Trotters Club Residents Again Implore County to Fix Sewer

• The County says this gravity main still has capacity based on 1,724,314 Gallons per day (GPD) (typical for 15” gravity mains) (reference note 1)   

• This gravity main has 5 pump stations (PS) that input flow in gallons per minute (GPM). PS92@32 GPM, PS64@157GPM, PS25@225GPM, PS28@405GPM, and PS5@700 GPM.  (reference note 1). When it rains it is likely that all PS will turn on and input 1509 GPMs.  This does not include all the other subdivisions that drain by gravity into the main.  This also does not include the possibility that the duplex pump system (two pumps at each station) could further increase the flow.
• To put the flow and capacity in common units I use GPM.  1,724,314 GPD divide by 24 hours per day and divide for 60 minutes in a hour and this is equivalent to 1197 GPM much less than the flow than this section of pipe is actually receiving.
• The County has known about a sewer problem for more than 5 years and they continue to approve development.
• The County lists 5 projects and only 1 will fix this capacity discrepancy.·         DHEC has known about this problem for at least 3 years and still "rubber stamps" approval of new flow into the system.
• Reference note 1= BP Barber Calculation dated 09/09/10 and obtained through Freedom of Information Act via Harvey Wilkins SCDHEC in January of 2011 

I am disappointed that the County throws out 5 projects and says they are all underway and "should" fix the problem.  3 of them have absolutely no impact on the numbers listed above.  Temporary diversion to Summerville removes up to 125,000 Gallons per day or 83 GPMs.  My kids in elementary school know enough addition and subtraction to know this is a meager attempt that will not fix the problem.  Only the rediversion of the pump stations to a force main has the possiblity of fixing the flow numbers.  The County states the Engineering is underway.  Who is the Engineer and is it possible for me to speak with them? 

I attempted to work with the County back in 2010 and asked some of these questions.  I was informed that the County didn't have time to talk to individual citizens but I did see a letter from Water and Sewer Director to DHEC that acknowledged nearing capacity and the plan to upgrade the main.  I realize development can get out of synchornization with infrastructure and I trusted the County and waited patiently for them to do the right thing.  Now, I realize that was a mistake to have gone silent for the last three years.  Now I see that the $179,000 impact fee, nomially $300,000 dollars of annual tax revenue, and closing fees for lawyers quickly overpowers the will to do the right thing for existing citizens that have seemed to go away.  Don't worry, I wont make that mistake again.  

Hoping to have kept the pressure on as another storm approaches...... 

Thanks for listening,

Jeffrey H. Rehrig

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In response to the email, county Director of Water and Sewer Kristen Champagne forwarded a memo dated July 8. Rumphs Hill Creek is the watershed that is adding to the woes at Trotters Club.

Here is Champagne's email:

On Wednesday, July 3, 2013, the Water and Sewer Department received a report of a sanitary sewer overflow located at a new manhole that was installed by Sanders Brothers Construction near the new phase of Pine Forest County Club. The contractor had placed the new ring and cover on the manhole but had not permanently affixed it as they planned to raise the manhole to grade. The rainfall prevented the contractor from continuing with the grading in the area and at some point the ring and cover became dislodged allowing rainwater to enter the system. The ring and cover was permanently affixed to the manhole Wednesday evening. At the request of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) two water samples were taken in Rumps Hill Creek, one at the location of the manhole and the other downstream, for independent evaluation at Trident Laboratories. They also requested that the department post signs in the area to make the public aware of the possible overflow. The first test results were received on July 4, 2013. Both test results were sent to SCDHEC and were indicative of stormwater.

On Friday, July 5, 2013, SCDHEC requested that the department take two more water samples in Rumphs Hill Creek at the previous sample locations. They also sent a representative to inspect the site on Monday, July 8, 2013. The second test results were also received on Monday and again were indicative of stormwater. At this time, SCDHEC is not requiring the Water and Sewer Department to report this as a Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO) and stated that we could remove the signs due to the sample results. Please let me know if you require any additional information and I will inform you of any changes.