We have two departments in our Water Division:

Finance:
Customer Service
Meter Reading Billing and Collections

Operations:
Maintenance of Lines and Lines Extensions
Meter Installations
Repairs
DHEC Compliance
Water-Operations

The City provides water distribution, wastewater collection, and wastewater treatment to the principal urban area of Anderson County. This service is provided to customers within the City’s treatment facilities planning area of approximately 135 square miles. Duke Water Systems, formerly known as Duke Power Company – Water Operations, sold the water system in April 2002. On April 16, 2002, the City of Anderson purchased the retail distribution in and around the City, known as the City of Anderson Water Service Area, and the Electric City Utilities Division of the City of Anderson, South
Carolina was created. The purchase included approximately m325 miles of distribution and transmission mains, six elevated storage tanks (totaling 2.6 million gallons), a booster pump station, and 900 fire hydrants that provide the service area with an adequate supply of water for drinking and fire protection purposes at suitable flows and pressures. The LHWTP was jointly purchased by a 13-member agency comprised of local municipalities and water districts known as the Anderson Regional Joint Water System.

The LHWTP at the time of the purchase was 32 million gallons per day with the City owing 10.46 million gallons per day (MGD) of the total daily production capacity. With approximately 15,800 service connections spread across 31 square miles of the service area, Electric City Utilities – Water Operations currently serves approximately 40,000 residents, employees, and visitors on a daily basis. With many of the Duke Water Systems staff coming over to the City of Anderson after the sale was complete, the Water Operations Department did not miss a beat.

Each member of the Water Operations Department staff takes pride in efficiently installing, operating, and maintaining the system while emphasizing customer service, safety, and sustaining system compliance. The Water Operations Department prides itself on its history of compliance. Electric City Utilities has met or exceeded the overall requirements established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control since ownership was transferred to the City of Anderson in 2002. The cross-connection control program is constantly evolving with the times to provide unvarying protection against backpressure and back-siphonage incidents.

While the City of Anderson takes pride in its rich past and present, it is its future that really shines brightly in the Electric City. A major plant expansion project at the LHWTP has increased the rated capacity to nearly 45 MGD. With this expansion, the City will increase its capacity by 3.66 MGD to 14.12 MGD, or 31.4% of the rated plant capacity. The upgrades to the water treatment process converted the costly and environmentally unsafe gaseous chlorine disinfection system over to a mixed oxidants (a fancy phrase for “salt”) approach for disinfection generation. Even though the ARJWS has never experienced any known problems with disinfection byproducts, it is well documented that the use of mixed oxidants will reduce the levels of trihalomethanes, haloacetic acids, and other disinfection byproducts and will reduce the taste and odors that some associate with gaseous disinfection.

In 2007, the City of Anderson / Electric City Utilities completed a capital improvement project that included the installation of two supplementary 500,000-gallon elevated storage tanks, 7.2 miles of transmission mains, 17.5 miles of renewed distribution mains, and 150 additional fire hydrants. The City of Anderson’s mission is to supply the highest quality drinking water possible by providing a high level of customer service, adequate pressure, and ample fire flow protection while being responsive to growth, and with few customer complaints.

• Water and Sewer Service Map
• Standard Specifications for Waterline Construction
• Cross Connection Control Policy
• Delegated Review

• Water Quality Reports (CCRs)
  
  • 2023
  • 2022
  • 2021
  • 2020
  • 2019
• Hydrant Flushing
• Lead and Copper Rule – NEWS LETTER (PDF)
• Electric City PFAS Information
• PFAS (Fact Sheet)

• Drought Management and Response Plan Ordinance
• Ways to Save Water
• EPA WaterSense

Why does debris come out of the faucet when running hot water?

• Most likely your water heater needs to be flushed. CAUTION: Most manufacturers recommend hiring a professional to flush your water heater. If you plan on doing this yourself, read the owner’s manual to keep from being hurt and or damaging the water heater.

Why is my water muddy?

• Is it hot water only – if so, it is your hot water heater.  Sediment can settle at the bottom of your hot water heater and will need to be flushed out. CAUTION: Most manufacturers recommend hiring a professional to flush your water heater. If you plan on doing this yourself, read the owner’s manual to keep from being hurt and or damaging the water heater. Is it hot and cold – if so, is work being done in your area by the water department?  The water should clear up soon.  Run cold water first until the water clears.

Why is my bill so high?

• Do you have a leak – Make sure all water is off in the house and check the meter.  If the meter dial is turning you do have a leak.  Did you have a toilet that did not shut off properly?  A running toilet can cause your bill to increase.
• Were you doing a lot of outdoor watering or washing cars?  This will cause your bill to increase.
• Was the meter read correctly? Compare the current reading to your bill.  Numbers may have been transposed or the meter may have been hard to read.

Who is responsible for the pipes in my yard?

• Electric City Utilities only maintains to the meter.  From the meter to the house is the customer’s responsibility.

Who do I call if I need to dig in my yard?

• To help prevent serious personal injury, property damage, and damage to underground facilities, you must call 811 at least 3 business days before starting the project.

I called in a locate through 811. Why didn’t they mark water lines past the meter?

• We are only able to locate lines that we install, maintain, and/or for which we are responsible. Since a builder or plumber installed the line from the meter to the house; unfortunately, there is no way for us to know where they are. 

During cold weather:

Why do I have no water?

• Is the temperature below freezing – if so, your pipes may be frozen.  Once the temps get above freezing and your pipes thaw out, you will need to check for leaks

• EPA Kids’ Stuff (external site)
• EPA WaterSense Kids (external site)
• Walter the Raindrop (external site)
• Water Drinking Week Activities Workbook