DUKE ENERGY - BELEWS CREEK ASH LANDFILL
An Engineering Excellence Award-Winning Project

S&ME assisted Duke Energy with design, permitting and construction of a state-of-the-art landfill, using techniques and systems that minimized environmental impacts to an adjacent, ecologically sensitive area. Belews Creek flows past the project site into Belews Lake in Stokes County, North Carolina, an area extremely important to economic growth from prime home sites and recreational opportunities.

The project site, bordered on two sides with water, raised significant concerns that disposal operations would create high risks to both lake and groundwater. S&ME’s in-depth investigation provided credible evidence to regulatory agencies that with our approach, the site would safely accommodate the landfill. Several original design elements distinguish the Belews Creek Ash Landfill. These include a leachate management design more complex than typical, with a multipart, comprehensive system to collect and segregate infiltrating water and stormwater runoff during operational placement of waste materials.

Material selection for the landfill was also unique with extensive use of high-density polyethylene, non-corrosive water-tight materials and stainless steel piping and valves. The design focused on protecting the water quality in Belews Creek, while redundancies in safe guards provided for efficiency in operations, maintenance and accommodating planned expansion of the landfill.