An end in sight for Salem’s 20-year quest for more water

The town of Salem has been nearly two decades in search of more water for residents and businesses, and now there is an end in to the quest in sight. The Oconee County Council agreed unanimously Tuesday to Salem’s request to earmark $210,000 in the county’s 2019-2020 budget to aid Salem in realizing its four-phase plan to boost its water capacity and service area. The Council also approved Salem’s use of the county grants coordinator to search out possible grants the city can seek to pay for more costs of the total project. The funds had originally been earmarked as matching funds for a Federal EDA Disaster grant that Salem applied for but did not receive. Salem attorney Brad Norton and the city utility director Ryan Hardin outlined Salem’s plan in concrete detail, as the County Council requested earlier this month when the city made its request. The plan at completion would loop the city’s water system for more stability while also boosting capacity, line footage and pressure, all needed for the city’s growth and expansion, the city officials said. The first phase pump station will boost the city’s water capacity 150 percent, while a transition line under S.C. 11 will contribute to the looping effect. The total cost of these would be approximately $266,000, according to Norton and Hardin, and Salem would take on the task of paying this cost itself if the county would approve the requested funds, which will be targeted for running a service line up S.C. 11. The plan was for approximately 2.1 miles of line, Norton and Hardin said, but with the county’s $210,000 “We’ll run that line as far as we possibly can.” Salem’s working estimation of new line with the available funding is approximately 3,900 feet. The fourth phase would see a 100,000-gallon water tank placed north of S.C. 11 to boost and maintain pressure in the expanded system. If Salem cannot secure additional grant funding by the beginning of 2020, Norton said Tuesday, the city is prepared to go ahead what it can from its own resources.