CWT probably doesn't ring a bell with many people, but the three letters could spell the potential for big business for the area.

Paul Hudson, Dan Scroggins and Mike McDaniel, representatives of Cleanwater CWT, Inc., spoke to the Brundidge Rotary Club Wednesday and gave the Rotarians an overview of the new business proposed for Brundidge.

CWT is the acronym for Centralized Wastewater Treatment and the trio of businessmen said the new business climate in Southeast Alabama is making the area fertile ground for such a business.

McDaniel said many industries that support companies, such as Hyundai, create high strength wastewater during the industrial process and that waste must be pre-treated before it can be released into a public wastewater

treatment facility.

CWT has a pre-treatment facility at the Hudson Companies’ location in Troy and was looking for another facility site. They had to look no further than eight miles down the road to the hometown of Paul Hudson.

Scroggins said the Brundidge site is almost letter-perfect for CWT.

Federal regulations have leveled the playing field; therefore, a large city is no better site for a centralized wastewater treatment facility than a small town.

"We have a pre-treatment facility sitting in Troy and the site in Brundidge was a real advantage," he said. "Our neighbors there will be a landfill and a wastewater treatment facility. Other businesses might not find that to their advantage, but the landfill and wastewater treatment facility will be prefect neighbors for us."

Scroggins also cited the pro-business atmosphere of Brundidge as a factor in Cleanwater CWT's decision to locate the facility there.

Scroggins said an agreement between the City of Brundidge and Cleanwater CWT to locate the pre-treatment facility in the city's industrial park, will be a beneficial venture for both.

"CTW won't employ that many people - probably less than a dozen - but having a CWT locate in Brundidge will make the area an ideal location for industries that produce high- strength wastewater," he said. "Many industries that produce small amounts of high- strength wastewater don't want the expense of building a pre-treatment facility because it is costly to do so. They would prefer to transport the waste to a pre-treatment facility."

The waste will be transported to Cleanwater CWT for pre-treatment and then be released into the Brundidge wastewater treatment facility. Waste could also be pre-treated at the Troy facility and transported to the Brundidge wastewater treatment facility.

Once the high-strength wastewater is pre-treated and treated, it is safe to go back into the environment, McDaniel said.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and the City of Brundidge will all dictate environmental safe guards as protection against pollution from the procedures.

Hudson expressed his appreciation to the City of Brundidge and its citizens for the support for the new business.

"The enthusiasm here is contagious," he said. "The community's interest in the past and its focus on the future are evident.

It's good to be back home with a business."