Page 10 - NCRWA Tarheel Pipeline Spring 2013

8 NCRWA.COM | Spring 2013
feature
MOVING AHEAD:
Pasquotank County’s NEW
Reverse Osmosis Water Plant
BY Daniel Wilson
“1997,” proclaimed Mr. John Gregory, Water
Superintendent for Pasquotank County, as
his towering figure stood just a short distance
from the front door of the County’s newly
constructed Reverse Osmosis Water Plant,
“That’s when this project started.” With the
group of water system professionals from
across the state eagerly awaiting their first
tour of a reverse osmosis (RO) water plant,
Mr. Gregory went on to explain the vision
and foresight of his County Commissioners
as they began a reserve 15 years earlier to
provide the necessary funds to afford this
project. Now with the plant fully operational,
Mr. Gregory beamed from under his full-brim
hat as he welcomed the NCRWA Board of
Directors into the plant for the tour.
The Pasquotank Reverse Osmosis Water
Plant is a 2-million gallon per day (MGD)
facility located between Elizabeth City
and Perquimans County in the extreme
northeastern corner of the state. Known as a
predominantly agricultural area, Pasquotank
County may not be the first place a person
would plan to look for some of the most
cutting-edge technology in the water industry.
However, from the moment the front doors
are traversed at the externally-simple looking
rectangular, brick-faced building, the plant
offers nothing less than an awe-inspiring
display of computerization and machinery
that looks more like a facility at NASA than
a water plant. Interestingly enough, the
primary thing that you would normally see
at a conventional water treatment plant is not
visible at all: the water.
“...the primary thing that
you would normally see
at a conventional water
treatment plant is not
visible at all: the water.”