City of Cayce, Town of Lexington and Lexington County break ground on state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant

Earlier today, officials from City of Cayce, Town of Lexington, and the Lexington County Joint Municipal Water and Sewer Commission gathered to break ground on a new 25 million-gallon-per-day wastewater treatment plant.

The new plant, which will serve a majority of Lexington County, will be located adjacent to the existing plant on Old State Road. Construction has begun on the project – in fact, workers had to “pause work” for today’s event — and completion is expected in 2012.

As Mayor Elise Partin noted in her remarks, while wastewater treatment plants aren’t especially glamorous, they are “central to maintaining this region’s superb quality of life.”

She added, “This is a wonderful place to live, and for that reason, we’ve experienced a surge in growth over the last few years. And all that growth, which we welcome, required that we take action to meet the increased need for water treatment in the area,” she said.

Last but not least, Partin announced that the project will result in at least 100 jobs in the local area.

“The plant will protect Lexington County’s water quality, prepare the area for further residential growth, and provide an economic development boost to the region,” she said.

Photo (left to right): Steve Mann, Frank Stover (Joint Municipal Water and Sewer Commission), Jim Ducket (Town of Lexington), John Sharpe, Ken Jumper (City of Cayce), Randy Halfacre (Town of Lexington), Elise Partin, Frank Robinson, Blake Bridwell, Rick Myers (City of Cayce), Danny Frazier (Town of Lexington), Steve Isom, Skip Jenkins (City of Cayce).

The plant will accommodate the need for increased capacity due to rapid growth in the area. It will have a capacity of 25 million gallons per day, nearly three times the current plant’s capacity of 9.5 million gallons per day.

Bill Bingham, President of American Engineering Consultants, whose firm designed the plant, announced that the new facility is being constructed at a cost of $52.7 million which is about $2 per gallon. The average cost for wastewater treatment plant construction is $5 to $6 per gallon.  

According to City Manager John C. Sharpe, the City’s bid from the general contractor, Wharton-Smith, was extremely attractive and well-below estimated costs. 

The new plant will be owned by the City of Cayce, which is the designated regional wastewater provider. Its partners in the project will own a portion of the plant’s capacity. The Town of Lexington will own 48.8 percent, the Commission will own 18.5 percent and the City of Cayce will own 31.7 percent.

When the new plant is fully functioning, the old plant will be taken out-of-service and eventually demolished. As mentioned, the cost for the project is an estimated $52.7 million and a major part of the funding is coming from a State Revolving Loan Fund.