The local agency that ensures 18,233 accounts in Laurens County have pure drinking water last Tuesday thanked its 52 employees for their service and played host to a board meeting where the status of local housing developments was discussed.
The Board of the Laurens County Water and Sewer Commission held its annual spring breakfast to recognize employees for years of service and to highlight employees who have sought and obtained advanced training.
New employees also were introduced to the board. The commission has held this event annually since 2017. LCWSC Executive Director Jeff Field said a significant accomplished is not having a full staff at the Lake Greenwood Water Treatment Plant, the main source for pure drinking water piped to customers in the southern, eastern and central portions of Laurens County. LCWSC buys some water from the Greenville Water System to serve the fast-growing areas of Gray Court-Owings and southern Fountain Inn.
The board had just one agenda item for this regular monthly meeting -- a resolution affirming legacy sewer taps - but Field said that resolution wording was not yet complete. The policy deals with taps that the commission inherited on the Joanna Mills and Lydia Mills community. Before 2001, the commission did not make these taps; homeowners were responsible for these taps. LCWSC is considering how to bring these sewer installations up to modern standards.
The board was told money obligated to the commission from FEMA* from work and damage from Hurricane Helene is now coming into its accounts. The latest payment received was $277,000.
Field said the commission could feel an impact from the recent spike in gasoline/diesel fuel, but it seems to be well-positioned because it has its own fuel station, “so we locked in prices before the price hike.”
Regarding development, Field said the build-out of subdivisions, some of which received approvals several years ago, is making investors more comfortable in buying a re-habbing existing homes in the Laurens - Clinton market. “Investors are confident they can buy and flip existing houses. If there are existing sewer lines (where these houses are located), that’s good for the commission,” Field said.
Board members brought up observations they had made about land for sale and continuing development around Laurens County. The board was told that the City of Clinton had submitted capacity fees for 15 more houses in the Stone Creek subdivision (near Eastside Elementary School). Interest was expressed in the Cambridge Farms subdivision in Clinton (Hway 56 between Ingles and Merrye Oakes) but it was unclear if the housing development is moving forward through Clinton annexation. Fox Bank subdivisions, near Gray Court-Owings Elementary School, is continuing its build-out; LCWSC manages the water system of the Town of Gray Court, home to the massive ZF Transmissions plant.
So far this fiscal year, LCWSC has installed an additional 586 water taps and an additional 380 sewer taps -- 82 water taps and 22 sewer taps in February.
LCWSC administration and the board have been keeping an eye on how many of these new taps ARE NOT in subdivisions - so far, this year that number is 173 water taps. That indicates that there is “in-fill” housing development going on throughout Laurens County, not just new housing areas.
Local and area officials have said consistently that increasing the number of occupied rooftops in the community is the key to attracting national businesses that add to the local economy.
Field mentioned briefly a recent announcement by U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, who wrote, “During the most recent funding cycle, I secured $4.42 million in federal funding to support the design and construction of a new two-million-gallon water storage and purification tank for the Laurens County Water and Sewer Commission’s water treatment plant. This agency provides wastewater management services to residents, farms and businesses throughout Laurens County and plays a critical role in delivering safe drinking water across the entire region.
“I believe this project will improve water quality and strengthen the reliability of the county’s water infrastructure. The project will also strengthen system resilience during extreme weather events and emergency conditions. Once completed, this investment will bolster Laurens County’s water infrastructure and help ensure the community has safe and reliable drinking water for years to come.
“In my view, rural communities, such as Laurens County, represent the backbone of South Carolina. Unfortunately, too often, Washington insiders overlook these areas because they fail to understand your needs.”
Field said this new clear well will be important as a hedge against emergency events (ie, hurricane, ice storm) when the normal water flow could be disrupted. If the capacity in existing clear wells drops, this new clear well can kick in to ensure that water quality continues to meet standards.
*FEMA = Federal Emergency Management Agency.
