BOILING SPRING LAKES — Brunswick County approved spending $78,800 to study Boiling Spring Lakes’ existing sewer infrastructure Monday.
Hundreds of parceled-out but still undeveloped tracts sit waiting for development in the city, with public sewer service as a major missing key for construction.
Related: Expanded sewer system could open up ‘significant development’ in Boiling Spring Lakes
The study will help aid future sewer expansion efforts by recommending new collection systems, pump stations, mains, and upgrades to the city’s existing sewer network.
Limited service relatively new
Designed by Reeves Telecom Limited Partnership in the 60s, Boiling Spring Lakes is now home to over 6,500 people.
A large portion of the city receives public water from Brunswick County. Though there is limited sewer service available along of Highway 87, a majority of the city’s residents use individual septic systems.
Brunswick County’s service on Highway 87 was installed in 2013 to mitigate septic issues at South Brunswick middle and high schools. Once the city’s existing sewage system is studied, the county and city will be better positioned to correctly design and expand service to the area, according to a county summary on the proposal.
Future service in BSL
In 2017, Boiling Spring Lakes established a sanitary Special Assessment District (SAD) on 159 undeveloped lots. Located north of South Brunswick High School, sewer service will make the lots economically viable.
The area was previously considered undevelopable due to soil conditions which prevented the approval of septic permits. Sanco Homes agreed to build homes in the area and Boiling Spring Lakes agreed to cover the cost to install sewer infrastructure to meet the planned expansion area. Boiling Spring Lakes’ expenses will be repaid in the form of assessments tied to the lots via liens on properties.
Boiling Spring Lakes’ Board of Commissioners worked out a Memorandum of Understanding with Sanco Homes in fall 2017. The board agreed to expand sewer service to allow additional residential development could spur economic development activity along Highway 87. Once the utility lines are installed, Boiling Spring Lakes will hand it over to the county.
In August, when the county first publicized a request for qualifications, Boiling Spring Lakes’ manager Jeff Repp said over half of the city’s land — about 12 square miles – could be developed. A review of the submittals was postponed until recently due to Boiling Spring Lakes’ continued recovery from Hurricane Florence.
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