Replacement of Ninety Six Wastewater Plant

Project Overview

The Ninety Six CPW inherited the infrastructure of the Pier 96 Wastewater Package Plant area in lower Greenwood County when a developer abandoned the water and sewer utilities in the area. SCDHEC approached Ninety Six CPW to take over and operate it. In the mid 1990’s a small amount of seed money was given to Ninety Six CPW by SCDHEC to make immediate improvements and repairs to the water and sewer system.

Since then, Ninety Six CPW has spent funds on replacing water lines, replacing the pump stations, and expanding the utility service to properties that were promised services but the infrastructure was never installed. The waste treatment system located adjoining Highway 34 has been operating without any improvements since 1988. In the last 2 years, it became apparent that the structure of the plant was failing as we were having leaks on the sidewalls of the tank on a regular basis.

We chose an engineering firm from an RFP process and contracted with them to investigate the proper course of action for the facility. We did this work in conjunction with a master plan for our sewer system.

Their recommendation was to replace the current facility as Phase One. Phase 2 we will be evaluating the existing plant and if it can be overhauled after being decommissioned. Ninety Six CPW would either do that or salvage it and build another unit in its place. Phase 2 will allow us to expand to help meet the need for public sewer on and near lower Lake Greenwood.

As of right now, Lower Lake Greenwood is currently the fastest growing area in the Ninety Six CPW district. There are undeveloped waterfront properties and joining properties that we have identified in the master plan and at this moment it would be reasonable to anticipate 1000 new housing units in this area. This coupled with our ability to provide public sewer to many or more existing homes on the waterfront on septic systems makes this project a three-win benefit for Greenwood County. First, we would fix an aging plant, second, we make new housing starts available with public sewer availability, and third, we would offer current homeowners with failing septic systems at and near Lake Greenwood access to public sewer.

This project was already planned, engineered, and quoted in the fall of 2023. We intended to start the project in November 2023 but engineering estimates were low compared to the quotes we received. We are currently in a market affected by the influx of 1.5 billion dollars in infrastructure aid from the state government SCIIP. This has driven prices up on labor and materials. Because we could not execute the inflated contract we were required to return $500,000 in RIA grant funds.

Our project is shovel ready! We currently have a DHEC permit for the project, drawings, plans, and specs.

Please consider this project as it benefits all taxpayers in the county by increasing the number of homes that pay taxes in the county. It also helps prevent failing septic tank effluent running into Lake Greenwood, and it maintains a sustainable infrastructure for residents in the Lower Lake Greenwood County.