More than three years after Grand Forks water treatment plant opens, officials cut the ribbon - Grand Forks Herald

More than three years after Grand Forks water treatment plant opens, officials cut the ribbon - Grand Forks Herald | Grand Forks, East Grand Forks news, weather & sports

More than three years after Grand Forks water treatment plant opens, officials cut the ribbon

The state contributed $75 million to the $150 million project, the largest single investment in Grand Forks in its history.

GRAND FORKS — Three and half years after Grand Forks’ new water treatment plant opened, city and state officials celebrated with a ribbon cutting.

On Thursday morning, Oct. 12, Grand Forks city leaders and staff, members of the North Dakota State Water Commission, local legislative representatives and project partners gathered at the Grand Forks Regional Water Treatment Plant. The plant has been open since 2020, but the ceremony was postponed due to COVID-19.

“It really is magic that this facility works; this was the last piece of our puzzle after the Flood of 1997,” said Grand Forks City Administrator Todd Feland. “It’s been a 20-year process to reorientate our whole water systems”

The new facility is a combination of traditional water treatment processes and new ones. Half of the facility uses a conventional lime system to treat water and the other half uses a membrane-based system that can filter out polyfluoroalykl substances, more commonly known as PFAS, or forever chemicals. Most of the water is treated using the membrane system.

The facility cost $150 million to construct. The state gave $75 million toward the project, the largest single investment made in Grand Forks in its history. North Dakota Lt. Gov. Tammy Miller discussed the partnership that existed for the project. She also serves on the state water commission.

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“This project would not have gotten done without the state water commission, and it's really fun to have great North Dakota companies working on spaces like this,” Miller said. “This project is critical for economic development and sets us up for future water security along the Red River.”

This project connects to larger state efforts to secure water supplies in eastern and central North Dakota in the event of droughts. The proposed Red River Valley Water Supply Project, for example, would bring water from the Missouri River Basin east to the Red River Basin.

The facility treats all of Grand Forks’ water, around eight million gallons of water a day. It has a capacity of up to 20 million gallons and also can be easily expanded to meet Grand Forks' needs in the future.

Grand Forks’ old treatment plant used to be much closer to the Red River. It dates from the 1940s and saw expansions in the 1950s and 1960s. The plant was heavily damaged after the Flood of 1997, and the city decided at that time to look into building a new treatment facility.

“During the flood repair, we realized the old plant wasn’t going to survive well,” said North Dakota state Sen. Curt Kreun, who used to serve on the Grand Forks City Council. “The old plant dated from the '40s, and we had to find milling companies to make parts (during flood repairs).”

The city looked at several different cities’ treatment plants when deciding on a new facility. A membrane system was chosen for its ability to supply the cleanest water possible. The new facility is also brighter than the old facility.

“This is a phenomenal facility compared to the meat locker before,” said Grand Forks Mayor Brandon Bochenski.

The city completely switched over the new facility from the old facility during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and the old facility has since been decommissioned. Near the main control panel is an old flow gauge, which is a token from the old facility brought to the new facility.

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“When this project came before us, I thought there was a misprint in the agenda, and it was supposed to be $7.5 million, not $75 million,” said North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring. “This project really shows what North Dakota can accomplish.”

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