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Saluda has spent $28K in last couple of years on repairs

SALUDA—Saluda officials just recently discovered how many problems the Laurel Drive sewer lift station is causing the city. 

Saluda City Council met Monday and heard from Steven Orr and Julie Osteen about how much overflows and repairs at the lift station have cost the city. 

Over the last couple of years, there’s been about $28,000 spent on the lift station, according to finance officer Osteen. 

Orr said the city was woefully unprepared for a recent rain event, where the pump failed and then another pump failed. 

He said he would like to propose a few things related to the lift station and plans on getting some bids for some fixes until the city can come up with a capital improvement plan. 

Orr said he just wanted to make council aware that employees are doing some analysis. 

“We can’t keep throwing good money after bad,” Orr said. 

He said he already has a contractor there and the problems were probably precipitated 5-6 years ago and it is just one of those problems that keeps getting pushed along. 

Saluda Mayor Fred Baisden said a new line got put in and there is a 3-inch pump pumping into a 2-inch line. 

“I can’t speak to what happened 5-6 years ago but it’s not right,” Orr said. 

He said he will come back with some cost based procedures to help offset some things. 

Baisden said that pump station was rebuilt supposedly but not everything was replaced coming in. 

The pump station had an overflow recently that discharged about 1,500 gallons of untreated wastewater.