Jim Perry, of the Lumber River Council of Governments, made a presentation to the Laurinburg City Council about a study performed on the plants.
The sewer plant is a 7 million gallon a day facility, Perry said.
He said the cost of purchasing the plant and the land its on would be $2.6 million.
He said that rehabilitating the plant and making necessary upgrades for munipal needs would cost $16 million.
He said that this puts the total cost of the project at close to $19 million.
To add some perspective, he said the cost comes out to about $2.77 per gallon per day.
He added that the cost of a new plant comes to between $6 and $8 per gallon per day, which makes the cost of improving the plant between a quarter and a third as expensive as building a new plant.
The water treatment plant also had a 7 million gallon per day capacity.
Perry said the cost of buying the plant and the property was a little more than $1 million. The cost of rehabilitating and improving the plant is a little more than $17 million dollars.
He said the average cost per gallon per day would be around $2.55, while a new plant would have a similar $6 to $8 per gallon per day cost.
Perry said that those estimates are where the study stops.
It does not include the cost of transmission lines.
He said that the next part of the study will be to find out some of this information, as well as look for grants to support the project.
Perry mentioned several benefits of investing in the plant.
He discussed that it would be a good backup if the state mandates the community use less water from the aquifer system, or if the state places limits on how much well water can be used.
He cited other areas of the state where restrictive water measures were mandated by the state.
He said that while Scotland County has a strong supply of water, its in the coastal region which has had some water issues as a whole and may be forced to take similar actions.
Since the water plant feeds off the Lumber River, it would provide a good source of water if the city had to reduce the amount of ground water it uses.
He also said that other communities expressed interest in buying water from Scotland County water plants during the drought and this plant would give extra capacity that could potentially be sold at a profit in the event of another drought.
Perry cited industrial recruitment as another potential reason for investing in the plant.
He said plants have to locate in places where their demands can be met. Right now, a lot of municipalities are lacking in extra water and sewer capacity and having the additional infrastructure could be a way of being competitive in recruiting businesses.
Perry stressed the need to continue the project. Right now, the plant has a permit for a 7 million-gallon intake from the Lumber River. He said there is a very real chance that, if the project drags along, the state could remove the permit because of the scarcity of water in the state.
Craig Honeycutt, Laurinburg city manager, added that having a permit to release treated water into the Lumber River was also not going to last if the city didn't seize the opportunity.
Honeycutt also said it would help deal with Laurinburg approaching capacity with its current sewer plant.
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