Newport News – During a September 10 event at the HRSD Boat Harbor Treatment Plant with Newport News Mayor McKinley L. Price, DDS, Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Director David Paylor, and other local officials, HRSD General Manager Ted Henifin announced plans to close the nearly 80-year old plant located adjacent to Interstate 664 in Newport News.

The Boat Harbor Treatment Plant closure announcement coincided with the presentation of $477 million from the EPA  --  the second portion of HRSD’s overall  $1.05 billion Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Assistant Administrator of Water, Radhika Fox, was on hand to present the ceremonial check. This portion of the loan will be used to build the infrastructure needed to retire the Boat Harbor Treatment Plant which has outlived its useful life and is threatened by sea level rise. The plant will be decommissioned in late 2025.

HRSD received the first portion of the loan ($225 million) in October 2020, which is being used to help fund the full-scale development of the James River SWIFT facility in Newport News.

HRSD's mission is to protect public health and the waters of Hampton Roads by treating wastewater effectively. A political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia, HRSD was created by public referendum in 1940 and currently serves 18 cities and counties in southeast Virginia, an area with a population of 1.7 million. SWIFT (the Sustainable Water Initiative for Tomorrow), HRSD's newest water treatment innovation, is designed to further protect the region’s environment and enhance the sustainability of the region’s groundwater.

HRSD's vision: Future generations will inherit clean waterways and be able to keep them clean.

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