Monday, September 9, 2024–7:55 p.m.
-David Crowder, WRGA News-
A week ago, it did not appear as though the proposed Riverside Parkway location for a new reverse osmosis water treatment facility had majority support among Rome City Commissioners. However, the location was approved Monday night, and the vote was unanimous.
Information presented during a recent water and sewer committee meeting by InSite Engineering and the construction manager Archer Western seemed to play a big role in some commissioners, like Wayne Robinson, voting in favor.
“Obviously, I’ve kind of been one of the strong opponents to it going on Riverside for various reasons,” Robinson said. “But, and there’s always a but, the information that we got this past week was basically a game changer. It told me that option B—the [public works] landfill site–is off the table and up on the hill is just not really the best for it. So I’m not saying that we are putting it in the best location. We’re putting it on the best option that we have.”
The construction cost has a cap of $200 million.
Rome has been awarded settlement funds in a lawsuit against carpet manufacturers, chemical companies, and others that will go to pay for the water treatment facility that filters PFAS chemicals out of the local water supply.
New US Environmental Protection Agency regulations regarding PFAS go into effect in April of 2029.