For Immediate Release – March 25, 2026
City of Florence Launches Multi-Year Initiative to Modernize Water and Sewer Utility Infrastructure
Media Contacts:
Amanda Pope, Marketing, Communications & Municipal Service Director
843-665-3113 or apope@cityofflorencesc.gov
FLORENCE, SC – The City of Florence is proud to announce the launch of a transformative, multi-million, multi-year initiative focused on enhancing water quality through significant upgrades to its drinking water and sanitary sewer collection systems—reinforcing the City’s commitment to safe, sustainable water, and increasing the sewer capacity to provide a more resilient and sustainable future for all residents. Supported by bond funding and annual capital improvement funds, these ambitious efforts will address longstanding challenges and position Florence as a leader in high-quality utility service delivery. Key highlights for this program include,
Comprehensive Master Planning - Florence City Council approved a long-range master plan for water distribution and sewer collection. These plans, many of which have been underway since Fall 2025, guide capital improvements that will be implemented over the next 20 years, targeting modernization of essential infrastructure and reduction of household water quality issues.
Major Investments in Water Quality - Nearly $85 million is dedicated specifically to water quality improvements, including upgrades to the surface water plant, expanding capacity from 10 to 15 million gallons per day. With 63% of Florence’s drinking water sourced from groundwater, the city is prioritizing upgrades and optimization of groundwater wells, as well as improved treatment plant performance. In addition, Florence is implementing a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system—an industrial control technology that provides real-time monitoring and management of infrastructure and facility processes.
Modernization of Sewer Infrastructure - Specifically, there will be upsizing to the Jeffries Creek sewer interceptor infrastructure that will dramatically enhance the capacity and functionality of the sewer system. The comprehensive design will involve planning and analysis to ensure this new infrastructure meets current demands while accommodating future growth and development within the service area. Furthermore, this initiative will significantly mitigate the risk of environmental contamination caused by overflows, safeguarding the community and its natural resources.
Resilience Against Severe Weather - Florence’s water system has been repeatedly tested by severe weather events—including hurricanes, flooding, and extreme freezing—causing widespread low water pressure, service disruptions, and boil water advisories. With this new initiative, the city is not only strengthening system reliability and emergency storage but also ensuring that Florence is fully prepared to meet future demands.
“These substantial and coordinated investments demonstrate Florence’s commitment to ensuring reliable, high‑quality water and resilient infrastructure that supports long‑term community needs. From restoring groundwater production capacity to implementing multi-million-dollar treatment upgrades, the City is taking decisive action to modernize its systems, address community concerns, and create a stronger, more resilient water infrastructure that will serve residents for generations to come,” said City Manager, Scotty Davis.
The City of Florence is taking a strategic, phased approach to implementing its Water and Sewer Utility Improvement Plan, organizing work into immediate, short-term, and long-term initiatives to ensure efficient progress and measurable outcomes.
During the immediate phase, over the next 60 days, the City will conduct site investigations, initiate preliminary engineering, and perform well testing. Within the sanitary sewer collection system specifically, staff are carrying out a broad range of critical activities focused on enhancing treatment performance and maintaining environmental compliance. At the same time, field crews and utility contractors are actively implementing incremental upgrades to optimize existing infrastructure and installing improvements to the existing system—efforts that have been planned and underway since early fall.
Over the short term, within the next six months, priorities at the ground and surface water plants will shift toward completing full designs for the highest‑priority groundwater treatment plants, along with continued enhancements to SCADA systems and water quality monitoring instrumentation.
Looking to the long term—one year or more—the City will execute a multi‑phase program to further improve water quality, sustain construction activities, and actively manage system performance to ensure the long‑term success of the initiative.
For more information and updates on the Water Quality Improvement Plan, visit:
Water Quality Improvements | City of Florence, SC
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