Lavonia to Resurrect New Sewer Line Project

The City of Lavonia will once again be looking for grant funding to build a new sewer trunk line from the Gateway Industrial Park.

At their work session last week, city manager Gary Fesperman with the coming of the huge Haring plant in the Gateway II Industrial Park, the extra capacity will be needed.

“We were looking a the capacity that Hart County needed for the Gateway Parks, one, two and three,” he told the council. “Knowing that our sewer transport line coming down SR59 has to go through four lift stations before it gets to the plant; and knowing that that is an old line that cannot be upgraded because of the density of the development of downtown and through the back areas before it goes down, it would be almost impossible to upgrade that line.” 

Fesperman said expanding the SR59 line would also require upgrading three lift stations to handle the increased flow.

Fesperman said the current sewer line from Gateway down SR59 is at 75% capacity and could not handle the extra load the new Haring plant will bring.

He also noted other sites, such as the 350 acres owned by Milliken will likely also be developed in the area and more sewer capacity will be needed there as well.

“That’s why the project was designed originally in 2006 to give Gateway extra sewer capacity and give us extra capacity whenever other property is developed on that side of the Interstate,” he said.

The 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.

The new facility will manufacture fuel injection parts and other precision components for the automotive industry and ultimately employ some 900 workers.

Total cost of the northern sewer line project is $1.4 million.

Fesperman told the council and mayor Ralph Owens the northern sewer line trunk project has been put on the back burner for a number of years because the City did not get the grant funding it had applied for several years ago.

“They now have an incredible project on the board, they have more than enough jobs to substantiate the amount that we want to ask for, and they have more than enough capital investment. I truly believe this grant round should literally walk through. We should not have any problems,” Fesperman said.

Monday night, the City Council voted to allow Fesperman to re-apply for two grants totaling $1.2 million.

One of the grants would be matched by the Hart County Water and Sewer Authority in the amount of $209,000.