Environmental Programs: Benton Water Treatment Plant
The City of Raleigh, joined by officials from Wake County and neighboring towns that receive water from the Capital City, broke ground April 11, 2007 to formally begin construction of the Dempsey E. Benton Water Treatment Plant. The new water treatment plant will be the third water treatment facility in Raleigh’s 216-year history.
The Dempsey E. Benton Water Treatment Plant will be located on 55 acres at Lake Benson, off of N.C. 50 at Buffaloe Road south of Garner. Construction of the $90.5 million plant is scheduled to be complete in February 2010.
The new plant is named for Dempsey E. Benton, who served as Raleigh’s city manager from 1983-2000 and as chief deputy secretary of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources from 2001 until his retirement this past January.
The unique contemporary architectural style of the Dempsey E. Benton Water Treatment Plant uses a water theme and has green design features (such as a flowing reuse supplied water decorative pool feature), energy efficient heating and cooling systems, and uses natural light. Additionally, the plant will be constructed with some recycled construction materials.
Photos of construction progress
Why the need for a water treatment plant
The Dempsey E. Benton Water Treatment Plant will allow the City of Raleigh to meet the area’s future water needs by providing additional water system reliability and capacity. The City will continue to operate the E.M. Johnson Water Treatment Plant in north Raleigh after the Dempsey E. Benton plant opens. Having two water treatment plants presents the City with two advantages:
- The Dempsey E. Benton Water Treatment Plant at Lake Benson will supply the City with additional water capacity from the Swift Creek watershed to accommodate continued growth in the City’s water customer base. The additional water capacity also will be helpful in the event of severe droughts, such as those the Raleigh area experienced in 2002, 2005 and 2007. The Swift Creek watershed contains Lake Benson, a 500-acre reservoir, and Lake Wheeler, a 650-acre reservoir. The new water treatment plant will treat up to 20 million gallons a day from these Swift Creek reservoirs. The current water treatment capacity of the E.M. Johnson Water Treatment Plant is 86 million gallons a day from Falls Lake, currently the City’s sole source for drinking water; and,
- Constructing an additional water treatment plant will provide more water system reliability in case of adverse weather conditions or other emergencies.
Construction of the Dempsey E. Benton Water Treatment Plant means the City will return to using Lake Benson and Lake Wheeler as supply sources for drinking water. The City stopped using the lakes in 1987 when it closed the E.B. Bain Water Treatment Plant, Raleigh’s first water treatment plant, in favor of expanding the newer E.M. Johnson plant at Falls Lake. The City and other local government entities in the Swift Creek Water Supply Watershed have worked in a formal partnership to protect the two lakes and maintain their water quality so that they again could be used for drinking water supply as the area grew.
The new Dempsey E. Benton Water Treatment Plant and the E.M. Johnson Water Treatment Plant are expected to meet the area’s water needs through 2018. To accommodate water needs beyond 2018, the City of Raleigh plans to expand the Johnson plant to its maximum capacity of 120 million gallons of water per day and build the Little River Reservoir in eastern Wake County.
The City of Raleigh’s water and sewer system currently serves the needs of approximately 175,200 metered residential and business customers in Raleigh, Garner, Rolesville, Wake Forest, Knightdale, Wendell and Zebulon.
Treatment process
Following tests conducted at a pilot plant constructed at Lake Benson and operated for more than 15 months, the City of Raleigh Public Utilities Department selected a treatment process that will be used at the new Dempsey E. Benton Water Treatment Plant.
The process will begin with adding ozone to the raw water and will end with ultraviolet disinfection and chloramination. Suspended solids will be coagulated with ferric sulfate, settled in a solids contact clarifier, and gravity fed through a two-stage filtration system. The filtered water will then be disinfected with both ultraviolet light and chloramines before it is stored in a 5-million gallon, on-site storage reservoir. From the storage reservoir, water will be pumped directly to customers in Raleigh and Garner.
For More Information Contact:
Dale Crisp
Director
Public Utilities Department
One Exchange Plaza, Suite 620
Raleigh, NC 27602
919-857-4540
John Boyette
Public Affairs Specialist
Public Affairs Department
222 West Hargett Street
Raleigh, NC 27602
919-996-3303
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