ReWa Breaks Ground on Regional Consolidation Project
August 16, 2011
PIEDMONT, SC – August 16, 2011 – Renewable Water Resources (ReWa) recently recognized the launch of a major development project with a groundbreaking ceremony. The event broke ground on the construction of ReWa’s state-of-the-art Piedmont Regional Wastewater Treatment plant, to be located off Osteen Hill Road in Piedmont.
The new facility site is within ReWa’s service area that extends into part of Anderson County, supporting the collection service providers of Anderson County Wastewater Management; Gantt Fire, Sewer & Police District; and Metropolitan Sewer Sub-district. The location property was purchased by ReWa – then Western Carolina Regional Sewer Authority – more than five years ago, and was selected for its size and strategic location to the river and service area.
The project, estimated to cost approximately $42-45million, will consolidate four current treatment facilities that have outfalls on the Saluda River. The Pelzer and West Pelzer treatment plants, along with ReWa’s current Piedmont and Grove Creek treatment plants, will be taken out of commission upon the launch of the new regional facility.The consolidation and elimination of the four 50+ year old plants will alleviate their issues with meeting environmental standards in their aged and deteriorating states, as well as allow for more efficient processing and a superior quality of effluent produced through the new facility.
Piedmont Regional will be the largest facility in South Carolina to utilize the membrane bioreactor technology,” says Ray T. Orvin, Jr., ReWa’s Executive Director. “The addition of this technology reduces the number of steps previously needed in the treatment process, and the resulting effluent will be the highest quality we have ever produced.”
The membrane technology allows the treatment process to remove a higher level of nutrients, specifically phosphorus and nitrogen, which addresses recent increases in permitting standards from SCDHEC. Still utilizing a biological-based treatment process rather than chemical, the new facility will also feature other technologies already seen at ReWa’s upgraded plants, such as UV light.
In addition to meeting higher environmental standards, the Piedmont Regional facility will also address capacity needs for previously limited economic development in the surrounding areas. “Currently with the four plants, capacity is around 1-1.5MGD – or million gallons a day. With the new capacity at Piedmont Regional, it will be able to support 4MGD. That kind of increase will allow and support new growth in the Piedmont and Powdersville areas for many years to come,” says Charles Logue, Technical Services Director at ReWa.
The project was designed by Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc. and MWH Constructors will serve as the Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) through the development. Site clearing and initial excavation is in process, with the official construction start in September. The regional facility is expected to be up and running in December 2012.
Renewable Water Resources (ReWa)
ReWa’s goal is to promote a cleaner environment, and to protect the public health and water quality of the Upstate waterways, while providing and developing the necessary sewer infrastructure for the growing economy. ReWa serves more than 400,000 industrial, commercial and residential customers in Greenville County and parts of Anderson, Spartanburg, Pickens and Laurens Counties.
