Pamlico $4 millon project aims for better water pressure

BAYBORO — A major complaint among Pamlico County water system customers for years has been low flow pressure.

The county has committed nearly $4 million toward the first of several projects to alleviate that problem.

The first area targeted is along N.C. 306 South including the towns of Arapahoe and Minnesott Beach.

The pressure improvement project comes from a list of five recommendations by the county’s new engineering firm, Rivers and Associates of Greenville.

The county has an old elevated storage tank and treatment plant in Minnesott that have been taken off line. There are operational treatment plants on Kershaw Road and on N.C. 306 north of Scott Town Road.

The plans call for a new elevated storage tank in Minnesott. There will be a 12-inch water line installed from the Kershaw treatment plant to Arapahoe. A booster pump will be added in
Arapahoe, which will feed a 12-inch line to the new 200,000-gallon storage tank.

“It will create a pressure zone, which means it will be isolated south of the Grantsboro treatment plant,” said Tim Buck, the county manager.

He said engineering models show the pressures north of Arapahoe should be between 55 and 60 pounds per square inch. Currently, he said pressures in the area are in the low 40s and less.

“Some are real low as you get down to Minnesott,” he said. The affected area also includes YMCA camps near Minnesott Beach.

Buck said funding for the $3.9 million outlay will come in part from capital reserve (impact) fees, and a combination of grants and low-interest loans.

Payment on loans would again tap the impact fee fund and user fees.

Buck said a hike in water rates was not included in the county commissioners’ decision to undertake the project.

   “The rates haven’t been adjusted in 10-plus years,” he said. “We and the staff have previously gone to the board asking to have a rate study, but it was not approved. They wanted us to address some water quality issues before they would agree to raise any rates.”

    Buck said the current project is the result of a year-long water master plan and model, completed early this year.

Engineers will move forward with the plan, including engineering services, which will be brought back to the board.

Buck said the next step is obtaining permits from North Carolina Public Water Supply, and looking for land to locate the booster pump station.

He said the old Minnesott water tower site will be evaluated as the location for the new tank.

Charlie Hall can be reached at 252-635-5667 or chall@freedomenc.com.