The Edmonson County Water District is gearing up for an upgrade to its Brownsville water treatment plant, something ECWD General Manager Kevin Shaw told the Daily News has not been done at the plant in a quarter century.

“This project has to be completed to get that water treatment plant in the condition that the community deserves,” Shaw said.

The last time the plan was upgraded was in 2000. Shaw said there are numerous changes that need to be made so the plant can treat water up to modern standards. To this end, phase one of the upgrade will see the introduction of bleach-based water disinfection and a secondary cleaning process involving ultraviolet light.

Shaw said the facility currently uses a chlorine gas-based disinfection method for treating water, which comes with increased danger and can leave an aftertaste in drinking water.

“Chlorine gas is incredibly, incredibly dangerous,” Shaw said. “We want to get away from that risk to the community and to the operators.”

A backup generator will also be installed in phase one. Shaw said in advance of winter storm Fern, a generator had to be rented.

Other changes will be made to help the plant meet new regulations. The plant meets current regulations, but Shaw said it’s a struggle and compared it to having an old car.

“You can get to work in your old car, but it certainly feels better when you’ve got a newer vehicle and you never have to worry about it,” he said.

A total project cost is around $25 million, and phase one takes up more than half of this amount at $14 million. More than $9.2 million has been allocated by the federal government to help fund phase one.

ECWD is still waiting to receive the money. The district is still looking at ways to make up the $5 million difference with phase one, but finding funding isn’t something Shaw is worried about.

“We’re not terribly concerned about that,” he said. “We can find that.”

There are hopes to begin design work on the upgrades soon and, if all goes to plan, go out for bid in around a year and a half to two years. Construction is expected to last about the same amount of time.

“I’d like to think that in 48 months, we could be done with phase one,” Shaw stated.