CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS – FY 2011-2012

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Piedmont Regional Treatment Plant - ReWa is breaking ground for a new regional wastewater treatment plant to serve communities in both Greenville and Anderson Counties along the I-85 corridor. Construction of the new Piedmont Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant is required to meet new water quality standards for the Saluda River by replacing the aging Piedmont and Grove Creek Plants. The Towns of Pelzer and West Pelzer will also be served by the new plant.

Very stringent water quality standards have been established by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control for the Saluda River which flows southeast to Lake Greenwood. The River is the source of water for several communities. The new plant is being constructed on a 100 acre site with wide buffers at the property lines and a deep setback from the scenic Saluda River. The plant buildings and process units are being constructed in a compact arrangement adapted to the natural topography of the site.

The first phase of construction will have a permitted capacity of 4 million gallons per day and can accept peak wet weather wastewater flow rates as high as 14 million gallons per day to preliminary treatment facilities including coarse screening and grit removal. The system has been designed to adapt to the extreme fluctuations in the wastewater flow rate during storm events.

Following preliminary treatment, wastewater will be briefly held in large equalization tanks to regulate the flow rate to a fine screening system and to the state-of-the-art membrane bioreactors removing organic materials and nutrients. The new plant will be the largest membrane bioreactor treatment facility in South Carolina. Membrane technology is well proven with thousands of large submerged membrane bioreactors operating efficiently throughout the United States and world-wide.

Membrane bioreactors combine the use of biological processes and membrane technology to provide advanced wastewater treatment. The solid-free effluent from this process is particularly advantageous as very low effluent total phosphorus concentrations must be achieved prior to discharge to the Saluda River. Membrane bioreactors require only a fraction of the space required for conventional biological wastewater treatment technology.

The plant also has the capability to chemically treat the wastewater prior to the membrane filtration to achieved nearly complete removal of phosphorus. Following enhanced biological nutrient removal and chemical treatment, the plant effluent will be disinfected using ultraviolet light and the concentration of dissolved oxygen will be raised by cascade aeration prior to discharge to the Saluda River. Pumping facilities to deliver the high quality effluent to on-site irrigation and urban water reuse are also provided in keeping with ReWa's strong commitment to reuse.