The update and expansion of the Pendleton/Clemson Wastewater Treatment Plant (PCWWTP) officially launched on Aug. 14 during a preconstruction meeting.
The PCWWTP, located on Woodburn Road near 18 Mile Creek, is owned by Pendleton and managed by an intergovernmental agreement between Pendleton, Clemson and Anderson County.
The expansion plan has been in the works for several years and aims to accommodate industrial and residential growth by increasing capacity from two million gallons per day (MGD) to five million MGD. The current plant allows Clemson to use one million gallons per day (GPD), Pendleton 800,000 GPD and Anderson County 200,000 GPD.
“The town of Pendleton currently is the fastest growing area in SC,” the city of Clemson’s website states. “With the growth projections that are expected, it would not be economical to construct the plant in phases.”
Alongside Pendleton’s rapid growth, a recent rate study on Clemson predicted the city’s population would double in the next 10 years, increasing the necessity of an expanded wastewater treatment facility.
The PCWWTP serves the area from the town of Pendleton north to U.S. Highway 123, east of Clemson. The city of Clemson’s service area for Pendleton Clemson is the residential space east of U.S. Highway 93.
The Flow Advancement Agreement from the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control that operates the PCWWTP requires Clemson, Pendleton and Anderson County to maintain treatment of the plant, refrain from exceeding permitted flows and expand the plant when it becomes necessary.
Due to population growth, “the wastewater treatment plant exceeds the allocated capacity in the treatment plant for permitted projects,” the city of Clemson’s website identified, highlighting the need for an update and expansion.
The project will change the wastewater treatment process from an extended air plant to an anaerobic, anoxic and aerobic A’O process. This change will allow the plant to expand its capacity to 7.5 MGD.
Additionally, “there are many components of the plant that need to be replaced regardless of capacity due to age,” stated the city of Clemson’s website.
At a city council meeting on Sep. 18, 2023, city administrator Blondeau presented the council with a cost estimate of around $60 million.
The expansion was first expected to cost $35 million, but “backup agenda material said the increase (to around $60 million) happened ‘largely due to inflation and scarcity of contractors and materials available to perform the work,’” according to an online article by Upstate Today.
The exact budget for the plant’s upgrade and expansion is $64,328,198.00.
“We (Clemson) will be responsible for 33.34% of the expansion costs because we will be gaining 33.34% of the new capacity,” Blondeau told The Tiger.
The city of Clemson received $10 million from the South Carolina Infrastructure Investment Program (SCIIP) and $5.3 million from congressionally designated funding to help pay for the project.
$45 million of the total cost is left, with Clemson responsible for $15 million. The city will pay its share with impact fee funds and bonds.
Recently, the city council reevaluated Clemson’s impact fees and increased them to the maximum supported amount.
“Impact fees are used to make sure growth pays its equitable share and does not unduly burden existing residents,” city administrator Andy Blondeau told The Tiger.
To search for funding opportunities, “the city of Clemson, town of Pendleton and Anderson County have made two different trips to Columbia already to meet with Senator (Thomas) Alexander, Rural Infrastructure Authority (RIA) and USDA,” the city of Clemson’s website states.
Residents will not have to worry about road closures or temporary changes during construction, as “all work will be contained to the site,” city administrator Andy Blondeau told The Tiger via email.
The expansion construction is spearheaded by Harper General Contractors, with a substantial completion date of June 2026.
