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Lake City Mayor Lovith Anderson Jr., right, says the city of Lake City continues to improve. He spoke during Friday’s groundbreaking ceremony to start phase 2 of upgrades at the Lake Swamp Wastewater Treatment Facility on Cemetery Road. City Administrator William Hall introduced the mayor and presided over the ceremony.
An artist’s rendering of the new laboratory and offices at Lake Swamp Wastewater Treatment Facility in Lake City.
LAKE CITY – Construction of new laboratory and upgrades to an existing building at Lake City’s Lake Swamp Wastewater Treatment Facility got underway Friday morning with a groundbreaking ceremony at the facility on Cemetery Road.
Lake City started upgrading the treatment plant in October 2021. The $10-million upgrade involved the construction of two aeriation basins and replacement of aging equipment at the facility. Work on the aeriation basins and equipment replacement continues.
Friday, Lake City officially launched phase 2 – gutting the existing office building and construction of an addition to house a bigger, better onsite laboratory. The laboratory conducts tests to ensure treated water, which flows into Lynches River, is environmental safe and a total suspended solids test that ensures the treated water meets state and federal requirements. The cost of the building renovation and laboratory expansion is $1.5 million, City Administrator William Hall said.
All improvements are expected to be completed later this year. GMK Associates Design/Build Division is in charge of design and the construction project.
The wastewater treatment plant improvements are financed by the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, which is administered by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control with joint funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the state. Funding comes through a forgivable loan from the State Revolving Fund Program, money from the third penny sales tax and a construction loan that will be converted to a U.S. Department of Rural Development loan.
“I’m glad we are here for a happy occasion,” Lake City Mayor Lovith Anderson Jr. said. “We are continuing to improve our community.”
The city’s commitment, Anderson said, will encourage others to come and invest in Lake City’s commitment to make the city a better place to live and work.
Lake Swamp Wastewater Treatment Facility was built in 1981. It was time for a major upgrade, Public Works Director Ricky Sims said.
“It’s time for an update on our lab equipment even though we were meeting all the perimeters we need to meet,” Sims said. “We should have just as good a process, if not better, when this is completed.”
The Lake Swamp Wastewater Treatment Facility building hasn’t had a major renovation since it was built in 1981, Hall said. Some of the furniture was moved around or replaced, but no major upgrades.
“We spent over $10 million to upgrade the wastewater treatment plant itself,” Hall said. “We had some money from the third round of the 1 percent penny tax. We had a little bit sitting there and we added some to it because it’s time to improve this lab.”
Eventually, the state wouldn’t approve the lab to do the required state testing, Hall said. With major renovation of the aeration basins and equipment ongoing, it was a good time to renovate the building and upgrade the lab.
“It was time to expand, strip out and renovate the whole building,” Hall said.
The wastewater treatment facility services Lake City, Olanta, Cowart, Scranton and other surrounding areas, Hall said.
The upgrades to the Lake Swamp Wastewater Treatment Facility will be a benefit the southern part of Florence County, he said.
“We will be more efficient, and, hopefully, cut down on the power bill. This is actually one of the places the city has the largest power bill at,” Hall said.
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Lake City Mayor Lovith Anderson Jr., right, says the city of Lake City continues to improve. He spoke during Friday’s groundbreaking ceremony to start phase 2 of upgrades at the Lake Swamp Wastewater Treatment Facility on Cemetery Road. City Administrator William Hall introduced the mayor and presided over the ceremony.
An artist’s rendering of the new laboratory and offices at Lake Swamp Wastewater Treatment Facility in Lake City.
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