Greer Commission of Public Works awarded $10 million grant for water infrastructure

The Greer Commission of Public Works (CPW) was recently awarded a $10 million dollar grant from the South Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority (RIA) to help with improvements for clean drinking water, sanitary sewer, and stormwater resilience. The funds will help increase capacity at the Maple Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant and ultimately allow employees to treat up to seven and a half million gallons per day (MGD). Currently, the plant has a capacity to treat up to five MGD.

“This funding opportunity allows us to take a significant step forward in preparing for future growth while strengthening our commitment to providing quality wastewater services,” said Daniel Fahr, Greer CPW wastewater operations manager, in a press release.

“At Greer CPW, we consider ourselves stewards of the urban water cycle—an essential public resource,” said Gene Gibson, Greer CPW Chairman, in a press release. “I’m profoundly grateful to our employees, whose commitment to protecting public health empowers us to continue to grow our operations while delivering reliable, top-tier service at the lowest possible cost.”

Greer CPW is one of 216 public water and sewer utilities across South Carolina to receive funding from the RIA and recently selected Black & Veatch as the design engineer and Reeves Young as the contractor for the project. Some materials like wastewater screening equipment are being sourced locally from Kusters Water in Spartanburg.

“At Kusters Water, we take great pride in supplying equipment to local municipalities, knowing that each project is far more than just a sale,” said Joshua O’Keefe, Kusters Water division sales manager, in a press release. “We see it as the start of a lasting partnership where we can support each other, share knowledge, and work together to strengthen the wastewater community. These relationships allow us to learn from our partners in the field while providing solutions that protect the environment and serve the public for years to come.”

“This project will enhance technology at the wastewater treatment plant as we continue to meet the needs of our customers,” said Brendan Crawford, Greer CPW engineering and planning manager, in a press release. “As a vibrant and growing community, Greer’s infrastructure must continue to expand to provide resilient and efficient services to our customers in a cost-effective manner.”

All total project construction will cost $13.2 million with Greer CPW supporting the rest of the project through planned capital improvement project funding. Construction recently began at the headworks area in June 2025 and is expected to last through the last quarter of 2026 with no wastewater service impacts to customers during the project.

 Major improvements include:

• Expanding and strengthening the initial treatment stage of the wastewater treatment plant by adding two grit removal channels and replacing existing screening equipment with larger, more robust, and locally sourced units from Kusters Water in Spartanburg, SC.
• Expanding UV disinfection from one to three channels while utilizing all new equipment and improving treated effluent reaeration by incorporating a larger and more efficient design.
• Increasing efficiency and lowering energy costs at the plant.