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North Augusta staff say sewer system can meet near-term demand but council must decide policy on large projects
Summary
City engineers told council North Augusta has about 713,000 gallons per day of unallocated wastewater treatment capacity — roughly enough for 2,500 homes — but upcoming Aiken County expansion timing and a jump in per‑gallon purchase price mean council may need policy options for large annexations or developments.
James Sutton, the city’s wastewater engineer, told the North Augusta City Council at its Nov. 24 study session that the city has limited unallocated wastewater treatment capacity and that the cost of buying additional capacity from Aiken County is rising sharply.
Sutton said North Augusta’s purchased capacity from Aiken County Public Service Authority totals about 8,672,000 gallons per day (gpd). Of that, roughly 6,462,000 gpd is already allocated to approved developments and about 1,497,000 gpd is reserved pending permits, leaving about 713,000 gpd unallocated and available for new projects. Sutton said the system currently conveys about 4,800,000 gpd from North Augusta customers plus about 2,000,000 gpd from Edgefield County customers to the Horse Creek/Tonic Road treatment facility.
The unallocated 713,000 gpd, Sutton said, would be enough for approximately 2,500 average residential homes or a significant number of commercial uses. He added that Aiken County plans to expand the Horse Creek plant by about 6,000,000 gpd, with preliminary completion estimated around 2028–2029, which should relieve some pressure on capacity.
But Sutton warned council that the per‑gallon price for future capacity purchases has increased substantially. He cited a jump from roughly $0.48 per gallon to $10.89 per gallon for agencies seeking to buy additional capacity, a change that would make large purchases far more expensive for municipalities or developers.
Council members asked whether previously approved master plans and developments (for example, Bluegrass, the Hive and Carolina Lakes) are already counted against purchased capacity; Sutton confirmed that allocated and reserved flows are deducted from the city’s purchased capacity once permits are in place. Assistant City Administrator JD McCauley said the city currently does not have a formal policy to halt approvals when capacity nears a critical threshold but noted staff will not issue permits if available capacity is exhausted.
Mayor and council members discussed whether to hold capacity back for economic development or require developers who seek annexation to pay for new capacity. Sutton and staff said such policy choices are within the council’s authority and recommended administration return with options for balancing growth, economic development and system limitations.
The council did not take a formal vote; staff will prepare follow‑up recommendations about capacity management and possible policy options for council consideration at a future meeting.
