Cherryville receives funding for updates to wastewater treatment system

Chloe Collins, Gaston Gazette
·2 min read
FUNDING3.jpg A big check for the city of Cherryville at the American Legion on Pink Street in Cherryville Thursday morning, Dec. 7, 2023, during funding event for Fraley Field.
FUNDING3.jpg A big check for the city of Cherryville at the American Legion on Pink Street in Cherryville Thursday morning, Dec. 7, 2023, during funding event for Fraley Field.

The city of Cherryville received funding from the state for multiple large projects this year.

At a Dec. 7 event, Gaston County representatives visited the American Legion Post 100 in Cherryville to announce that the post would be receiving $158,272 toward renovations to John L. Fraley Field.

At the same event, the representatives presented Cherryville city officials with a $1.65 million check, which will be used to make updates to the city’s wastewater system.

According to Cherryville City Manager Brian Dalton, these updates are something the city has needed for years.

Dalton said Senator Ted Alexander approached the city early this year and asked what the city desperately needed to do the most.

“We have pump stations that were put in (back) in the ‘60s,” said Dalton.

The city knew immediately that making those updates would be the most valuable decision.

“It’s critical for our infrastructure to be able to get these pump stations upgraded,” Dalton said. “This is something we’ve been needing to do for probably, I’m going to say, 10 years.”

“We’ve just been passing it and doing what we can do but now, this money is going to be instrumental in helping us really knock it out and get this project completed,” he added.

In addition to updating the pump stations, the city would also like to refurbish the oxidation ditch to the waste water, and add two new settling basins.

N.C. House Speaker Tim Moore talks at the American Legion on Pink Street in Cherryville Thursday morning, Dec. 7, 2023, during funding event for Fraley Field and the city of Cherryville.
N.C. House Speaker Tim Moore talks at the American Legion on Pink Street in Cherryville Thursday morning, Dec. 7, 2023, during funding event for Fraley Field and the city of Cherryville.

The $1.6 million will cover both the updates to the pump stations and the oxidation ditch, Dalton said.

The city hopes to eventually secure funding for the additional settling basins.

According to Dalton, Cherryville officials have already started ordering parts for one of the new pump stations.

“We’re probably going to work with multiple contractors because that’s so much work,” he said. “Some will need more work than others, but we’re probably going to use multiple contractors to speed it up, so to speak.”

While there is no official timeline on the updates to the pump stations, Dalton said the oxidation ditch will likely be a year-long project.

“The reason I say that is because we have two oxidation ditches. We just finished doing one of them and totally refurbishing it and getting it going, so what we’re going to do now is we’re going to drain the one that we’re currently using, and we’re going to use that one,” Dalton said. “The one we just finished took over a year to be completed.”

Any funding left over from this project will likely go toward the new settling basins, which Dalton said could aid in the way of processing drinking water from Indian Creek.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Cherryville receives funding to update wastewater treatment system