Ware Shoals asks local company to rework water system
WARE SHOALS — One town is trying something new, using an old partner.
At its Jan. 24 meeting, Ware Shoals Town Council agreed to have L&L Environmental Labs take over the main duties for the town’s wastewater and water services.
“Our pipes and our lives have been old and dilapidated for years,” Town Council member George Leagans said. “We haven’t really had the resources to do what we needed to do.”
Much of the town’s water infrastructure was built to facilitate Riegel Mill, and part of the reason the town was incorporated was for federal funding for improving water lines and wastewater handling.
Much of the system was built in the late 1960s, said John Lake, of L&L Environmental.
“Our water system is in relatively good shape,” Lake said. “We’re hitting the life cycle on some of our sewer stuff that’s needing replacing, though.”
Ware Shoals’ wastewater system provides services for 2,500 customers, including dozens of industrial users across four counties and six utility companies, Lake said. The facilities can treat up to 8 million gallons of wastewater a day, though it’s only managing about 900,000 gallons a day, he said.
“This is how many people depend on this, and that is not just in Ware Shoals,” Lake said.
The wastewater system is also an attraction for industries coming to Highway 25. Lake said they rely on having a site to process their wastewater efficiently.
Prior to this latest agreement, L&L had already done some work replacing faulty water meters and taking stock of the resources and elements of Ware Shoals’ water system, as well as its condition.
“We’ve still got a lot of repair projects to be done in town — I think we’ve got about 30,” Lake said. “Those range from about $5,000 to $3.5 million.”
The most expensive work will be funded in part by the Greenwood County Capital Project Sales Tax, helping replace aged water lines with new ones. The bulk of the work the system needs, Lake said, is addressing right-of-way issues, making repairs at the town’s sewer plant and upgrading the Honea Path lift station, which transports sewage.
“Ware Shoals is fixing to grow, we’re already growing,” Lake said. “We’re beginning to see the benefit of people wanting to be within range of the Simpsonville area while being close to the industry here.”
L&L did water sampling and other work for the town for years, but about two years ago the town asked the company to take on more responsibility over the water systems. The goal, said Lake and his son-in-law, L&L Owner B.J. Pulley, is to create a modern water treatment system with a new organizational structure. New meters, read regularly via antennas, are part of that new infrastructure.
But it also comes with a new management model. Based on what leading utility companies are doing, Lake said they’re looking to develop a core staff of well-trained employees to handle critical matters. These would include regular, preventative maintenance, reading meters and coordinating with contractors — because rather than hiring additional hands to handle occasional work, he said they aim to outsource that labor through contracting. Officials are looking into whether L&L can contract with the town’s public works department for grounds maintenance, for instance.
“We’re hoping that when they finish, which we’re thinking will take about two years, we’ll have a state-of-the-art system,” Leagans said.
Randee Beasley, town clerk/treasurer, said she hasn’t been given final figures on what L&L’s services will cost, but an estimate put it at about $176,500 a year. She said that’s about $11,000 less than what was budgeted for the town managing its own water staff payroll.
Originally Published by Index-Journal on:Feb 1, 2022
By DAMIAN DOMINGUEZ ddominguez@indexjournal.com