Money is now in place to begin sewer upgrades in the Excelsior Mill/Union Mill area, thanks to the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program.

SC House District 42 Rep. Mike Anthony presented a check for $500,000 — from the South Carolina Department of Commerce — to the City of Union on Wednesday morning. The funds are a portion of $14.5 million in CDBG funds awarded to 34 communities across the state.

The project — known as Phase I: Excelsior Mill/Union Mill — will entail the installation of 3,370 linear feet of gravity sewer to replace deteriorating sewers, some of which are more than 100 years old. Work will also include tying in 65 existing service lines to the new sewers.

“We have some of the best infrastructure in South Carolina,” said Mayor Harold Thomson. “Our sewer system is still doing a good job. We are doing the maintenance, trying to stay ahead of the curve.”

In the Excelsior Mill Village, Lincoln Street and Louise Street will be affected. In the Union Mill Village, Second Avenue, Church Avenue, Third Avenue, Spring Street, Lawson Avenue and Hicks Street will be affected. The new lines will be installed in the roads for ease of operation and maintenance and streets will be resurfaced upon completion of the installation.

“We also need to give a big ‘thumbs up’ to Catawba Regional,” Thomson said. “Thanks to them, we have been able to get most grants we’ve applied for.”

Thomson said Catawba Regional also keeps the city abreast of all available grants while also assisting with planning and paperwork.

“This really is a great investment for the city,” he added.

Catawba Regional Council of Governments is a voluntary association of local governments in Chester, Lancaster, Union and York counties that serves as a forum for intergovernmental cooperation and as a central staffing resource for services including — but not limited to — grantsmanship, environmental and economic development, project management and research.

The Excelsior Mill/Union Mill grant is one of four grants recently applied for by the city. The other grants are for the second phase of the Union Mill upgrades and for the two-phase upgrades in Monarch. The city, which will will provide a $50,000 match for each $500,000 grant awarded, has applied for a total of $2 million in CDBG funds.

If awarded, Union County will be the recipient of the grants for the Monarch upgrades while the city will receive the grant for the second phase of the Union Mill upgrades.