Construction of a new laboratory at the Lake Swamp Wastewater Treatment Facility in Lake City, S.C., got under way July 22 with a groundbreaking ceremony at the facility on Cemetery Road. The project is the second phase of an effort to install much-needed improvements at the facility.

The town first began upgrading the treatment plant in October 2021 with a $10 million plan involving the construction of two aeriation basins and the replacement of aging equipment.

Now, Lake City has officially launched Phase 2 — gutting the existing office building and construction of an addition to house a bigger, better onsite laboratory — even as work on Phase 1 continues.

The wastewater plant's lab is designed to conduct tests to ensure treated water, which flows into Lynches River, is environmentally safe and its total suspended solids test ensures the treatment meets state and federal requirements.

Lake City Administrator William Hall told the Morning News that the cost of Phase 2 is $1.5 million, and that all improvements at the plant are expected to be completed later this year.

Columbia's GMK Associates Design/Build Division is overseeing the design and the construction project.

"I'm glad we are here for a happy occasion," Lake City Mayor Lovith Anderson Jr. said at the groundbreaking. "We are continuing to improve our community."

The city's commitment, he added, will encourage others to come and invest in Lake City to make the city a better place to live and work.

Facility Long Overdue for an Upgrade

The Lake Swamp Wastewater Treatment Facility was first constructed in 1981, and was due for a major upgrade, according to Lake City Public Works Director Ricky Sims.

In addition, the plant's building has not had a major renovation since it began operating four decades ago.

"It's time for an update on our lab equipment even though we were meeting all the parameters we needed to meet," he told the Florence Morning News. "We should have just as good a process, if not better, after this upgrade is completed."

Eventually, it reached the point where South Carolina would not approve the lab to do the required state water testing, Hall said, but with the major renovation of the aeration basins and equipment ongoing, this year was determined to be the ideal moment to renovate the building and upgrade the lab.

The wastewater treatment facility services Lake City, Olanta, Cowart, Scranton and other surrounding communities in the southern part of Florence County, Hall said.

"We will be more efficient, and, hopefully, cut down on [residents'] power bills," he added.

Lake City's 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 state and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Funding also comes through a forgivable loan from the State Revolving Fund Program, money from the third penny sales tax, and a construction loan that is to be converted to a U.S. Department of Rural Development loan.

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