Columbia—February 23, 2015—”Nobody likes to see those numbers, that’s why we are diligently working on projects and processes to curb the number and especially the volume of spills” says Bill Davis, Wastewater Engineer for the City of Columbia in response to a recent report by the Congaree Riverkeeper. That report lists the City as the biggest contributor to sewage overflows in the Midlands. “But it’s not the complete picture.”
“I could say consider how much we treat as the largest plant in the state,” says Davis—over 13.3 billion gallons each year. “I could tell you about all the rain events. I could even tell you that comparing our spill numbers to other systems is like comparing apples to oranges,” – the City reports every spill where others are only required to report spills over 500 gallons unless they enter a waterway— “but at the end of the day, it’s about keeping sewage in our pipes and treating it properly in our plant. That’s our goal. That’s what we’re working so hard to achieve.”
The City has been working hard to meet that goal. In December 2014, the City completed a $6.5 M project that removed the problematic Burnside Pump Station from service and replaced it with over 3 miles of new 30″ gravity sewer. This pump station was responsible for repeated wet‐weather overflows in 2014 before it could be taken offline. Near Lake Katherine, a project scheduled for completion in 2017 and estimated to cost $8 M will address another problem area. Together, these projects upgrade sites that accounted for over half of the spill volume in the Gills Creek Watershed in 2014.
Perhaps most impactful of all will be the work in the Crane Creek area near North Brickyard Rd. Almost 980,000 gallons spilled by the City last year was caused by a 1.3 mile section of 36″ pipe that has capacity issues during wet weather. The City is preparing to break ground on an estimated $15 M project to replace this line with 48″ pipe, which will add capacity to the area. While the final line will not be completed until 2017, the City will be putting in a temporary by‐pass that will allow the lines in that area to move sewage as if the 48″ pipe were complete. This bypass system will be designed to prevent sewer overflows while the new line is under construction. The by‐pass is expected to be completed by fall of this year.
Together, the Crane Creek, Burnside and Lake Katherine projects address problems in areas that accounted for almost 2/3rds of the City’s total spill volume in 2014. Burnside was completed late last year, Crane Creek bids this week and will be capable of handling wet‐weather events by fall, and Lake Katherine is scheduled for completion in 2017. “We’re working hard on these critical projects, and we have more improvements planned for the near future as part of our Clean Water 2020 program,” says Davis, “but large engineering projects don’t happen overnight.” From identifying a problem to funding, designing, and building the project that addresses it, large Capital Improvement Projects can take up to four years to complete.
These three projects are not the only ones the City is working on right now. “It’s a really big system,” says Davis, with over 1,000 miles of pipe serving some 63,000 sewer customers. “We’re committed to aggressively and systematically evaluating our entire system and making the repairs and upgrades needed to protect our local waters and the people living near them.”
Over the next few weeks, the City will be highlighting the over $100 M in wastewater improvements that have already taken place, its plans for managing the system into the future, and the day‐to‐day work that goes into taking care of the largest wastewater system in the state. Together, these efforts are improving the City’s wastewater system and realizing the Clean Water 2020 mission of “a sustainable, well‐maintained, and reliable wastewater system that fully complies with regulatory requirements.”
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For questions about the City’s wastewater improvement efforts, contact the Clean Water 2020 program at [email protected] or Victoria Kramer at 545‐3227. To learn more about the City of Columbia’s Clean Water 2020 program, visit www.cleanwater2020.com. To learn more about the City of Columbia’s Department of Utilities and Engineering, visit www.columbiasc.net/utilities‐engineering.