Complaints voiced about noisy Cashiers plant

By Rose Hooper

Buckhannan, a resident of Clematis Lane, was referring to the Cashiers wastewater treatment plant.

"I know it was put there 15 years ago, before you were formed, but originally it was to be located just west of Highway 107 behind Cornucopia Restaurant. Then the site was moved to a residential area without any additional meeting or notification to the neighborhood," Buckhannan said.

The plant, located on 1 1/2 acres, is surrounded on all four sides by residents, she said. In peak months, like during July when the plant is pumping 93,000 gallons per day, Buckhannan said she and other residents "have to keep our windows closed, even in the heat of summer. It's a constant noise."

Buckhannan contends that the plant was used when it was first installed in 1986.

"This type of antiquated plant hasn't been produced for many years and is way behind in modern improvements for smell, noise and effluent control," she told the board.

Part of the problem is the blowers, she said, which are "very old and, according to the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, are running at 80 percent efficiency. The air blowers for the 100,000-gallon-capacity plant are only 15 horsepower and should be 25 horsepower for a plant running at full capacity."

She presented the board with a drawing of a double-wall construction of cement blocks filled with sand, which she said could decrease the noise.

She also expressed concern over the effluent discharge into the adjacent creek, a tributary of the Chattooga River, a situation that could increase as volume at the plant increases.

Her other concern was "that wells have been running dry the last two summers in Cashiers, and TWSA has been asked to hold up on expansion until a full study can by done to see if we have enough water to run an additional plant."

Considering rapid development and growth in Cashiers, she asked the board to consider an alternate location for a new or expanded plant ­ one not in a residential neighborhood. If expansion is not completed by next summer, she asked the board to "at least decrease the noise by using the cement block walls."

"We need a proactive plan for Cashiers," she stressed in closing.

"I understand your concerns, but I don't know how we can address them at this point," TWSA Executive Director Jerry King said. "Unless we get a grant, we can't expand the plant. But if the plant is expanded, your concerns will be addressed."

King added that "because of the cost (involved), there are no plans to take care of the blower problem."

Currently the Cashiers facility is a single-train plant, he explained. Although the plant has two blowers, only one operates at a time. To upgrade the system for both to operate at the same time, becoming a dual-train plant, would cost $41,000, King estimated.

"The blowers there now have already been upgraded twice. You can only run them at 80 percent," King told Buckhannan.

On the issue of effluent, TWSA Chairman Mickey Luker told Buckhannan that "the stream below the wastewater treatment plant tests cleaner than that above the plant."

TWSA will hold its next meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 20, in Cashiers. It will begin at 7 p.m. at the Albert Carlton-Cashiers Community Library.

Back to Archive: 10/18/01.