Lumberton Gives Green Light to $34M Regional Wastewater Project with Bladenboro

A major shift in water treatment is coming to Bladenboro, as Lumberton's City Council approved a $34 million plan on October 6 to link its plant with Bladenboro's system.

Workers will install pipes across 15 miles to connect both towns. The full project needs two years.

"Our plant discharges into a slow-moving stream, which causes issues for us with our testing of chemicals in the wastewater," said Bladenboro Town Administrator Jan Maynor, according to The Robesonian.

State groups and the Golden LEAF Foundation provided all the money needed. Bladenboro might get $2 million more, pushing the total to $36 million. Starting at Bladenboro's old plant, the line will follow Highway 211 past Allenton before reaching Lumberton.

The current setup at Lumberton processes 6.5 million gallons daily, said Public Works Director Rob Armstrong. It can handle up to 20 million, so Bladenboro's extra million gallons will make things work better.

State officials want bigger, shared systems instead of small, old plants. While Bladenboro first looked at sending water to Elizabethtown, issues with space and river flows made Lumberton work better.

"This has been being talked about for 30-plus years or longer," Maynor said. Past attempts to join Bladen County towns into one system didn't work out.

Both towns must now sign papers listing their duties. Once done, state officials can start finding builders.

The deal puts Lumberton in charge of any factories using water in Bladenboro. They'll also run Bladenboro's plant until everything's ready.

Lumberton's plant needs work because it's stayed the same since the 1990s. They'll fix how they handle waste and intake before taking Bladenboro's water.