The Orangeburg Department of Public Utilities has reached an agreement in principle to take ownership of Northwood Estates’ aging sewer system.
DPU now has the green light to conduct the necessary repairs to upgrade the system effective Oct. 1.
The city-owned utility announced in March 2022 that it was taking over the system and was expecting to officially have complete ownership June 1. The process took longer than anticipated.
“As we worked through the legal process in making sure the city was taking the system on good terms, we needed to make that decision to position ourselves to better get the deal that we thought was necessary to make this possible,” DPU Manager Warren Harley said. “I think it is a good thing that we were able to come to an agreement.”
“We had some tough negotiations on both sides but at the end of the day, the goal for everyone was to transfer the system over to the Department of Public Utilities and that is what happened,” Harley said.
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“South Carolina Water Utilities is committed to providing premier water and wastewater services for our customers,” South Carolina Water Utilities President Craig Sorensen said. “In this instance, we felt our customers would be best served by continuing the momentum of the previous owner of the Northwoods system and transferring those assets to the Orangeburg Department of Public Utilities. We look forward to working with the DPU to effect the transfer and ensuring these customers continue to receive the highest quality services available.”
Orangeburg City Council met behind closed doors for nearly two hours to discuss a number of items, including Northwood Estates.
Upon coming out of closed session, council unanimously voted to rescind the March 15 resolution that authorized DPU to receive and operate the sewer system.
There was no public discussion on the matter.
Harley said accepting the system was rescinded then because there was an outstanding legal issue holding up finalization of the agreement.
A later meeting between the two parties ended with the finalization of the agreement.
Declining to provide specific details on the final legal issues that were successfully ironed out, Harley said, :We agreed to the legal terms set forth in the contract.”
“At this point the big goal was that we wanted to make sure the citizens of Orangeburg were protected as we take on a new system,” he said. “That was the goal and I think we accomplished that.”
Harley said the agreement language will be put on paper, reviewed and then brought before City Council at its Sept. 20 meeting to give him authority to sign the agreement.
As part of the transition, DPU did not purchase the existing infrastructure as it was strictly a transfer of ownership.
DPU already supplies electricity, gas and water to the neighborhood.
Harley said as of Oct. 1 DPU will begin “doing a deep evaluation of the system to make sure we address the concerns that are there.
“We will begin putting in place steps to bring funding to remedy those situations,” Harley said, adding that a part of the evaluation will be to pin down the exact financial numbers needed to bring the system up to par.
Orangeburg County will help pay about $700,000 for system stabilization.
“It will help us as our wastewater team begins to evaluate the system and its needs in a deeper way,” Harley said. “That funding will help us close the gaps.”
Harley said there will also be an effort to get federal funding to address the system.
“Funding from the county and through federal and state grants will give us the lion’s share of what we need to remedy the problems with the system,” Harley said. “There will be a need for grant matches so that is an impact on our current funds but it will be a lot easier to accomplish the goal of remediating the system with the funding coming in.”
As a result, Harley said there is expected to minimal impact to current DPU ratepayers as it takes on the system.
Harley said residents will be able to see DPU teams doing assessments but as to when equipment will be on the ground, that is hard to determine.
“There is a lot of engineering that has to go into that,” DPU spokesman Randy Etters said. “Our team is going to be real strategic so that we can get the most impact from the dollars we have already committed to us.”
“There are certain areas of that system system that are in a little bit more of a state of disrepair than others, so obviously those are the ones we will target,” Etters said.
While equipment may not be visible, Etters said residents should see an immediate impact on their November sewer bills.
“They will realize on average probably a 66% savings based on what they are paying now vs. what they are paying under the DPU scenario,” Etters said.
Residents of Orangeburg’s Northwood Estates have long been concerned about the aging private sewer system in the neighborhood.
The Northwood Estates System has been privately owned since the creation of the neighborhood.
The system was owned and operated by Midlands Utilities, which became Synergy Utilities. Synergy was responsible for collection and keeping the lines maintained.
DPU was paid to transport and treat the wastewater from the system.
The system’s high sewage-treatment costs have been blamed on groundwater infiltration, which led to customers having to pay for the treatment of the extra water that entered the sewer system.
Synergy defended its maintenance of the system.
Synergy Utilities ended up being purchased by South Carolina Water Utilities Inc. and the new owner had agreed to give the system up.
DPU has consistently said it has been an ardent supporter of the residents of Northwood Estates as they have sought to lessen their monthly sewer bills.
The utility offered the system owners use of its equipment and account data, hosted meetings and used significant DPU resources in pursuit of a resolution.
The opportunity to take over the system was brought about through the efforts of the Orangeburg County Legislative Delegation, including former Sen. John Matthews, the S.C. Office of Regulatory Staff and the S.C. Public Service Commission, Etters said.
“We will own all the infrastructure,” Etters said. “As a wholesaler for that system, they would collect it and they would send it to us and we would send it on for treatment.”
“At this point, we will not only be the treatment component for Northwood Estates but we also will be the collection component, so all the assets out there are going to become owned by the City of Orangeburg,” Etters said. “That was one of the things we felt like we needed to make sure we had our ducks in a row.”
Community meetings with the folks from Northwood Estates were held to inform the residents all they needed to do in order to accept service through DPU.
Northwood Estates Homeowners Association President Barbara Williams expressed her appreciation and gratefulness that an agreement of the transfer has been reached.
“I am hoping this time it is final,” Williams said. “We have been waiting a long time for this. We were supposed to have this resolved June 1. Three months later, they are now saying it is official.”
“I think all of us in the neighborhood are ready for this new beginning having one company that we will be dealing with since we have water, electricity and gas with DPU,” she said.
Williams also expressed her appreciation that the state Public Service Commission was willing to work with all parties to get the matter resolved.
Williams said residents are hoping the changes mean lower bills, a healthier water system and better service.
Homeowners have been paying high prices for sewer over the last decade and would often pay for wastewater services they did not use.
The neighborhood has often suffered from line breaks and water leaking into the sewer system.
Several years ago, Orangeburg County paid to have the system evaluated. At that time, the estimate to repair the system was approximately $2.1 million.
“It is something everyone has been pushing for to give residents of that area a fair shake for a decent water bill,” Orangeburg County Administrator Harold Young said. “It is a show of unity between the city and the county working together trying to solve problems for the citizens. I think it is what we should always do.”
Young gave “kudos” to Barbara Williams for being a “strong advocate” for her community.
“She really made us know about it,” he said.
“It is a miracle and I am grateful,” Orangeburg County Council Chairman Johnnie Wright said. “I want to thank them for all that was involved with this project because this was a long ongoing thing. I am so glad there is a solution for the citizens of Northwood Estates.”
DPU officials say the system needs infiltration mitigation, as a large percentage of the discharge is groundwater.
This would include reworking of all existing taps, manhole repairs and pump station upgrades. New collection infrastructure in certain areas of the neighborhood will be installed.
DPU will begin engaging engineers to craft a rehabilitation plan once all legal particulars have been completed.
