Published: August 15, 2008 11:04 am            

Plant's final phase begins

LEVEL CROSS — Folks could be drinking Randleman Lake water just 80 years from its conception.

A groundbreaking ceremony last Thursday for the regional water treatment plant officially began the final phase in a project that’s been on-again, off-again for decades.

Opposition to the lake, court battles, environmental impact studies and infighting among the six governing bodies involved have all worked to delay the time when the water will flow from faucets rather than over river rocks.

Groundbreaking for the Randleman Dam was held on Aug. 7, 2001, with completion of that phase in 2004. The lake was filled by 2005 but it’s taken another three years to reach this point.

“This project is the end of a long process,” said Lewis Dorsett, member of the Archdale City Council and current chairman of the Piedmont Triad Regional Water Authority (PTRWA) board of directors. “This proves that entities can work together – but it’s not easy. It’s been my honor to work with a great group of people.”

The ceremonies were held in a tent on the grounds of the future treatment plant. Groundbreaking took place just outside.

Representatives from Randolph County, Randleman, Archdale, Greensboro, High Point and Jamestown heard from Dorsett, Sec. Dempsey Benton of the N.C. Department of Health & Human Services and 6th District U.S. Rep. Howard Coble.

The Rev. Henry Simmons, a former PTRWA director, gave the invocation.

Benton said he had followed the efforts of the PTRWA from a distance and was impressed that such a disparate group had “stayed together as a team. You’re very commendable for staying the course.”

He said that over such a long term, the look of governing boards change with each election and sometimes the priorities shift as well.

“But you stayed the course and convinced your constituents that this is the thing to do.”

Benton said that as the state is beset by widespread drought requiring regional planning, the PTRWA has been “taking the lead in this approach.”

Coble called it a “very special day. This has indeed been a work in progress.

“Today is the fruition of much hard work,” he continued. “We’re all going to benefit from it. We’ll be drinking that water and attracting jobs from this project.”

John Kime, executive director of the Randleman Dam and Lake project, told reporters that water line construction will be going on while the treatment plant is being built.

He said the first phase of a line up U.S. 311 has begun and engineering for a second phase will start soon.

The exact route of the new Interstate 74 from Archdale to U.S. 220 will have to be chosen before the pipeline engineering can be completed, Kime said.

A 48-inch line from the treatment plant site up U.S. 220 to N.C. 62 will also be laid simultaneously with the other projects.

“There’ll be several projects going on at the same time,” said Kime.

Completion of the treatment plant and water lines is expected in 2010.

        

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