The Lake Marion Regional Water System: Planning a Regional Water System to Spur Economic Development

In the 1990's, officials from Orangeburg County, South Carolina, approached Santee Cooper, the state-owned electric and water utility, with the prospect of creating a regional water system along the Interstate 95 corridor to encourage economic growth. Unfortunately, this section of interstate highway has even been reportedly identified as the lowest per capita income per mile of interstate. Santee Cooper was successful in developing and putting into operation a 30 MGD regional water system for wholesale customers northwest of Charleston, South Carolina. This proposal led to the planning and design of a new regional water system to serve six counties along the I-95 corridor. Hazen and Sawyer (H&S) of Charlotte, North Carolina (along with co-consultant Engineering Resources Corporation (ERC) of Orangeburg, South Carolina) was selected to assist the parties with the planning and design of this regional water system. Primary funding has been provided through federal government grants and allocations via the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) and the House Appropriations bills. The project team was been expanded to include the Charleston District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The ultimate goal of this project is to provide a reliable and high quality drinking water supply to the residents and provide infrastructure to the region at an affordable price. The target wholesale price of water is less than $1.00 per thousand gallons. An additional benefit of this project is that many of the small towns will not bear the replacement burden of maintaining and upgrading their existing wells and treatment systems to meet the increasing drinking water standards. Hazen and Sawyer developed a preliminary engineering report for a water system consisting of 65 miles of water transmission mains initially ranging in size from 36-inches in diameter at the water plant to 12-inch diameter mains to ensure the pressures will fill each wholesale users' elevated storage tanks. The preliminary design process consisted of corridor studies for the lines, assessment of environmental and cultural resources impacts, and use of computer hydraulic modeling to plan the system. By tapping into one of the largest drainage basins in the eastern U.S., the project will maximize the sustainability of the water source. The original schedule for this project consisted of design, permitting and construction to be completed within 5 years. As the project progressed, the amount of funding available began to vary requiring the project to be divided into various transmission main reaches. Subsequent lack of federal funding due to Hurricane Katrina delayed the project for 1–1/2 years. As a supplement to the temporary setback in funding and schedule, Hazen and Sawyer developed a Management Plan to jumpstart the project, refocus the team, and set clear goals to move the project forward. Since that time, the project has restarted with construction of the water treatment plant and the first transmission main to be completed in 2008. While the original plan was expanded and adjusted, the Management Plan was invaluable in driving the project forward and helping all team members keep focus on the goal of providing water to an economically disadvantaged region.