The City of Anderson is on the upward arc of an economic surge. The excitement in the air is palpable. Scaffolding lines the storefronts and cranes are in the air. In less than two years, 25 new businesses have opened in the City’s urban core bringing 275 new jobs, and downtown residential occupancy hovers at nearly 100 percent. Four new parks beckon people outside as the City has become greener and more pedestrian friendly making it attractive to residents and visitors.
In addition, new residential construction in the city limits doubled in the past six years. And in the coming months, construction will begin on a new four story hotel at Market and Main Streets.
As new development and positive buzz surrounds Anderson, the delivery of clean, reliable water is an essential element to serve this progress. Years of research, forethought and fiscal planning went into preparing the City’s water system infrastructure for this moment in time.
According to Jeff Caldwell, the City’s Utilities Director, Anderson embarked on a Water System Master Plan immediately after purchasing a retail water distribution system from Duke Energy in 2002.
“We knew that we needed to be prepared for future growth,” Caldwell said. “It was our goal to provide the highest quality with a keen eye on the next several decades.”
The research metrics from the study, leading to the master plan, identified a path to ensure the City was prepared including:
- 4 MGD of increased water treatment capacity
- Addition of 37,000 feet of large transmission mains
- Replacement of 17 miles of distribution system mains
- 2 additional 500,000 elevated storage tanks
“Our council had the foresight to invest $13 million to plan, design, and install these improvements more than ten years ago,” Caldwell said. “We are fortunate that when the economic boom hit, we were ready.”
Though sometimes the gifts of a strong economy can present challenges in this arena, the City of Anderson is well-positioned to meet all of its goals for water quality, quantity and increased consumption.
Those goals include:
- Providing the highest quality water
- Delivering adequate pressures
- Ensuring ample fire protection
- Supporting economic development
- Preparing for growth
Is the City of Anderson ready for more? “Absolutely,” says City Manager David McCuen. “Thanks to the vision of our City Council and the implementation of sound industry practices, we can say with confidence that we are prepared to provide water and sewer needs of commercial and residential customers as our market continues to grow.”