Lavonia Moves Ahead With Two Large Water/Sewer Projects

Work in Lavonia is continuing on a couple of water and sewer projects.

At their regular meeting last week, City Manager Gary Fesperman said the raw water allocation request to draw more water out of Lake Hartwell is moving forward with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The City is requesting a larger allocation of water from the lake to accommodate the expansion of industry in the Gateway Industrial Park.

In conjunction with the extra water allocation, the City has been working to build a northern sewer trunk line from the Gateway Industrial Park to the City’s water/wastewater treatment plant.

A German auto parts manufacturer plans to build a 196,000-foot facility as well as a separate training center and detached dining hall in the Gateway II Industrial Park.

However, The current sewer line on SR59 is already at 75% capacity and is not large enough to handle the extra capacity needed for future growth in the Gateway II Industrial Park.

Total cost of the northern sewer line project is $1.4 million. The City is applying for two major grants to help cover the cost of construction.

Last week, Fesperman said one of those grants has been approved.

“The EDA grant has been approved in the amount of $694,864 for a $1.4 million project,” he said. “We’re still working with the GMRC for additional grant funding application for an EIP grant to pick up the difference.”

The EIP grant the City is applying for is in the amount of $500,000 with that local match.

Fesperman said that grant application should be submitted in the next month.