Economic Development

The existing public water systems within Bamberg County consist of six (6) operating systems. For the purpose of this study, two (2) of these systems were considered major systems with respect to the County’s population and their potential role in the regionalization of existing systems. The two (2) largest systems are those of the BBPW and the City of Denmark. In recent years, these two (2) systems have been interconnected to supply the Bamberg County Airport Industrial Park and Bamberg County’s elevated storage tank located there. In the case of an emergency, one (1) of these two (2) water purveyors could supply the other.

The Bamberg Board of Public Works (BBPW) is a utility-based entity that is technically separate from the City of Bamberg’s municipal government and is governed by a three-person commission. The members of the commission are elected by the citizens within the City of Bamberg. The primary mission of the Board of Public Works is to provide customers with reliable water, wastewater, electric, and natural gas utilities at reasonable and competitive rates.

Furthermore, their mission states, “Through leadership and vision, the Board of Public Works seeks to work with the Bamberg community to develop an industrial and economic base to provide greater opportunities for the citizens of Bamberg and the surrounding area.”

The BBPW provides water service to the City of Bamberg and the majority of areas which are directly adjacent to the City of Bamberg. Furthermore, the BBPW also supplies water service along U.S. Highway 78, west of the City of Bamberg, the County’s elevated storage tank at the Bamberg County Airport Industrial Park. The BBPW can also supply the City of Denmark through a wholesale service connection located there. The BBPW, known as System No. 0510001 by the SCDHEC, serves approximately 1,810 water customers within their service areas. Of these customers, 1,205 are residential and 256 are commercial.

In determining the capacities of the existing system of the BBPW and all other water service purveys considered within Bamberg County, this study will utilize the SCDHEC definition of groundwater capacity found under Section 61-58.2 of the State Primary Drinking Water Regulations(SPDWR). Subpart B defines the capacity for water systems with groundwater sources as:

“The total developed groundwater source capacity shall equal or exceed the design maximum day demand without pumping more than sixteen (16) hours a day. With the largest producing well out of service, the capacity of the remaining well(s) pumping twenty-four (24) hours a day shall equal or exceed the design maximum daily demand, except those systems requiring only one (1) well. The capacity from an additional source (Surface Water Treatment Plant or Master Meter) will be included in the quantity analysis.”

To paraphrase, the water supply capacity of a system is found to be the lesser of 16 hours of pumping for all wells (known as the 16-hour production) or 24 hours of pumping with the largest well out of service (known as the 24-hour production). Additionally, the capacity may also include any water from master meter connections or surface water treatment plants. The individual capacity of each pump rated by the SCDHEC’s annual sanitary survey and information provided from the systems were used to compute the total water supply capacity of the system based on the 16-hours and 24-hours production rates depicted in Table 2.1.2-1. The SCDHEC Sanitary Survey of the BBPW water system is presented in Appendix C. The BBPW owns nine (9) groundwater wells of which Well Nos. 1, 2, and 6 are not currently in operation and thus are not included in the BBPW system capacity.

Table 2.1.2-1
Bamberg Board of Public Works-Groundwater Well Production Rates

The existing system has an overall capacity slightly greater than 3.6 Million Gallons per Day (MGD) based on SPDWR requirements. The two (2) newest wells, known as Well Nos. 8 and 9, were constructed in 1995 and 2000, respectively, and are rated for the largest production capacities and account for approximately fifty-one percent (51%) of the total system capacity. The BBPW has three (3) Water Treatment Facilities within the BBPW’s active water distribution system. The first facility, known as the Old Water Treatment Facility and located at the intersection of Elm Street and Braham Street, treats water from all active wells, except for Well Nos. 8 and 9. The raw water from these wells undergoes treatment consisting of softening, iron removal, chlorine disinfection, and polyphosphate addition before distribution to customers. The second facility, known as the Water Treatment Facility at Well No. 8, is located along the western side of Bridge Street just across from the Bamberg City Hall. The third facility, known as the Water Treatment Facility at Well No. 9, is located along the western side of Log Branch Road (S-5-503). The water treatment facilities at Well No. 8 and at Well No. 9 include iron removal, polyphosphate addition, chlorine disinfection, pH adjustment, and fluoridation. The locations of all three (3) of these existing Water Treatment Facilities are depicted in Exhibit C. Table 2.1.2-2 illustrates the surplus capacity available within the BBPW system according to the SPDWR.

Table 2.1.2-2 Bamberg Board of Public Works-Current System Capacity

The five (5) largest water customers, of the BBPW based on average daily water consumption, are denoted in Table 2.1.2-3.

Table 2.1.2-3 BBPW-Five Largest Water Customers

All existing groundwater production wells and associated treatment facilities currently in operation are depicted in a photographical presentation in Appendix B.

The BBPW owns, operates, and maintains the largest storage capacity within Bamberg County. The BBPW owns four (4) elevated storage tanks but only three (3) of these are currently in operation. The storage capacities of the elevated storage tanks in operation are listed in Table 2.1.3-1 below. A map depicting the locations of the active elevated storage tanks is shown in Exhibit D. The fourth elevated storage tank, located on Elm Street adjacent from the Old Water Treatment Facility, has a capacity of 75,000 gallons and is scheduled to be demolished.

Table 2.1.3-1 Bamberg Board of Public Works-Storage Facilities

These three (3) active elevated storage tanks owned by the BBPW represent the largest capacity of operational public water storage of any public water service purveyor within Bamberg County. Approximately sixty-three percent (63%) of the total storage capacity in the County is owned by the BBPW. The existing elevated storage within the BBPW system was evaluated based on SCDHEC’s SPDWR to assess the potential need for additional elevated storage volume within the BBPW system and that data is tabulated in Table 2.1.3-2.

Table 2.1.3-2
Bamberg Board of Public Works-Elevated Storage Assessment

1 Maximum Daily Demand (MDD) = Average Daily Demand X 1.5
2 State Primary Drinking Water Regulations (SPDWR), Section 61-58.B

The BBPW has approximately 393,500 gallons of surplus elevated storage volume. Currently, no additional storage volume is required for the BBPW based on the requirements set forth in the SPDWR. Photographs of the BBPW’s existing water facilities are presented in Appendix B. The most recent water system sanitary survey is presented in Appendix C.

The BBPW has no known current or active plans for expansion of the water service area and no planned improvements to increase their capacity that are currently under consideration. There are no known active Preliminary Engineering Reports (PER) under development, under consideration for approval by the SCDHEC, or previously approved by the SCDHEC for future BBPW water system improvements.

The BBPW has developed a rate and fee schedule based on usage, customer designation, and in-town or out-of-town location. Residential customers pay a monthly service fee of $7.00 and $14.00 for in-town and out-of-town service, respectively. Additionally, residential customers pay $2.97 per 1,000 gallons and $4.16 per 1,000 gallons of usage for in-town and out-of-town service, respectively. The monthly service fee ranges from $7.50 to $25.00 for in-town commercial customers depending on meter size. Additionally, a monthly service fee of $14.00 for out-of-town commercial customers is charged. Commercial customers are charged from $2.97 per 1,000 gallons to $3.27 per 1,000 gallons of usage for in-town rates depending on meter size and $4.16 per 1,000 gallons for out-of-town rates, respectively. Industrial customers pay between $14.00 and $350.00 as their monthly service fee depending on meter size. An additional in-town water usage rate of $2.97 per 1,000 gallons is charged for in-town industrial customers and from $4.16 per 1,000 gallons to $4.60 per 1,000 gallons is charged for out-of-town industrial customers. Wholesale water rates currently included a monthly service fee of $150.00, and they are charged $1.40 per 1,000 gallons of usage. A complete rate and fee schedule can be found in Appendix E, and a summarized version can be found in Table 2.1.5-1.

Table 2.1.5-1 Bamberg Board of Public Works-Water Rate Schedule

According to 2000 Census data for Bamberg County, the average household consisted of approximately two and half (2.5) persons per household. With an average water usage rate of 100 gallons per capita, the average monthly usage per BBPW residential water customer would be expected to be approximately 7,500 gallons per month. For the purpose of projecting water revenues, a more conservative usage of 5,500 gallons per residential customer per month is assumed. This being the case, a residence located within the Bamberg City limits would be charged a monthly bill of $23.46, and a residence located outside the Bamberg City limits would be charged a monthly bill of $36.88.

The BBPW has an Audited Financial Statement completed at the end of each fiscal year to assess its financial position created over the previous twelve (12) months of operation. The BBPW has the Audited Financial Statement organized such that each public utility service that is provided can be individually assessed. A summarized version of the 2006 Audited Financial Statement pertaining to the public water system can be found in Table 2.1.6-1, and the complete 2006 Audited Financial Statement - See - Appendix F.

Table 2.1.6-1
Bamberg Board of Public Works-Water Financial Statement

As is evident, the BBPW recorded losses in the operation of its public water system in 2006. It is recommended that a Rate and Fee Study be conducted to assess the need for a potential water rate increase.