Ever wonder where all of Water Country USA’s excess water goes? That’s the topic of a public notice from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality that seeks to gather the public’s opinion on whether a wastewater discharge permit should be re-issued to the York County water park.
Water Country USA reapplied for its Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit in October 2012. The permit, which is valid for five years, has made its way through VDEQ and is now ready to enter the public comment phase. The permit allows the park to discharge water from a man-made lake on its property where wastewater gathers to an unnamed tributary of King Creek, a public waterway.
Each ride or attraction at the park is equipped with a filter system that captures debris found in the water. When these filters clog, they are cleared by reversing the flow of water, which directs that water to the man-made lake in a process known as backwashing. Backwashing takes place once or twice a day for each ride and lasts approximately five minutes, resulting in an average of 140,000 gallons of water discharged per day during normal operations, according to a permit application from Water Country USA.
“Our office hasn’t detected any problems in complying with the permit,” said Melinda Woodruff, an environmental specialist with VDEQ. “We use the permits to protect the water quality and the environment. Water Country USA is in line with that.”
The permit limits the amount of pollutants like pH and chlorine that Water Country can discharge into the tributary. According to VDEQ and Water Country USA, there are no problems with the amount of pollutants discharged.
Water Country’s current permit expires April 22. According to a memo from Daniel B. Horne, the Engineering Field Director from the Department of Health’s Office of Drinking Water, no public water supply raw water intakes are located within 15 miles downstream or one tidal cycle upstream of the existing output in the unnamed King Creek tributary.
The tributary also collects stormwater runoff from the park and from a residential community, a hotel and some undeveloped property. There is typically a constant flow into the tributary because of drainage from storms and flow from nearby springs in the watershed. When the park closes for the year, chlorine from the water used in the rides is removed and then the water eventually makes its way to the tributary, according to documents from VDEQ.
Because the wastewater eventually ends up flowing into King Creek, public notice must be given so members of the public have a chance to make comment in writing or email to VDEQ within 30 days of the posting of the notice. If enough public comments are received, a public hearing will be held to discuss the issue. Otherwise, the application will go to VDEQ’s regional director for approval. Once approved there, the permit will be re-issued, Woodruff said.
Woodruff said the public has never raised any concerns with reissuing the permit in past instances.
To review the permit application or make a public comment, contact Woodruff at [email protected].
