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Union County presents $845M 15-year water and wastewater capital program and costly options for Crooked Creek WRF
Summary
County water staff presented a 15-year capital program totaling about $845 million covering water treatment, transmission mains, storage, wastewater plant expansions and interceptor projects; staff warned Crooked Creek WRF is near capacity and showed rehabilitation and expansion paths that could cost from tens to hundreds of millions depending on conveyance and discharge options.
Union County water staff on May 4 presented a 15-year capital improvement program comprising 65 projects with an estimated total cost of about $845 million and described several large near-term investments and choices for the Crooked Creek Water Reclamation Facility (WRF).
Water Engineering Director John Shutch said roughly half the program’s investment is for water infrastructure and about a quarter each for wastewater and renewal-and-replacement work. Key projects described include an expansion of the Kataba River water treatment plant (Union County’s share approximately $115 million of a $230 million program), major transmission mains coordinated with NCDOT roadway projects (multi-mile 36-inch and 24-inch mains), and several elevated-storage tanks to meet peak and fire-flow needs.
On the wastewater side Shutch outlined an ongoing $56.4 million expansion at the 12mi Creek WRF (with about $26 million in state funding), the Grassy Branch upgrade (to meet permit obligations), and major interceptor work: the Crooked Creek interceptor (phase two, about $20.7 million) and a larger 30‑inch collector feeding 12mi Creek (about $46.5 million).
Crooked Creek WRF was a central focus. Staff said the plant is permitted for 1.9 MGD, had actual flows near 1.22 MGD, and that permitted and obligated flows pushed the facility to about 88% of capacity. Staff identified queued projects that could add roughly 450,000 gpd and warned the plant could exceed available permitted flow as those projects move forward.
Shutch presented three response paths: continued operations with rehabilitation and regulatory upgrades (estimated at $78.6 million in 2026 dollars); expanding within the existing site to about 2.4 MGD (all-in estimate ~$174.6 million, driven strongly by force-main/conveyance costs and an assumed discharge location); and acquiring adjacent property to reach larger increments (3.8–6.0 MGD) with all-in costs rising into the hundreds of millions. Staff emphasized the force-main/conveyance mileage and the need to confirm any discharge location and permit conditions with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ). Those conveyance costs are a major portion of expansion estimates and collection-system improvements were not yet fully defined or costed.
Commissioners pressed staff on timelines (rehab and permitting actions can take 8–13 years) and on prior Site B work. County leaders noted past DEQ feedback made some discharge options unlikely and that any expansion would require further permitting. Shutch and the county manager said the board will be presented with options and that some future permit decisions may determine whether expensive expansions are feasible or moot.
The presentation included ARPA and state grant funding applied to specific projects; staff said they will continue to track grant deadlines and project schedules tied to partner agencies such as NCDOT.
