It’s a simple and near-universal assumption in the Upstate: When you turn on the tap, clean water pours out, and when you flush the toilet, the contents are whisked away to be disposed of safely.
Most residents spare no thought for how that happens. But for water and sewer providers, thinking and planning for how to deliver clean water and safely treat wastewater is critical to providing the infrastructure that underpins the region’s health and growth.
One of the key features of the Upstate — particularly in Greenville and Spartanburg counties — is an abundance of natural resources.
In the case of water, a number of visionary leaders had the foresight decades ago to secure water supplies not only adequate to the needs of the time but capable of meeting projected growth that has materialized over the past 50 years.
In the case of Greenville Water, civic leaders began nearly a century ago securing the entirety of the North Saluda and Table Rock watersheds, ensuring Greenville a steady supply of some of the best water in the country.
That level of strategic planning set the pattern for the state’s largest drinking-water utility that continues to this day, according to Greenville Water CEO Jeff Boss.
He explained that thanks to careful planning in the past, the system has enough capacity to meet water needs well into the 2100s. But that pattern of looking decades ahead continues as planners look to additional water sources to meet the explosive growth the region is experiencing.
The situation is similar in Spartanburg County, according to John Montgomery, chairman of Spartanburg’s Commission of Public Works, which manages Spartanburg Water and the Spartanburg Sanitary Sewer District.
Ensuring a safe, abundant water supply has in many ways been the foundation for the region’s economic success and spectacular population growth.
“Without water, we don’t have anything,” Montgomery said. “We literally have 100 years of water between our three reservoirs.”
Demands of growth
Thanks to careful planning in the past, water and sewer providers have the capacity to meet growth but face the immediate challenge of connecting that capacity to the increasing number of new homes and businesses.
Part of the challenge is the area’s rapid growth. Compounding that challenge is where some of that growth is happening, according to Joel Jones, CEO of Greenville County wastewater utility Renewable Water Resources.
“We don’t plan growth at ReWa but we have to plan for growth,” he said. “Coordination is key.”
He explained that in large, unzoned portions of Greenville County, development doesn’t always happen where it’s most logical to build — areas where existing water and sewer infrastructure can be tapped relatively easily and economically.
“The best scenario I think for all utilities is for growth to happen where growth is naturally occurring and being allowed to occur and where we can plan around that,” Jones said.
Montgomery shares this perspective and pointed to growth along the state Highway 290 corridor between Moore and Duncan, where new manufacturing facilities are being supported by a new wastewater treatment plant Spartanburg Sanitary Sewer District built near U.S. Highway 221 and state Highway 290.
Looking ahead
With the influx of people and companies to the region in the coming years expected to continue or accelerate, maintaining and expanding the water and sewer infrastructure to meet growing needs will remain a top priority.
Montgomery and Boss both expect local and state leaders to increasingly emphasize a regional approach to water and sewer infrastructure, perhaps continuing a trend in recent years to consolidate utilities.
Whether that push for consolidation happens or not, what is certain is water and sewer service will continue to play a crucial role in powering the region’s growth.
