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Henderson County reviews six Etowah wastewater plant options; advisory committee backs regional pump-station
Summary
WithersRavenel presented six options to replace the aging Etowah wastewater treatment plant. The Etowah Sewer Advisory Committee unanimously recommended Option 6 — a regional pump station that would convey wastewater to the City of Hendersonville; the Board directed staff to seek written commitment from the city and to prepare a narrower cost estimate for Option 2.
WithersRavenel engineers presented six alternatives for replacing the Etowah wastewater treatment plant, and the county’s advisory committee recommended moving the system into the City of Hendersonville’s treatment network.
Commissioner Jay Egolf said the Etowah Sewer Advisory Committee voted unanimously to recommend Option 6, which would replace the local plant with a regional pump station that sends flow to Hendersonville. County Engineer Marcus Jones told the Board the plant had exceeded its useful life before Hurricane Helene and warned that continued delays increase the risk of a major system failure.
Marcus Jones said staff have identified $13.2 million in grant funding currently allocated to the project and recommended negotiating design and permitting with WithersRavenel while pursuing remaining construction funds. Commissioner Rebecca McCall asked whether funding agencies would require the project to be built to accommodate future growth or whether the county could design capacity for current needs and expand later; staff responded that funding agencies would likely require provisions for future expansion.
Commissioner McCall also requested a separate estimate for the cost of Alternative Two if it were sized only to meet current capacity. Chairman William Lapsley urged staff to determine whether the City of Hendersonville would consider regionalization and to obtain written approval and conditions from any regional partner before moving forward on Option 6.
The Board directed staff to provide the WithersRavenel report to the City of Hendersonville, request a commitment on regionalization under Option 6, and prepare a cost estimate for Alternative Two sized for current needs. No final selection or binding contract was authorized at the meeting.
