The Augusta Economic Development Authority (AEDA) is proposing a major sewer expansion project to the tune of $25 million, touting a return of investment of potentially billions.
Wednesday the AEDA released its proposal for its South Augusta Sewer Expansion to expand the city’s industrial sewer service to the McCombs Road Mega-Site, a 1,150-acre industrial tract just north of the border of Burke County.
The AEDA is requesting from Richmond County $25 million in SPLOST monies to fund the project, which entails building a new sanitary sewer pump at the site to flow wastewater north to a new gravity sewer near the edge of Little Spirit Creek Basin, before connecting to a new trunk main along Little Spirit Creek.
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That main would go downstream to Highway 56, connecting to a roughly 20-year-old sewer main built to service the Spirit Creek basin; and would also extend upstream to Old Waynesboro Road. The wastewater would ultimately flow to the Spirit Creek Pump Station.
The proposal document states that the Authority began developing the site in 2021 at the behest of the state Department of Economic Development to rival similar large-acreage industrial sites such as those in Bryan County, where Hyundai is building EV and battery manufacturing facilities, and Stanton Springs, where Rivian is developing its EV plant.
A lack of industrial sewer service, the proposal says, has been the key obstacle to securing major industrial investment at the McComb Road site.
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The authority’s proposal presents a host of figures to posit the beneficial impact of the project, claiming the sewer service would be expanded not only to make way for industrial development, but also more retail and residential development downstream in southern Richmond County.
The Authority aims for the new mega site to draw a major employer to invest $1 billion or more developing there, which the AEDA estimates could result in an annual economic impact of more than $500 million.
Long-term projections of the site’s impact, according to the AEDA, include potentially $50 million in new retail spending, $2.2 million in local sales tax revenue over 25 years, $82 million in property taxes, also over 25 years, and $54 million in tax revenue for the Richmond County School District.
The Authority projects that completion of the sewer expansion would take about one year, after spending four to six months on concept development and engineering design, and another eight to 12 weeks for review and bids.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
