Breaking ground and making history: Alcorn joins two others in operating reverse osmosis Water Treatment Plant
With its latest structural addition to the main campus, Alcorn State University continues to push boundaries to forward the progress for the university.
Alcorn celebrated the opening of its new reverse osmosis Water Treatment Plant during its Ground Breaking Ceremony Friday, March 29 behind the Campus Bookstore. Alcorn now operates one of three reverse osmosis treatment plants in the state of Mississippi.
Sheila Williams, project engineer with Engineering Service in Richland, Mississippi, applauded the university for being one of the leaders in improving the quality of the campus’ water.
“This university is at the forefront of the great things that are happening in the state,” said Williams. “We are happy to serve as the university’s engineer for this new and innovative treatment technology.”
Dr. Jeff Posey, associate vice president for Facilities Management, shed light on the new water system and its ability to address the university’s calcium buildup in its plumbing.
“We’re introducing totally renovated facility that utilizes closed circuit, reverse osmosis water treatment that will address the hard water that has caused the university years of plumbing problems,” said Posey. “We are very excited about this new project.”
Larry Hoover, Water & Waste Water Plant Operator at Alcorn, looks forward to the future success of the plant. He believes that upgrades to the facility will allow Alcorn to produce the best water in the state.
“The future of water treatment is what we’re looking at,” said Hoover. “I believe that everyone in the state of Mississippi will be using one of the treatment plants like ours. This is one of the best colleges in the state, and we will have some of the best water in the state, which is something that this great university should take pride in.”
Calvin Sibley, director of the Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management for the Mississippi Department of Finance & Administration, reflected on the hard work that went into the improvement of the plant.
“This has been a long time coming,” said Sibley. “There have been lots of studies that have taken place to ensure that your campus has good, clean water.”
Interim President, Dr. Donzell Lee said that he anticipates watching the advancement of the plant.
“This is monumental for Alcorn because we will save on appliances, so we’re very grateful for this project,” said Lee. “We look forward to visiting the contractor and seeing the project grow as it continues.”
