CARY BREAKS GROUND ON FIRST IN THE REGION
SOLUTION TO SLUDGE

CARY, NC – Thanks in part to a $1.35 million federal grants secured by Congressman David Price, the Town of Cary broke ground today on the region’s first giant dryer that will turn the residue from sewage treatment into high quality fertilizer.  The $13.3 million state-of-the art sludge drying facility is being built at Cary ’s South Wastewater Reclamation Facility and is expected to go online in 2005.  Once completed, it will be able to handle up to 250,000 gallons of sludge a day, which could yield about 50,000 pounds of environmentally safe, high quality fertilizer per day.   

Sludge, known in the treatment industry as biosolids, is the remains of organisms that digest the solid matter left over after the water in sewage has been removed, treated, and released into creeks or reused.  In North Carolina , wastewater system operators must dispose of the sludge according to strict guidelines, which often results in contracting to have the sludge land applied or having it placed in landfills.  

In addition to the federal funds, Cary sewage customers will benefit from very low interest rates of 2.4 percent offered through the state revolving fund loan program for $11.9 million of the project.  Town of Cary Finance Officer Karen Mills estimates that the revolving loan will save in excess of $3 million in interest over the 20-year life of the loan.  

“We so appreciate all the support we’ve received for this important project from our friends in the state and federal governments,” said Cary Mayor Ernie McAlister.  “We are especially appreciative of the attention Representative Price has given to this issue.”  

The Town of Cary operates two water reclamation facilities that generate about 65,000 gallons of sludge per day.  Currently, Cary contracts to have the sludge removed and recycled through land application on farmland in nearby counties.  But as development continues in the region, nearby available farmland is becoming scarce, and in order to manage the rising cost and environmental consequences of sludge management, the Town of Cary decided to build the dryer following comprehensive research and evaluation.  

"Once again, Cary is at the forefront of innovation, utilizing new technology in the treatment of solid waste," said Price.  "The biosolids dryer is both environmentally-friendly and highly effective in its transformation of sludge into high-quality fertilizer.  This is exactly why the town of Cary continues to be a model for others to follow."  

While this is the first such dryer to be built in the Triangle, similar projects have been completed in Boone and Forest City , North Carolina .

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