CONWAY SECURES ADDITIONAL $1 MILLION GRANT FOR WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES

CONWAY, SC (November 8, 2021) – The City of Conway has received notification that it has been awarded a $1 million grant from the South Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority (RIA) for the funding of the Crabtree Force Main and Park Hill Pump Station project. Earlier this year, the City of Conway was awarded a grant for approximately $6 million for the initial funding of the project. Total cost for the entire project is expected to be $9 million.

John Rogers, Deputy City Administrator / Grant Coordinator said the following regarding the grant award notification, “This grant provides continued critical funding to the city of Conway to upgrade our sewer system to handle the level of growth we’ve seen over the past few decades. This project is critical to any future economic development and is equally important for us to continue providing the level of service our residents and business owners expect. We are thankful to the South Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority’s continued investment in City of Conway infrastructure upgrades.”

The proposed project has 2 parts:

- The first part is located at Crabtree Pump Station, which is located near Mill Pond Road in the Crabtree Swamp area of Conway, just off US 501. The current wastewater infrastructure is operating inadequately at levels above capacity. When disaster strikes, the effects are devastating on this already strained infrastructure. Crabtree Pump Station not only handles 1/3 Conway's population, but also flow from the entire City of Loris, the Town of Aynor, and parts of North Myrtle Beach. We hope to increase the size of the lift station and run a parallel line to increase this capacity and prevent future issues during peak rain events.  This will also allow for improved service to meet the growing needs of our community, both in the City and outside of the City.  This project has been identified as the most critical water and sewer infrastructure project for the City.

- The second part of the project is the construction of a new lift station located off Church Street in the Park Hill area. This new pump station will accept the flow from a portion of Highway 501 that is currently served by the Crabtree pump station.

The project is already underway. Staff has been working on necessary easements and planning requirements with the Economic Development Administration. The next steps of the project are to procure qualified firms to complete the project. This project is expected to be completed by August 2024.