Seneca willing to talk with PRWD

In an attempt to save its wholesale contract, Seneca would be willing to negotiate a lower rate to the Pioneer Rural Water District. Bob Faires, Seneca utilities director, reacted today to a PRWD report favorable to the Oconee-Anderson water supplier building its first treatment plant. “Pioneer purchases water from both Seneca and Westminster and I think Westminster wouldn’t mind coming to the table…If they (PRWD) are truly looking for a business decision on how to serve their customers water and are looking for cost-saving’s measure, I think it definitely would be worth the time to just sit down and see if something could happen…,” Faires said this morning. Seneca supplies 60% of PRWD’S supply and Westminster 40%. But if Pioneer goes through with its plans to buy property inside the county’s Golden Corner Commerce Park for the plant and constructs an intake line from nearby Lake Hartwell, Seneca and Westminster lose those contracts. According to Faires, building a plant and then keeping it running is huge project. A certified public accountant firm’s analysis of what’s involved, from costs standpoints, according to Pioneer manager Terry Pruitt, is favorable to Pioneer and its ratepayers. It takes into account a ten-year period of increasing wholesale supply bills, as well as the likelihood that buying water wholesale into the future is going to become more expensive.