Brunswick water treatment plant earns statewide recognition

LELAND (News Release) — A Brunswick County reverse osmosis water treatment plant, H2Go, recently won Honors Distinction in the 2024 American Council of Engineering Companies of North Carolina Engineering Excellence Awards. The plant said it has positive implications for community and economic development. H2GO’s customer base has grown by roughly 2.5% annually, and is expected to double in the next 25 years.

A U.S. Geological Survey study published in July estimates at least 45% of the nation’s tap water contains PFAS, and headlines have not stopped since. The issue has alarmed communities in North Carolina who rely on water supply from the Cape Fear River since 2017, when the existence of these “forever chemicals” first emerged.

But, leadership at Brunswick Regional Water & Sewer H2GO had already begun looking into an alternative to surface water. In 2011, H2GO had contracted with The Wooten Company to conduct a study to determine if it would be feasible to withdraw brackish groundwater from the Lower Pee Dee and Black Creek aquifers.

The plant said that the source water in these aquifers has been protected beneath layer of clay for hundreds of years and is an “abundant source supply that will serve communities for generations to come.” Sampling by Groundwater Management Associates (GMA) confirmed that the barrier insulates the source water from pollutants, eliminating concerns about PFAS or other potential contamination. While Wooten engineers, GMA specialists determined that deep wells, using submersible pumps, could extract from this water supply for treatment using reverse osmosis (RO) technology.

A combination of “cost savings, public health considerations, and enhanced resilience” drove H2GO commissioners’ decision to construct the plant. It now provides clean drinking water to more than sixteen-thousand customers in northern Brunswick County.

For more information, visit the H2Go website.