New water reach project breaks ground in Orangeburg County

HOLLY HILL, SC (WOLO) — For rural South Carolina communities, accessing clean water can prove a challenge.

Now, thanks to a new project that broke ground today in Holly Hill, residents of Orangeburg and Berkeley counties will soon have better water quality.

“One of the best things we can do in South Carolina is making our rural communities accessible and affordable for all that is great about America,” said Congressman Jim Clyburn.

Clyburn says part of improving rural South Carolina includes improving water quality. Thursday, a new Lake Marion Regional Water Agency project broke ground in Holly Hill, a community in Orangeburg County.

“This Lake Marion Regional Water Agency can be called the hub,” the congressman said. “That’s where all these reaches are growing out from.”

The latest water reach project will create more than 15 miles of pipeline that will serve Orangeburg and Berkeley counties. 

“An ample supply of clean water is important to a healthy prosperous community and critical to the people who live here,” said Courtney Ames-Watkins, Santee Cooper water systems senior manager. “It’s also a game changer for economic development.”

“This reach will also provide fire protection to people in this part of the county and supply clean water to the rural western part of Berkeley County, which is an area served by individual wells,” said Lt. Col. Robert Nahabedian with the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Clyburn hopes to secure more funding so that clean water can flow to both Clarendon and Calhoun counties as well. 

He also believes fixing rural infrastructure includes roads and bridges.

“We must spend money on infrastructure,” Clyburn said. “Just as an accident in Baltimore happened, it could be Charleston next.”

As the Palmetto State continues to grow, Clyburn plans to continue to increase broadband internet access to those in his district.

“Within the next two years, every home and business in Orangeburg County will be connected to the internet,” he said. “That’s part of what we’re doing here today.”