How our county’s sewer lines are kept relatively clean and free-flowing is something most of us probably would rather not even think about.
But for members of the Laurens County Water and Sewer Commission board, it is an issue that requires an annual report — a report which now is on the utility’s website, and was a discussion point at the board’s May 26 meeting.
Officially it’s called the Capacity, Management, Operations and Maintenance report (CMOM).
You can find it under Current Highlights at https://lcwsc.com. The board received the report from Damas Mattison, regulatory compliance and operations manager, and saw an important piece of equipment - a SL-RAT inspection device - in action.
The Commission operates its wastewater treatment plant on the Bush River between Joanna and the Newberry County line. It maintains a key connection point at Clinton (the intersection of the Hwy 56 by-pass/Springdale Road and Hwy 76/Carolina Avenue). LCWSC is wrapping up an expansion of this system to serve the Millers Fork basin, behind QT at the Hwy 72 - I-26 “gateway” into Clinton. To serve a system that extends from Joanna past Gray Court, LCWSC uses “lift stations” to move the wastewater - there are 28 systemwide, including one on Hwy 25 in western Laurens County serving Ware Shoals.
Technicians access this far-flung system through manholes - in subdivisions these are relatively close together but “out in the wild” these can be 500 feet apart. Cameras (like GoPros) can “see” inside the pipe. Devices like the SL-RAT use sound waves above ground to detect blockages; they bought this device a year ago.
LCWSC relies on water customers for the bulk of its revenue — in April, the utility installed 89 new water taps and 70 new sewer taps.
But officials have said expanding the sewerage system, especially where there are chances to connect to industrial parks, industries, and large businesses, is an important part of keeping LCWSC financially healthy.
LCWSC Executive Director Jeff Field said sewer in Laurens County has formed in a “boomerang” type of system in Western Laurens County from Fountain Inn down through Hickory Tavern and onto Lake Greenwood; now, however, they are seeing some sewer-infill in the Clinton-Laurens corridor and in the Joanna community (eastern Laurens County). LCWSC has obtained $8.8 Million in grants funding in the past 3 years to enhance its water and sewer expansion projects (a full projects-update will be coming in August).
Field said they have completed a line extension to Carolina Power, an electrical distribution company under construction just north of the LCWSC water tank at ZF Transmissions (Northern Laurens County at Gray Court/Owings.)
Mattison said the wastewater collections part of LCWSC changed its reporting model in 2024, and the report he provided was the 2025 work summary. Sewer services for the utility are concentrated in the upper I-385 corridor and around the municipalities, where these can support jobs-creation projects and subdivisions. But a lot of the inspections have to happen in fields and forests - and sometimes in wetlands, where the utility encounters beavers.
Their dams cause water to pool, and cover manholes.
Beaver-trapping, the board was told, is a dying skill.
There is a tractor-like machine that bashes beaver dams — called a Marsh Master - but it is very expensive, and it would require adding personnel to drive it, plus maintenance costs.
The same is true with the cameras that “see” into the manholes, for maintenance concerns, and into the sewer lines for issues with roots, grit and blockages. Someone has to view the video and determine when and where remedial action is needed. Field said some new camera systems come with an AI (artificial intelligence) feature that looks at many videos overnight and makes these evaluations.
“That technology is getting better,” Field said. “This is the largest amount of time, looking at all the videos.”
“We need personnel, or a contractor, to evaluate the videos,” Mattison said.
The Commission also will be seeking grant funds to buy and install coatings for the inside of manholes, to decrease water degradation and improve safety.
Field said these challenges and others — such as equipment and personnel expansions for the 24/7/365 Lake Greenwood Water Treatment Plant operations - will be seen by the board next month during budget discussions. But this is a growth industry; in the near future, the board was told, state workforce development officials will be partnering with LCWSC to produce job-opportunity videos about careers in the water quality and infrastructure industry.
MORE information here
And here.
