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The new water tower being built near Oconee Medical Center in Seneca will replace the decades old tank holding 100,000 gallons. The new tank will hold ten times that amount, Seneca utilities director Bob Faires said.

SENECA – The concrete and iron continues to rise, forming what will be a water tower 10 times the size of Seneca’s current tank near the Oconee Medical Center. Robert Faires, director of utilities said the project was slightly delayed because the ironworkers for the project were experienced some setbacks in the Midwest in one of their prior obligations due to heavy rain and flooding.

The tower will be roughly 150 feet tall and will be able to hold 1 million gallons of water, as opposed to the 100,000 gallons the current, outdated tank’s capacity, Faires said.

“It should be complete by around Thanksgiving; that is what we’re shooting for, even though we’re a little behind right now,” Faires said. “By complete, I mean operational. People will be able to see what it will look like completed by around the end of October.”

The project carries a price tag of roughly $2.1 million, borrowed from South Carolina’s State Revolving Fund (SRF). The loan has a 3-percent interest rate and a 20-year debt service, Faires said.

“We needed this new tank because of the growth we’ve got in that area,” Faires said. “The old one is several decades old and only holds 100,000 gallons.”

The purpose of the water tank being constructed will be twofold. First, the 1 million- gallon tank will effectively stabilize the pressure in the entire system through reserve water. Faires said during peak water-usage times like the morning and early evening when residents are getting home from work, drawing from the water supply can adversely affect pressure in the system. Water reserves in the tanks help maintain pressure. Secondly, he said the tank will provide an adequate water reserve for the Seneca Fire Department to use during its operations.

The Utica Sewer project also continues to roll along at a consistent clip, Faires said. The project, which Faires called the biggest sewer rehabilitation project Seneca has ever undertaken, splits the Utica district into four sections, with the southern-most section from Ames Street to Gammell Street being tagged as the first phase of the project. Lines have been laid along the streets in the area in order to maintain the system without interfering on residents’ property, Faires said. The old system runs in the middle of most of the lots in the area. The roads in the area are being resurfaced in a joint effort by Oconee County and the city of Seneca. The city received an $870,000 Community Infrastructure Grant from the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) to fund the project, which was originally estimated to cost more than $900,000. That cost estimate turned out to be high, as Long Utilities submitted a low bid of $563,000 for the project.

“Utica sewer project is moving right alone,” Faires said. “Everyone is working well together, and we’re on schedule.”

Another project of Seneca Light and Water concerns improvements being made to the water plant itself, Faires said. New filters are being installed, as well as new dissolved air flotation (DAF) mechanisms in water treatment process. A flash mix tank for the pretreatment process is also in the works. Altogether, the improvement project will cost $4 million, Faires said, and is being paid for in revenue bonds.

“That project is due to be completed by the spring or summer of 2009,” Faires said. “It’s possible it could be earlier, but that is what we’re looking at right now.”