If you need a sip in Fort Mill, or to flush in Lake Wylie, a coming plan can help

It’s isn’t the most glamorous of growth issues in Lake Wylie, but it’s a critical one. And York County is working on it.

York County Council tabbed Dewberry Engineers out of Charlotte for help evaluating, designing and replacing the 12-inch sewer force main from Crowders Creek Pump Station to Little Allison Creek Pump Station. The March 20 vote allowed the county to begin negotiating with Dewberry from a list of 15 consultant proposals.

A price hasn’t been set.

The project is needed as the S.C. 274 corridor in Lake Wylie grows. There are recent additions like Revere at Lake Wylie and Villas at Marlin Bay apartments, along with ongoing residential construction like Paddlers Cove. A future school site sits in the corridor as does the 842-home Westport project.

The current 12-inch force main transports sewer from Lake Wylie to a treatment facility in Rock Hill. The line will need to be upsized to accommodate more homes and businesses.

County planning staff and the county manager will have to return to Council with a project scope and cost before a final contract is signed.

In the Fort Mill area, it’s water service in need of a consultant. The county voted to start negotiating with CES Group from Denver, N.C., out of 15 candidates on a water main extension. The company would help with design, permitting and construction. Cost and scope are to be determined.

The county wants to extend its water main by 3,200 feet on A.O. Jones Boulevard and a combined 5,740 feet along Pleasant, York Southern and Flint Hill roads. The work would provide loop connections in the county’s eastern service area.

Water was a theme among several county decisions during the March 20 meeting. The county approved almost $87,000 for an 18,000-pound hydraulic excavator for its water and sewer department. The machine comes from Comer Equipment in York. The county also voted to start negotiations with Woolpert, Inc. out of Columbia, one of two candidates, for consultant work on a stormwater utility district feasibility study.

This story was originally published March 24, 2017 at 4:08 PM with the headline "If you need a sip in Fort Mill, or to flush in Lake Wylie, a coming plan can help."