City of Pickens to vote on agreement with Greenville Water

PICKENS, S.C. (WSPA) — Pickens City Council was scheduled to vote on an agreement with Greenville Water Tuesday.

However, the meeting was cancelled because a council member was unable to attend the meeting, according to a city spokesperson. This "raised concerns that there would be a lack of a quorum required for council action."

The proposed agreement would require the city to pay Greenville Water an initial payment of $3,848,000 for access to drinking water. The city would make additional payments each month for the next 40 years with a "3% carrying charge."

Pickens would be allocated 1.3 million gallons of water per day from Greenville Water. The city could "resell water and may sell or lease its allocated capacity," according to the agreement.

The agreement would be in place for 40 years with the option to extend it for two additional 30-year periods.

Some customers do not support the agreement.

"There's no cap on how much Greenville Water can charge us," Jessica Merrill, who lives in Pickens, said. "They can increase our rate yearly. We also have seen that there's a 3.3% yearly finance charge. Trying to do quick math on that, it seems like we're going to be paying more for going with Greenville Water than Joint Regional."

The proposed agreement is being criticized by some because the city previously planned to buy its water from the Pickens Regional Joint Water System (PRJWS). The city withdrew from the partnership in July because city leaders said it was too expensive.

"Our share of costs for construction and operating a new water plant with the regional water group over 20 years would be an eye watering $43 million," Mayor Isaiah Scipio said in July. "In contrast, buying into Greenville Water comes at a far more manageable $17 million."

If the city faces legal action for withdrawing from PRJWS or if PRJWS "becomes operational by January 2026," Pickens can end its agreement with Greenville Water with one year's notice.

"As a taxpayer, I don't think that they're making the best choice for us," Merrill said. "They're making the best choice for what they want to do with the city."

The city has not set a date for when Tuesday's council meeting will be rescheduled.