Blowing Rock, NC
Environmental Services
BEA was approached in by Westglow Spa in Blowing Rock, NC to evaluate alternatives to the $2.4M wastewater treatment system they recently had permitted. It was cost prohibitive. BEA reviewed the soil and hydrologic conditions and proposed a subsurface drip irrigation system with advanced pretreatment. To permit the system a hydrogeologic study had to be performed to increase the potential for lateral flow at the site. The limited lateral flow of the immediately available drainfield area was the primary reason for the excessive cost. BEA utilized ground-breaking methods to analyze hydraulic conductivity below the soil profile in weathered rock conditions to increase the calculated lateral flow. The site was approved with special limitations on effluent limits, particularly with respect to nutrient limits. BEA designed the first Moving Bed Biological Reactor (MBBR) pretreatment system ever permitted by the NCDENR Department of Environmental Health. The 10,000 gallon per day system has been installed saving the client approximately $2M.