By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
MAY 18, 2021 | The giant $125 million sewer expansion that Gwinnett County is planning on the eastern side of the county is expected to see dirt being moved by late summer. Anticipation is that the project will be completed by the first quarter of 2023.
The work is to be done by John D. Stephens Co. of Lawrenceville, which was the low bidder on the job. Over the years since its beginning, the company has done extensive work for the county.
Essentially, the job will bring sewer to underserved areas east of Dacula, the majority south of the Winder highway and a smaller part north of Highway 316 to the county line. Altogether, the “Eastern Regional Infrastructure project” will be built to serve 7,920 acres.
Steven Archer, president of John D. Stephens Co., said the work is now in the design phase. “The county did about 30 percent of the design work, so the bidders could price it. Now our company is continuing the design stage, so that we can move the plans for the project to the 90 percent level, and can then apply for permits.”
The work includes laying some 124,000 feet of pipe. It consists of:
- Five miles of water lines totaling 21,500 feet of pipe.
- Six miles of gravity sewer totaling 32,500 feet of 24, 30 and 26 inch pipe along the Apalachee River.
- Seven miles of parallel wastewater force mains along Harbins Road and Brooks Road, consisting of 70,000 linear feet of pipe;
- A new 14 million gallon per day regional sewer pump station on Harbins Road. This station will direct sewage to the F. Wayne Hill Water Treatment plant.
In addition, there will be five miles of new trail completed on top of the sewer mains. This trail will be paved for sustainability and include two trailheads.
The new sewer area includes the 2,000 acre Rowen knowledge community now in the purchase of property stage along Georgia Highway 316. Of the 7,920 acres of the project, only 844 acres currently has sewer. (See area in yellow on the east side of the county on the accompanying map.)
Not included in this phase of work will be a later project to extend the sewer infrastructure to the north to serve another 5,000 acres. (See area in pink along the Barrow County line on the map.)
When the Eastern sewer project is completed, that will leave approximately 17 percent of Gwinnett not served by sewer, but instead by septic tanks. (These areas are shown in white on the map.) While scattered in several areas of the county, most of the unsewered area is in the south and eastern parts of the county, much of the area in sparsely settled portions, though some significant built-up areas are on septic tanks.
Tyler Richards, director of the Department of Water Resources, says that the new infrastructure sewer will provide the major trunk lines to allow future sewer service in this and other projects will cover 13,000 acres. It also allows the decommissioning of four costly pump stations.
The anticipated project embraces an innovative construction approach for environmental stewardship. Richards says: “This sustainable approach to design and construction is important for the county to expand its infrastructure to support growth in a smart and balanced manner.”
Funding for the water and sewer portion of $104.5 million is to be paid by Water and Sewer Authority bonds. The trail portion ($19.5 million) will be paid by 2017 SPLOST dollars, while the $1 million Harbins/Brooks Road water mains will come out of stormwater funds.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Follow Us