News

Commissioners eye sewer service in Edneyville

By Bill Moss, Published: August 2, 2021

Henderson County commissioners will consider spending as much as $62 million on a broad plan to provide sewer service in the Edneyville or as little as $2.2 million to replace a failing septic system that serves Edneyville Elementary School.

Commissioners will review options Monday night that they first saw in May and then Tuesday night present the options to the apple country community and take public comment. The commmunity meeting is at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Edneyville Elementary School. County officials have known for several years that the septic facility at Edneyville Elementary School needs to be replaced, as does a package treatment facility that serves Camp Judea on U.S. 64. 

At the commissioners' direction, consulting engineers KCI Associates presented solutions ranging from the small to the large. The broadest solution, and most expensive, involves gravity sewer lines in the Edneyville and Fruitland area and a new wastewater treatment facility at North Henderson High School.

Commission Chair Bill Lapsley warned in May that a regional sewer system of that magnitude would open the door to development.

"Should this board decide to proceed with this alternative and build a large gravity sewer line and treatment plant basically what I think this board would be doing is driving new development in this county into that area," he said. "It would make it extraordinarily attractive to a developer, residential in particular but also commercial and industrial as well. It would drive development into that area. It goes way way beyond what I saw as the objective here, and that's to get sewer to Edneyville Elementary."

Options include:

• A new pump station at Camp Judea and gravity sewer line from Edneyville Elementary School to city of Hendersonville treatment plant, $3.6 million.
• New pump station from Edneyville Elementary School to city treatment plant, $2.2 million.
• New wastewater treatment facility at Camp Judea, gravity line from Edneyville to city treatment plant, $3.4 million.
• Three pump stations on U.S. 64, new pump station at the WNC Justice Academy, to city treatment plant, $14.7 million.
• Regional gravity system to new plant at NHHS, $29.6 million.
• Regional gravity system serving Edneyville, the Justice Academy and Fruitland Baptist Church, new treatment plant at NHHS, $47.3 million.
• Regional gravity system serving Edneyville plus a new pump station at Justice Academy, new treatment plant at NHHS, $33.2 million.
• Regional gravity system serving Edneyville plus minor gravity sewer lines to serve developments, new treatment plant at NHHS, $62 million.
• Regional gravity system serving Edneyville plus new pump station at Fruitland Baptist to a new treatment plant at the confluence of streams, $26.1 million.