MetroConnects held a ribbon cutting May 5 to commemorate its groundbreaking on the renewal of Union Bleachery Mill Village’s sewer system.
Union Bleachery, located in the Sans Souci community, was formerly in the county’s Textile Crescent. The 240-acre mill property is the future site of On The Trail GVL, a planned $2 billion mixed-use development. The wastewater project will update a system that is more than 120 years old.
“After 120 years, something needs to get renovated and fixed up and that’s what this project is all about,” said Caleb Freeman, a commissioner for MetroConnects. The utility manages the infrastructure for sewage and wastewater transmission in Greenville County.
The project is part of Clean Water Forward, an initiative that aims to modernize sewer infrastructure in Greenville County. Work on sewer systems Dunean and Mills Mill Villages is already underway, with work in the Judson Mill District set to begin later in the year.
The Union Bleachery work will relocate 4,953 feet of sewer lines and install 27 manholes. About 8,615-feet of clay pipes will no longer be in use following the update.
By modernizing the infrastructure, the project aims to ensure that wastewater remains in the pipeline as it makes its way to a treatment plant. Older clay pipes allowed rainwater to enter the system and contaminated water to escape. Excess rainwater reaching a Renewable Water Resources – ReWa – treatment center can burden the plant with unnecessary volume.
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Freeman said Greenville Water will simultaneously update water lines to limit traffic interruptions.
“But at the end of all of this, if you’re a homeowner here, your property will be improved dramatically because you’re going to have a current state-of-the-art water line and wastewater system,” Freeman said.
The project was made possible by a $4 million State and Tribal Assistance Grant. Although the site is not located on tribal land, the grants set aside can be used for these types of projects.
