A $25-million demonstration project under construction in Suffolk, Va., will show officials from the Hampton Roads Sanitation District how to address a myriad of problems facing the water utility, including a rapidly shrinking water aquifer, land subsidence and a potential checklist of requirements for restoration of the Chesapeake Bay.
The project, funded almost entirely by ratepayers, is part of HRSD’s Sustainable Water Initiative for Tomorrow (SWIFT) program, which ultimately could result in $1 billion in projects at seven of HRSD’s nine wastewater treatment plants and provide up to $2 billion in credits for other local utilities under the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program for the Chesapeake Bay.