Category: Water

Have you noticed the new signage on Lake Drive? Clemson University Facilities has installed new signage to help ensure pedestrian safety and to remind everyone to clean up after their pets.

A Resource for Work and Play

The Clemson University Wastewater Treatment Plant has always enjoyed sharing Lake Drive with the community as a scenic walking space. To keep both humans and animals safe, University Facilities asks all visitors to keep their pets on leashes while walking along the asphalt pathway. Lake Drive is the only vehicular entrance to the Wastewater Treatment Plant and has regular vehicular traffic. In addition to being a well-used service road, emergency responders rely on Lake Drive to access the plant. Your help in keeping pets leashed and ideally out of the roadway as vehicles travel to and from the plant is much appreciated.

Lake Hartwell

When left unbagged, untreated pet waste containing harmful bacteria enters stormwater runoff. This material impacts wildlife living in or near Hartwell Lake. Bacterial pollution can also harm water quality for local recreation and drinking. The best way to counter bacterial pollution is to bag all pet waste. If left behind, simply being contained prevents the spread of bacteria via runoff. Even so, Clemson University Facilities has installed signs along Lake Drive to remind everyone to bag their pet’s waste and dispose of it in the nearest trash receptacle. This keeps the path not just environmentally friendly but a pleasant for everyone to use. We’re grateful for everyone’s contribution in this—it’s a community effort to ensure the lake remains healthy and the path remains open for everyone to enjoy.

The Clemson Soccer Operations Complex has received two Green Globes from the Green Building Initiative, a non-profit organization that manages assessments and certifications related to environmental building practices.

Facilities awarded with this certification are recognized energy conservation, reduced water consumption, responsible use of materials, ecological stewardship, and healthy indoor environments for occupants. The Soccer Ops Complex joins a growing list of new construction and renovated buildings on Clemson’s campus that have earned two or more Globe certifications, including the:

• College of Business
• IPTAY Center
• Outdoor Recreational Fitness and Wellness Center
• Indoor Tennis Facility

To learn more about Green Globes certification, please visit the Green Building Initiative website.

Thanks to Hutch-N-Son Construction, one of this summer’s major construction projects has been completed two weeks ahead of schedule: Newman Road is now open to all traffic after being expanded from two lanes to four as drivers approach the intersection with McMillan Road. Vehicles traveling along Walter T. Cox Boulevard (Hwy. 93) can now reach Perimeter Road through Newman. The expansion will ease congestion as travelers enter and exit campus. With Newman now open, the entrance to McMillan along Perimeter will now close.

McMillan Road Utility Work

McMillan Road will continue to see construction through the fall semester as upgraded infrastructure is installed underground. Crews will be working along McMillian Road from the intersection with Newman Road toward Cherry Road. Portions of McMillan Road will be opened as the work in that area is complete. Residents in Calhoun Courts and Thornhill Village should use Morrison Road to reach the apartments in the area until construction along McMillian Road passes the entrances on to Dunavan Road, Omicron Pi Street and finally, Mills Rd.

For more information on road construction at Clemson University, please see our Road Work Map.

University Facilities helps ensure that the university has a reliable supply of safe drinking water. The Anderson Regional Joint Water System (ARJWS), a regional water utility provider, serves as our primary source.  The University owns the distribution system that provides 23,000 students with water for domestic and sanitary purposes as well as fire protection.  State regulations require mid-size community systems such as Clemson’s to maintain a storage reserve of two hours of combined peak hour usage and fire protection; or one half maximum day usage, whichever is greater.  As our campus continues to grow, our need to keep pace with these regulations is driving the construction of a new water tank near Kite Hill.

History

Clemson University had its own conventional water treatment plant until February of 1989.  At that time, it began purchasing water from Duke Power Company.  Duke Power owned and operated a water treatment plant on Lake Hartwell near Anderson, SC, and provided water service to the university and other public utility systems within the region. During this time, the campus received its water through a 24-inch transmission main along US 76 from Anderson to Clemson.  In May of 2002, Duke Power sold their water supply facilities and operation to the Anderson Regional Joint Water System (ARJWS).

Today

The current Kite Hill water tank was erected in 1958. While its existing standpipe storage can contain up to 1 million gallons of water, only about 150,000 gallons is usable due to limitations intrinsic to its design.  The university has an estimated critical water need of 450,000 gallons per day with a typical daily water consumption of 1,000,000 gallons per day.  As the campus population increases, facility growth on this system will require our water storage capacity to be significantly improved by 2018.  Building a new water tank near Kite Hill encompasses planning for the replacement of both the Clemson House and Kite Hill water tanks with a single tank installation. Doing so will consolidate and increase the overall usable water storage to satisfy the main campus’ long term water storage requirements. 

Benefits to the University

Replacing the current Kite Hill water tank with a new elevated storage tank will benefit the campus in a number of ways:

1. In the event of a major water disruption such as pipe burst, the reserve water supply in the new campus elevated tank will increase from less than 8 hours to over 2 days in tandem with campus emergency conservation response planning (e.g. no outside water use).
2. The new tank will allow us to use the full 1-million gallon capacity; the old tank was limited to 150,000 gallons.
3. It would serve as the university’s long term solution to satisfy requirements for back-up pressurization and capacity for a licensed distribution system.
4.  A larger working volume tank will be an improved pressure buffer to the water transmission and pumping system operated by ARJWS
5. A single large capacity tank will allow ARJWS to pump water at lower cost off-peak times which may help control future water rates and lower peak time transmission line velocities, thereby delaying the need for future water transmission line capital improvements assessed as part of our future rate increases by ARJSW.

In addition, the water tank would serve as significant landmark for the University.

While our aim is to increase overall capacity, our intent dovetails with campus efforts to conserve water. Growth, not waste, is the impetus to this project.  With this upgrade to our supply, Clemson University will be able to support campus drinking water needs beyond 2035.