New Richland sewer line could save residents thousands, eliminate school ‘poop pond’
Homes in Lower Richland now have the option to tap into a sewer line, but residents will have to sign up before Christmas to avoid paying thousands for a connection.
The county is expanding its sewer service in Lower Richland, where many residents otherwise do not have access to a sewer line and instead use septic tanks.
Residents who sign up by Dec. 16 will receive county water and sewer service for around $75 a month, depending on water usage, but won’t have to pay a connection fee.
Residents who sign up after the deadline will face a sewer tap fee of $4,000, and a water tap fee of $1,500, according to a county news release.
The new sewer project will stretch from the southeastern corner of the city of Columbia and reach out to connect communities around Hopkins and Eastover to a treatment plant on the Wateree River.
Sewer service in rural Lower Richland has been a lightning rod for Richland County in recent years, with residents expressing concern or outright opposition to the county’s efforts to expand sewer service in the area, because of concerns about the added costs of fees.
In community meetings about the project dating back to 2015, residents have expressed worries that expanded sewer service in the area would lead to increased development, eroding Lower Richland’s rural character. Residents are also concerned they could be forced onto the system whether they want to use it or not.
But the county has said Lower Richland households can continue to use the septic systems they always have. The only cases where a property would have to tap into the sewer line are new construction and houses where an existing septic tank has failed.
The county touts the advantage of the line as lowering maintenance costs for residents, and eliminating the added costs, fines and possibility of groundwater contamination from failed septic tanks.
Richland County points out the new sewer line will eliminate the need for “poop ponds” — open-air pits that contain localized sewage — at Gadsden Elementary and Hopkins Middle Schools, as well as in the Franklin Park neighborhood.
Gadsden Elementary’s pond sits behind a chain-link fence about 20 to 30 yards from where children play during recess, The State reported last year. Hopkins Middle’s is not far from the school’s tennis courts.
The schools have been cited in the past by the state Department of Health and Environmental Control for subpar wastewater systems, The State reported at the time. The Richland 1 school district, which is responsible for the schools’ wastewater, has also been fined thousands of dollars by DHEC.
The sewer expansion will also put McEntire Joint National Guard Base on a public sewer service for the first time since the airfield opened in 1943.
Construction on the project will begin early next year and is expected to be finished by the end of 2021, the county said.
Residents who want to connect to the sewer line can call Richland County Utilities at 803-401-0050, or sign up on the county website.
This story was originally published November 18, 2019 at 3:48 PM.
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