The project was funded mainly through rate increases from the authority in the last six years and should be finished in about two months, said authority spokeswoman Lauren Hildebrand. Construction started about three years ago. The work includes the installation of a trunk sewer line from Mauldin Road up through Cleveland Park. Cleveland Park Drive is closed due to a large junction chamber that connects the existing sewers up through the park. The project is part of a consent order by the state Department of Health and Environmental Control to handle the sewer authority's overflow problems.
Sewer overflow can lead to potential river contamination.
When it rains, ground-water conditions are up and what you get is infiltration and inflow in your sewer lines and they're not designed for rain water. The improvements include equalization basins, or huge pump stations, that handle up to 150 million gallons of water per day so that the Mauldin Road plant can accommodate the flow. The facility currently handles up to 29 million gallons, Hildebrand said. The advantage to the sewer authority's 90,000 customers include the elimination of sanitary sewer overflow. The improvements are limited to the Mauldin Road facility, but there was work done under many area roads for the sewer line modifications, Hildebrand said.