ReWa begins $37.5M Conestee Pump Station project

Renewable Water Resources (ReWa) is celebrating the  beginning of its $37.5 million Conestee Pump Station project to enhance wastewater  capacity management while reinforcing its commitment to protecting the Reedy River  Basin’s water quality.  

The project, which will also include a force main, received a $10 million grant from the  South Carolina Infrastructure Investment Program (SCIIP). 

“This project is an example of ReWa being a forward-thinking utility,” said Rebecca West,  ReWa’s CEO. “We will be able to optimize our treatment capabilities between our Mauldin  Road and Lower Reedy facilities, strengthen our stewardship of the Reedy River and have  options during future facility upgrades.”  

The investment is an example of proactive planning that also provides an additional  resource for the utility to use when responding to high-flow events. Flows in the Conestee  area that normally go to ReWa’s Lower Reedy Water Resource Recovery Facility through a gravity sewer could be pumped up to the utility’s Mauldin Road Water Resource Recovery  Facility.  

The project is divided into two phases. Phase I will include the installation of pipes, mostly  along ReWa easements, and a junction box. Clearing, staking and sediment and erosion  control were completed in January. Boring began in February, and pipe installation is  underway.  

Phase II involves the construction of the Conestee Pump Station, which will have the  capacity to pump 15 million gallons of water daily, at the intersection of Mauldin Road and  Lakewood Drive. Pump station construction will begin later this month. 

The South Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority (RIA) awarded the federally funded SCIIP  grant. RIA has awarded $1.369 billion in SCIIP funding to more than 200 communities  across the state to improve drinking water, sewer and stormwater infrastructure. 

“This wastewater improvement project is an investment in the future,” said Bonnie  Ammons, executive director of the South Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority. “Not only  does it strengthen critical services for residents and businesses, but it also reinforces a  commitment to protecting our state’s environmental resources. We are pleased to be part  of this significant investment.” 

The Reedy River Basin includes Greenville’s downtown and neighborhoods surrounding the  city center, as well as the municipalities of Mauldin and Simpsonville and the Lake  Conestee community.  

Brown and Caldwell is the engineering firm that designed the pump station and force main. Hazen and Sawyer designed the junction structure for the force main. Moorhead  Construction is the contractor for the project’s first phase, and Harper General Contractors is building the pump station.