DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — DeKalb County officials gathered at the Snapfinger Creek Water Treatment Plant on Flakes Mill Road Monday morning to cut the ribbon on a more than $250 million expansion for the facility.
According to officials, the plans are about 20 years old.
“We’ve been waiting for this day for a while,” Michael Thurmond, DeKalb County CEO, said at the ribbon cutting. Channel 2′s Eryn Rogers was there for the ceremony, where officials talked about what the project means for residents.
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For those gathered at the plant, it wasn’t a secret that it took a long road to get to this moment. After decades of work, the new expanded water treatment facility is officially up and running.
“A sense of joy, and accomplishment for the people of DeKalb County, the largest membrane facility like this in the nation,” Thurmond said. “This secures growth and prosperity in DeKalb County for decades to come.”
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However, the plant and its upgrade process aren’t without their challenges.
There was a grand jury investigation into the plant’s upgrade process for poor contract oversight, a structurally unsound retaining wall, multiple leadership changes including eight different watershed directors and homeowners saying the blasting on site had damaged their homes.
Still, county leaders said the new facility is about looking to the future.
“You have to learn from history, but you don’t dwell on it,” Thurmond said. “My purpose today was so we don’t forget but at the same time embrace the opportunity that we have. This was a very difficult road.”
Now, the facility will be able to treat up to 54 million gallons of wastewater a day, an increase from its previous 36 million-gallon capacity.
“Taking dirty water, cleaning it up and returning it back to the environment, that’s huge. It supports the quality of life,” Thurmond said at the ceremony.
County leaders also told Channel 2 Action News that the site could be expanded further, able to treat up to 81 million gallons of wastewater per day, as the county grows.
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