SALISBURY — A chemical compound called zinc orthophosphate will be at the forefront of Rowan County’s efforts to eliminate lead in drinking water in the Dukeville area.

The county has been working for months to fix the elevated levels of lead found in some homes serviced by the northeast water system, which serves 162 connections and several hundred residents. It is owned by the county, but the water is treated by Salisbury-Rowan Utilities.

Water sampling efforts have found elevated levels of lead in the drinking water of nine customers on the system. Overall, 116 active metered connections have been tested.

The plan to eliminate the threat of lead was presented to the Rowan County Board of Commissioners during its meeting Monday afternoon by representatives from Hazen and Sawyer, an engineering firm hired by the county.

Roger Arnold, an engineer with Hazen and Sawyer, told commissioners during the meeting zinc orthophosphate in conjunction with raising the pH level of water is the answer to stopping lead from seeping into drinking water from the pipes in some customers’ homes. Zinc orthophosphate was shown to be the right chemical compound for the job by a series of tests conducted by Virginia Tech, who was contracted by Hazen and Sawyer.

The plan is for Salisbury-Rowan Utilities to switch from using a polyphosphate blend at their water treatment facility to using zinc orthophosphate. More zinc orthophosphate will then be added at a chemical booster station at the entry point to the northeast water system.

Five companies placed bids to build the chemical booster station. The low bid came in at $742,900 and was from Dellinger, Inc. Commissioners approved the bid during the meeting Monday as well as an easement for land to build the station. The city of Salisbury must also approve the easement, since the station will be built on its property.

Once the easement is approved by Salisbury and commissioners approve the contract with Dellinger at their meeting on April 19, construction on the station will begin.

Located at 1375 Long Ferry Road, the station will feature metering pumps, 55-gallon drums, a control station and other equipment needed to inject and monitor pH levels and the amount of zinc orthophosphate in the system. Once it is in the system, zinc orthophosphate will act as a corrosion inhibitor, preventing any lead from seeping into drinking water from pipes in customers’ homes. 

The corrosion control treatments are still subject to review by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.

NCDEQ has given the county until June 12 to gain compliance, or else it may face penalties for being in violation. The county hopes that its proposal of switching to zinc orthophosphate and altering the pH level will help it be in compliance.

Even after the necessary steps are taken, County Manager Aaron Church said it will take time for the water to be completely safe.

“Citizens need to continue to use Brita water filters until a treatment designation has been approved, implemented and shown to be effective,” Church said. 

To ensure safe drinking water, citizens are encouraged to run faucets for several minutes before use, clean the water aerators in their faucets and only cook with cold water.

Church said the county is still asking northeast water system customers who have not conducted a water test to complete one. The county is offering a $72 water bill credit to those who complete the test that was mailed to their property.

Chairman Greg Edds thanked Church, Hazen and Sawyer, Salisbury and Virginia Tech for their help. He also thanked the residents of Dukeville for being patient with them and said he wanted to ensure them that the county is acting as quickly as possible.

In other meeting business:

• The moratorium on applications for large solar energy systems appears to be almost over after commissioners voted to approve proposed ordinance and land use plan changes during the meeting Monday.

The changes are sweeping and include a decommissioning plan for defunct systems, screening and setback requirements and a new classification system. The changes will also give commissioners more input and flexibility when considering applications received by the county.

Since Commissioner Craig Pierce attended the meeting remotely via Zoom, the unanimous vote to approve the changes must be ratified during a special called meeting on Wednesday at 4 p.m. Because the moratorium was set to expire Monday night, commissioners extended it another 30 days. It will finally be dissolved after the vote is ratified Wednesday.

• By a 4-1 vote, commissioners approved a request from K-Town Homes to construct a mini storage facility at the 1000 block of Old Beatty Ford Road. A rezoning request to categorize the land as commercial, business and industrial instead of rural agricultural was approved unanimously, but Commissioner Judy Klusman voted “no” on a separate item concerning plans to exceed the administrative allowance of built-upon area in a watershed. Klusman said she did not want to allow the project to exceed the limit because it’s a “slippery slope” and the commissioners wouldn’t be able to say no to the next similar request.

• Commissioners voted unanimously to approve a resolution for the extension of the no-wake zone near Tamarac Marina. The extended wake zone approved by commissioners was suggested by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, but differs from the wake zone requested by resident Michael Barron.

• Tony Watlington, the new superintendent of Rowan-Salisbury School System, spoke during the meeting. Along with introducing himself to commissioners, Watlington told them he would be giving a presentation at an upcoming school board meeting about his first 100 days as superintendent. The presentation, he said, would focus on both the positives of the school system and areas that need improvements.

• Commissioners adopted two proclamations, one honoring Child Abuse Prevention Month and the other honoring Public Safety Telecommunications Week.