$117 million sewer project causing a West Ashley stench

UPDATED, 8/28/24 | Charleston Water System (CWS) starts construction next month on a $117 million sewer upgrade project that will bore a larger wastewater line almost 4 miles along the West Ashley Greenway.

It’s a project that you, like many residents along Albemarle Road, have probably never heard of. During its peak, the mostly underground boring operation on the greenway, which CWS owns, will go on up to 20 hours a day during the work week, with a lighter Saturday schedule.

At this point, utility officials say there’s no stopping the project, which they emphasize is vital to deal with future wastewater loads from growth in West Ashley, Johns Island, Hollywood, Ravenel and Meggett.

Nevertheless, the project is causing something of a stench, even though fewer than a dozen neighborhood leaders turned out to learn more at an Aug. 27 meeting.

George Panciera, president of the homeowners’ association at The Albemarle condominiums across the street from the project location, said he learned the 65-unit complex was “ground zero” for the project in a phone call less than a month ago. And he’s worried about its impact on quality of life, infrastructure, noise, congestion and more.

“The disruption to our community and potential damage to our building and premises from this massive, multiyear project are truly alarming,” Panciera told the City Paper on Aug. 28. “The sheer volume of material that will be excavated from the tunnel and trucked off site, the around-the-clock operation of heavy equipment and the constant delivery of tunnel supplies is going to generate a level of excessive, unwanted noise and vibrations for everyone living in the vicinity of this project.”

A Fenwick Drive neighbor added, “it sounds expensive, noisy, long, but probably necessary for infrastructure at the end of the day.”

CWS spokesman Mike Saia said the utility has made outreach on the project to neighbors since June.

“We’ve spent considerable time canvasing the community near each project site, going door-to-door to every home, apartment/condo complex and business in the impact area to let them know about the significant work and its impacts,” he said in a statement to the newspaper.

Former mayor lives nearby

A rendering by CWS of the Crogham area project site.

Former Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg’s home is about 200 steps from the project site.

“I’m OK with it because it’s long-term needed infrastructure,” he said in an interview. “They told me back when I was on the [CWS] board it would provide some relief to this overflow issue that we’ve been experiencing recently and long-term.”

He said he didn’t think the project would look as bad as an earlier one several years ago when work was being done at the Croghan Spur location at Albemarle Road.

“They’re extending the existing tunnel,” Tecklenburg said. “It’s not brand new. Once you get a shaft and a boring machine in, you don’t see a lot of the work.”

Project details

The boring project will stretch four miles along the West Ashley Greenway. CWS image.

According to a one-page summary of the project, CWS will “excavate a 20,000-foot tunnel for a new 5-foot wastewater main under the West Ashley Greenway from Albemarle Road to a point near Arlington Drive, with shafts at Coburg Road and Markfield Drive.”

The project will commence in three weeks.

“All project plans are complete and construction begins September 16 in the Croghan area,” Saia said. When asked if there was any way to stop it, he answered, “No. This project will proceed as planned.”

He said construction activity over the three-year life of the project would vary “from site to site, with significant localized impact at the Croghan area, Coburg Road and at our pump station in the Citadel Woods neighborhood.”

Site preparation will last through December “with an increase in daytime activity, noise and vibration from sheet pile installation January through February. We begin 7 a.m. to 3 a.m., 20 hour-per-day weekday work in March, which will continue for about two years. Minor daytime work will occur Saturdays, and no work is scheduled Sundays. However, challenges may arise that require expanding that work schedule, but we plan to stick to the established schedule if possible.”

Saia emphasized that boring activity, which will occur 130 feet below the surface, will not impact any structures. Residents, he said, will not hear it or feel it. A summary of the project noted:

Construction machinery and vehicles were to have sound-muffling devices;
Operations were to be conducted to avoid unnecessary noise.
Tunnel ventilation noise was to be dampened with barriers.
Nighttime work is to be limited.
Actions prohibited at night were trucking of material off and on the site, and alarms from cranes and for vehicles backing up.

“The only noticeable activity will occur at the four shaft sites and the only sites with the potential to impact structures are Croghan and Citadel Woods,” Saia said “We will … perform pre- and post-construction assessments to determine if any structural impact has occurred. We’re going to monitor vibration throughout construction to assure it’s within industry standards and we don’t expect any damage to occur.”