and force main that the company will fund while the county participates in design and will ultimately own the infrastructure when complete.
Rainier told the board the county will continue to update the CIP more frequently than the typical five-year cycle because an updated land-use plan and unified development ordinance could change water and sewer priorities; staff expect to present a revised plan in 2026. She directed commissioners and the public to the county utilities web page for maps, project lists and procurement notifications.
What’s next: Rainier said staff will continue design, construction and study work, conduct pilot testing for PFAS and leachate treatment, and return with updates, including a formal CIP draft from the county’s financial consultant in an upcoming meeting.
Sources: Presentation and Q&A with Kim Rainier, Engineering Manager, Public Utilities (Johnston County Board of Commissioners meeting, Jan. 5).
