Mar 22, 2022A Groundswell of Support for Groundwater

ELR Enables Dependable and Economical Water Sources Through Innovative Water Treatment Projects

Every year, World Water Day reminds us to celebrate the importance of the environmental and economic impact we have through our utilities engineering services team’s many wastewater and water treatment projects. With this year’s “Groundwater - Making the Invisible Visible” theme, we wanted to feature the proposed Raleigh County Public Service District (RCPSD) Upgrade - Capacity Development Project to treat groundwater obtained from an abandoned coal mine in West Virginia.

Highlights of the RCPSD Capacity Development Project

RCPSD Capacity Development proposed this project so that it can continue to provide dependable and economical water service and fire flow for its customers. The added capacity would also ensure economic stability with a stable water cost for existing RCPSD customers and prospective commercial/industrial customers.

The proposed project would construct a water treatment plant at the Maple Meadow Mine site (closed in 1998) and draw raw water from the old mine workings below. The underground area of the abandoned coal mine is estimated to be nine square miles. It’s a complex project that includes a number of construction and infrastructure components, from site clearing and grading all the way through water chlorination and yard piping.

Some of the larger construction elements of the RCPSD water treatment upgrade include a 2,100 gallon per minute (gpm) water treatment plant supplied by four wells drilled into the old workings of the mine, and a 16-inch diameter water main that would connect to the existing 12-inch diameter distribution system near two existing 500,000-gallon water storage tanks.

The Bottom Line on Making the Invisible Visible through Water Treatment of Previously Untapped Groundwater

Who would have thought that an abandoned coal mine could be part of a productive and sustainable solution for community access to a safe water supply at stable costs? It’s not unusual for our water treatment experts, but most people would assume that the groundwater underneath the mine would be unusable, if they even knew it was there at all!

That’s where our utility engineers and water treatment experts come in, and we are proud to be able to bring this vital resource to light efficiently and effectively with our public utility customers, helping with construction of components and infrastructure elements throughout the project lifecycle, including:

• Site clearing and grading
• Raw water pumping facilities
• Raw water collection tank with aeration
• Three 700 gpm pumps
• Treatment units
• Three backwash lagoons
• Treatment plant building
• Chemical feed system
• Chlorination system
• Yard piping
• Clearwell
• Two high service pumps

Talk to Us about Water Treatment Projects

Visit our Utilities Engineering page for more information on our services. If you want to hear more about our groundwater and water treatment or if you have a project you think we could help you with, please contact us to get the conversation started.