Economic Development

In its continuing efforts to promote economic and industrial development within Bamberg County and to raise the standards of living of its citizens, County officials commissioned this Water and Wastewater Regionalization Feasibility Study to be performed in order to asses the potential impacts and costs associated with creating a regional public wastewater system or system(s) with the three (3) existing public wastewater purveyors as well as to provide wastewater service in two (2) of the municipalities not currently provided wastewater service. As with water service, it would stand to reason that, collectively, Bamberg County and each individual municipality should be able to allocate a larger treatment capacity to the existing and future commercial and industrial customers in order to meet their needs and to stimulate economic growth by pooling their collective resources.

In order to evaluate the capacity of a regionalized system, the capacity of each existing system must be evaluated and then analyzed compositely to assess the need for additional treatment capacity. The projected wastewater flows within the existing wastewater service areas compared to the available treatment capacity have been compiled in Section 4.4 and are summarized in Table 4.4-4. Additionally, the average daily flows, the peak daily flows, current treatment capacities, and surplus capacities of the existing systems summarized again for a potential regionalized wastewater system have been tabulated in Table 6.1-1.

Table 6.1-1 County-Wide Surplus Treatment Capacity

1. Surplus System Capacity equals Current System Capacity minus Average Peak Monthly Daily Flow

The BBPW, City of Denmark, and the Town of Ehrhardt have current surplus treatment capacities of 427,000 GPD, 193,000 GPD, and 39,900 GPD, respectively. It should be noted as well that the WWTP’s within the County currently treat an average of approximately 1.169 MGD and a peak of 1.445 MGD. A maximum of 2.115 MGD of public wastewater treatment capacity is operational and permitted to be treated within Bamberg County by the SCDHEC. As a means of comparison, the total public water supply capacity within the County totals approximately 4.827 MGD. Additionally, though the conceptual plan has now been dismissed, the BBPW’s older WWTP could still be reactivated to treat 300,000 GPD. The locations of the WWTP’s within Bamberg County are depicted in Exhibit AM. While surplus treatment capacity is available, it appears that the useful lives of many of equipment components of the City of Denmark’s WWTP will be coming to an end in the next few years and will require replacement. From an economic development perspective, wastewater service to the Bamberg County Airport Industrial Park is very much needed to support its industrial development. It is also important to note that by extending wastewater service to the Bamberg County Airport Industrial Park, wastewater service would likewise be made available along much of the U.S. Highway 78 corridor between the City of Bamberg and the City of Denmark.

The Town of Olar and the Town of Govan currently provide no wastewater service to its residents. Assuming that the Towns would provide wastewater service to same number of customers as they currently provide water service (which totals approximately one hundred forty-nine (149) customers in the Town of Olar and thirty-one (31) customers in the Town of Govan), then the wastewater flows could be assumed to be reasonably equivalent to the total water usage. The current average daily usage for the Town of Olar is approximately 32,960 GPD and the Town of Govan is approximately 12,700 GPD which together total approximately 45,660 GPD. This average daily water usage is projected to increase to 58,890 GPD by 2030.

The extension of wastewater service should naturally be concentrated in the regions which have the greatest potential for industrial development and population growth. It should be remembered, as previously reported, that the majority of the County’s residents reside north of the Little Salkehatchie River. The BBPW has previously undertaken extensive planning for the expansion of its wastewater treatment capacity. Moreover, a number of components for an expanded Bamberg WWTP have already been constructed. This planning includes a future discharge of treated wastewater effluent to the South Fork of the Edisto River, and a wasteload allocation had been previously issued by the SCDHEC for such a discharge. The South Fork of the Edisto River has the largest assimilative capacity of any river or stream in Bamberg County and its confluence with the North Fork of the Edisto River is located in the northeast corner of the County. Though it must be protected and well managed, this assimilative capacity represents a significant natural resource in Bamberg County that has heretofore gone unused. A carefully planned discharge location to the South Fork of the Edisto River could still allow ample river mileage upstream in the event that the County ever had need to construct a surface water treatment plant using the river as a supply source.

It is still recommended that the BBPW pursue its previously planned discharge of treatment wastewater effluent from the Bamberg WWTP to the South Fork of the Edisto River. A number of components associated with an expanded Bamberg WWTP and an effluent discharge to the South Fork of the Edisto River have been constructed though all are not currently in operation. The effluent pumping station and chlorine contact chamber sized for a treatment capacity of 4.0 MGD were constructed just a few years ago. A proposed force main from this effluent pumping station would follow an existing overhead electrical power line right-of-way. This existing right-of-way extends northeast from the Bamberg WWTP to it intersection with U.S. Highway 78 and then to the northwest crossing U.S. Highway 301 north of the City of Bamberg prior to its crossing of the South Fork of Edisto River. The route of this future force main is approximately 24,000 linear feet in length and would involve crossing eight (8) existing roadways. Preliminary calculations associated with the sizing of this force main to convey 4.0 MGD are depicted in Exhibit AN. The proposed route of the force main is depicted in Exhibit AO. The construction of this force main, the initiation of operation of the new effluent pumping station at the Bamberg WWTP, and a discharge to the South Fork of the Edisto River is recommended as the first wastewater improvements project and its cost opinion is tabulated in Table 6.2-1.

Table 6.2-1 Improvement Project No. 1
Bamberg WWTP Discharge to South Fork of the Edisto River

The second recommended improvements to regionalize wastewater service within Bamberg County is to parallel the existing headworks unit (containing screening, grit removal, and comminution) at the Bamberg WWTP with a second headworks unit with a capacity of 2.0 MGD, thereby providing 4.0 MGD of headworks treatment capacity. The existing aerated lagoon systems at the Bamberg WWTP would then be replaced with a dual treatment train each of which would include a primary clarifier, aeration basin, and secondary clarifier. Each treatment train would have a capacity of 2.0 MGD, thereby providing a total treatment capacity of 4.0 MGD. One of the existing aerated lagoons would then be converted and used as an aerobic sludge digester. Digested sludge would be periodically dredged, dewatered using a contract mobile dewatering system, and either land filled or beneficially reused. The existing and active chlorine contact chamber that is located within the aerated lagoon cells would be decommissioned. Disinfection would take place in the recently constructed (but not currently being used) chlorine contact chamber which already has a capacity of 4.0 MGD. At this point, discharge of treated wastewater effluent will already be underway to the South Fork of the Edisto River. The construction cost opinion of the proposed improvements is tabulated in Table 6.2-2.

Table 6.2-2 Improvement Project No. 2
Expansion of the Bamberg WWTP to 4.0 MGD

The third recommended improvement project to regional wastewater service would be a biosolids (or sludge) improvements project involving the construction of new aerobic digesters along with dewatering facilities at the Bamberg WWTP to complement its capacity expansion to 4.0 MGD. The construction cost opinion for this third improvement project is tabulated in Table 6.2-3. It should be noted that costs for the preliminary engineering report, geotechnical explorations, wetland delineation, protected species surveys, and cultural resources surveys for the Biosolids Improvements at the Bamberg WWTP would presumably be performed with the Expansion of the Bamberg WWTP to 4.0 MGD.

Table 6.2-3 Improvement Project No. 3
Biosolids Improvements at the Bamberg WWTP

A schematic of the Bamberg WWTP after completion of Improvements Projects Nos. 1, 2, and 3 is represented by Exhibit AP.

Upon the completion of the Bamberg WWTP Expansion, it is recommended that the wastewater from the City of Denmark be diverted to the Bamberg WWTP. As part of this diversion, wastewater service can also be provided to the Bamberg County Airport Industrial Park. The City of Denmark’s WWTP would be abandoned and a new wastewater pumping station would be proposed at the site of the existing Denmark WWTP Headworks and Influent Pumping Station. The wastewater would be pumped to northward to the Bamberg County Airport Industrial Park along U.S. Highway 78 and would then gravity flow along a section of U.S. Highway 78 before turning south towards the Bamberg WWTP. The proposed alignment of the wastewater force main and gravity line is depicted in Exhibit AQ. Preliminary sizing calculations for the proposed wastewater force main and gravity lines are complied in Exhibit AR. The proposed pump station is preliminarily proposed to have a delivery of 3,700 GPM. The force main is preliminarily planned as a 16-inch pipe and would be approximately 13,000 linear feet in length. The gravity line is preliminarily proposed as a 24-inch pipe and would be approximately 22,000 linear feet. The construction cost opinion of this improvement project is tabulated in Table 6.2-4.

Table 6.2-4 Improvement Project No. 4
Denmark to Bamberg Wastewater Extension

In providing wastewater service to the residents of the Town of Olar and the Town of Govan, several options were examined to include pumping wastewater to the Town of Ehrhardt, pumping wastewater to the Bamberg WWTP, and pumping the wastewater to the City of Denmark for conveyance to an expanded Bamberg WWTP. None of these options, however, were deemed to be as economically feasible as constructed a new WWTP south of Govan to serve both of these Towns. The 2030 projection of water usage within the Town of Olar and the Town of Govan was projected to total 45,660 GPD. A wastewater collection system would be proposed to essentially serve the same areas to be provided water service by the proposed Olar/Govan water system. Conceptually, wastewater flow would be by gravity along U.S. Highway 321 from the Town of Govan into the Town of Olar and a proposed WWTP having a capacity of 100,000 GPD. The treated wastewater effluent would then be discharged into the Salkehatchie River approximately two and half (2.5) miles southwest of the intersection of U.S. Highway 321 and S.C. Highway 64. The proposed wastewater service area, WWTP location, and discharge to the Salkehatchie River are depicted in Exhibit AS. Conceptually, the WWTP would include a screening chamber, a dual-power level multi cellular aerated lagoon, and a chlorine contact chamber, and discharge piping to the Salkehatchie River. A schematic of the proposed WWTP is illustrated in Exhibit AT. The construction cost opinion associated with the proposed Olar/Govan wastewater systems is tabulated in Table 6.2-5.

Table 6.2-5 Improvement Project No. 5
Olar/Govan Wastewater System

A County-wide topographical map depicting the all of the proposed improvement projects is presented in Exhibit AU.