Parallel Pipelines Offer Oconee County Flexibility for Future Demand

In the long term, installing dual pipelines will reduce maintenance issues and provide a cost savings for Oconee County and the city of Seneca.

Owners: Oconee County, South Carolina; the city of Seneca, South Carolina

Project Summary: A growing trend among U.S. cities and counties is installing parallel water and wastewater pipelines to address future needs. With this type of forward thinking, utilities are able to reduce maintenance issues and expenses. So, when Oconee County, South Carolina, was looking to provide sewer services for its Golden Corner Commerce Park to bring new industry to the area, the decision was clear: Two wastewater pipelines would be installed side by side in the same trench.

“When designing the line, the engineer considered a possible future line to accommodate the six- or seven-year build out of the industrial park,” said DS Utilities Vice President Bob McClam, who along with DS Utilities President Danny Stuck, oversaw the pipeline installation. “In the beginning, only one line will be needed. Beyond that, when the industrial park starts to fill up, the second line will be used to pick up the balance.”

Oconee County, South Carolina, acquired the land for the Golden Corner Commerce Park several years ago. The location of the park is two miles from Interstate 85 and halfway between Atlanta, Georgia, and Charlotte, North Carolina, making it an ideal place for businesses to locate. In 2013, the County Council approved the $8 million Sewer South project, which included installing sewer lines and constructing a pump station to the park and other areas of Oconee County.

“We have a relationship with AMERICAN that goes back nearly 20 years. They are a team player and work hard to meet our deadlines.”
Bob McClam, DS Utilities Vice President

The first phase of the project involved installing 53,000 linear feet each (106,000 feet total) of 10-inch and 12-inch ductile iron pipe. The two ductile iron pipe sewer force mains run parallel to one another and run from Golden Corner Commerce Park to Coneross Creek Wastewater Treatment Facility in Seneca, South Carolina.

AMERICAN Ductile Iron Pipe Sales Engineer John Walsh said, “Ductile iron was ideal for this project, because it won’t be subject to the fatigue that products made of weaker materials experience from the pump cycles. Ductile iron’s strength, toughness and high yield strength make it the right choice for Oconee County’s current and future wastewater needs.”

Key Players: The installation of the parallel pipelines is an economic development project by Oconee County in Walhalla, South Carolina, and the city of Seneca, South Carolina. Contractor for the project was DS Utilities, Little Mountain, South Carolina. Design engineer and consultant was URS Corporation in Greenville, South Carolina.

53,000 feet each (106,000 feet total) of 10-inch and 12-inch AMERICAN ductile iron pipe were installed side by side in the same trench to provide for future expansion in Oconee County, South Carolina.

What They Said: “We have a relationship with AMERICAN that goes back nearly 20 years,” said McClam. “They are a team player and work hard to meet our deadlines. In today’s environment, it takes a lot of work from AMERICAN and DS to meet project costs and deadlines.”

What They Used: Installed on the project were 106,000 feet of AMERICAN ductile iron pipe – 53,000 feet each of 10-inch and 12-inch pipe.