The Town of Georgetown’s King Street Water Treatment Facility began finding tetrachloroethylene (PCE) in their raw well water samples. Although the plant had existing aerators, the size and conditions of the aerators did not allow for full removal of the contaminant.

Davis, Bowen & Friedel, Inc. (DBF) provided planning, surveying, engineering, and construction administration/inspection services to the Town to remove PCE from the King Street Facility and comply with DNREC requirements while also updating various items at the facility for more efficient operations.

DBF designed the upgrade while working closely with the Town for their operational preferences and future needs. The treatment plant added 50% additional capacity to the existing facility while removing 99% of the PCE. The upgraded water treatment facility included improvements to and addition of new chemical systems including caustic, fluoride, corrosion control, disinfection, two (2) new aeration towers for VOC removal, and high lift pumps. All systems were integrated into a new SCADA system to provide an added level of control and remote monitoring/operations. The project also included replacement of a poor producing groundwater well that resulted in additional well capacity which provides the Town with additional redundancy and operational options.

The Town was able to use other water treatment facilities while the King Street Facility received a complete overhaul and upgrade. DBF was able to provide the design on-schedule and on-budget. The project was 100% grant funded by the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF).