Critical Wastewater System Improvements in the Gantt Area
If you live or work near Mauldin Road and South Pleasantburg Drive in the Gantt community, you might have noticed MetroConnects crews and contractors working in the area late last year. Good news: The sewer rehabilitation project is complete, and the area now has an upgraded wastewater collection system. The goal of the rehabilitation project was to reduce Inflow and Infiltration (I&I) of stormwater into the wastewater system by nine percent.
MetroConnects crews and contractors from Weston & Sampson and Vortex Services, LLC cleaned, evaluated, and monitored 12,263.9 linear feet of wastewater pipe, and installed 4,707 linear feet of 8-inch pipe using Cured in Place Pipe (CIPP) technology, which is less disruptive than traditional methods that require jackhammering to dig down to the pipes. MetroConnects also repaired nine points of PVC pipe and rehabilitated nine manholes.
Communities Made Safer
The project is part of Renewable Water Resources’ (ReWA) wet weather program and MetroConnects’ Clean Water Forward initiative. Both programs aim to protect our communities from potentially devastating Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSOs) and excess I&I. SSOs often occur during wet weather events when excess water enters the wastewater systems through cracks in aging and deteriorating sewer pipes and manholes. 
That extra water can fill the pipes, eventually forcing wastewater out of manholes. This causes an immediate health hazard to the community and also risks contaminating nearby water sources. Excess I&I can also increase wastewater treatment costs because the stormwater that enters the wastewater system through cracks and other defects in pipes ends up being unnecessarily treated at wastewater treatment facilities.
The Mauldin Road and South Pleasantburg Drive project will protect existing local communities in the area as well as commercial businesses along North Kings Road.
To learn more about MetroConnects’ Clean Water Forward initiative, visit www.cleanwaterforward.org.