Public Works
The City’s Public Works facility is home to four (4) departments:
The City’s Public Works facility is home to four (4) departments:
Electric Operations Offices
503 Hall Street
910-276-2364
The City of Laurinburg operates its own electric distribution system consisting of over 72 miles of power lines. The City has been in the electric business for over 80 years providing reliable service to 5,630 customers who are offered a range of services from credits for load management to rebates for water heaters and heat pumps and Time-of-Use electric rates. The service is provided by a crew of 9 employees who perform line and switching station maintenance, SCADA operation and metering functions. The crews also maintain the City’s Fiber Optic system which provides network and internet services to other City departments and other customers throughout the City and County. Currently the fiber system consists of over 70 miles of fiber optic cable with associated electronics.
The City of Laurinburg is a member of ElectriCities of North Carolina, the North Carolina Eastern Municipal Power Agency and North Carolina Association of Municipal Electric Systems. ElectriCities is a not-for-profit government service organization representing cities, towns and universities that own electric distribution systems. Today, ElectriCities represents more than 90 members in North Carolina (including Laurinburg), South Carolina and Virginia.
Interesting and informational links:
Jason Lighthall– Electric Utilities Director
The Public Utilities staff strives to provide customers of the City of Laurinburg with quality drinking water, sewer service that is dependable and environmentally acceptable, safe streets through cost effective maintenance, storm drainage maintenance and construction to minimize flooding.
The staff normally handles calls on weekdays from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. A crew is on call 24 hours a day 7 days a week. If an emergency occurs after hours call the 911 center. During severe weather such as ice storms or hurricanes, crews are on duty around-the-clock.
The Street Department maintains approximately 87 miles of paved roads and approximately 9 miles of unpaved roads. We use our pavement condition study prepared in 2016 to identify City Streets in need of repair. The study rates streets in need of repair by a score and we resurface the streets in need of repair as funds are available. Our goal is to maintain streets in the most efficient way possible. The Street Department maintains the street signs, assists other departments with demolition of condemned structures, enforces the lot cutting ordinance by requiring property owners to keep lots at a minimum standard, and administers the mosquito program during the summer months, usually between April and September. We have a street sweeper that operates year-round. We concentrate on the main thoroughfares and all streets with curb and gutters. We run a route system and the time to complete the routes depends on the leaf and debris volume.
The Storm Drain department is responsible for maintenance and repair of the storm drainage system in the City limits of Laurinburg that connect to our city streets. This department routinely cleans the drainage system and removes any obstacles obstructing the flow of water. This department also makes structural improvements to insure that the system is able to and reasonably handle water flow. Residents are reminded to never dispose of leaves, grass clippings, oil, or trash in to the drainage system or in a location, such as a roadway or curb & gutter lines, where debris could be swept into the system by storm water. Such actions may result in serious flooding during the next storm. Unlike the water that goes down your drain to the sewer, water that flows into storm drains is not treated and filtered for pollutants. This contaminated water flows into canals, into streams and lakes, and then ends up in the ocean. Everything other than pure rain water is a potential contaminant that degrades water quality. It’s very important that you help prevent contaminants from flowing into storm drains and never pour anything into them. Intentionally pouring water and pollutants into street gutters and storm drains is dangerous to the environment and is also illegal.
The City of Laurinburg will extend water-sewer service within the City when funds are available (from the City or other sources) and costs are reasonable, and when they:
The City’s Water Distribution Department constructs and maintains approximately 200 miles of City owned water distribution mains ranging in size from 2 inch to 20 inches. We also maintain approximately 153 miles of County owned water distribution mains ranging in size from 2 inches to 10 inches. Water is transported under pressure through main distribution lines. Smaller pipes, called service lines, are attached to the main water lines to bring water from the distribution system to homes and businesses. The City maintains approximately 9,600 water taps ranging in size from ¾ inch to 12 inches.
Backflow assemblies are required to isolate hazards from the public water supply.
The City’s Sewage Collection Department constructs and maintains approximately 146 miles of sewer collection lines ranging in size from 2 inch force mains to 36 inch gravity mains. One of our main goals is to reduce Inflow & Infiltration (I&I). I & I is defined as excess water inflowing into sanitary sewers or infiltrating sewer lines. The City has an I & I program to reduce and/or eliminate Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSOs). Excess water may come from too much rainfall infiltrating through the ground, leaking manholes, or illegal connections such as roof drains. Sewer lines can also be infiltrated by growing tree roots. I&I is a major cause of SSOs which is an environmental and health issue. The City’s Sewage Collection Department has a sewer camera system and video recording equipment to record leaky joints, breaks in pipes, etc. We are in the process of applying for grants to help rehab some of the system in need of repair. Replacing and rehabilitating these lines and manholes reduces I & I into the sanitary sewer system, thereby protecting the public health, improving wastewater treatment plant efficiency and reducing system maintenance. The City of Laurinburg has an ordinance to reduce grease in the sewer mains that cause blockages and overflows.
The City of Laurinburg’s Fats, Oils, and Greases Ordinance requires that food service facilities install and maintain grease traps and /or interceptors to prevent grease from entering the sewer system. The City of Laurinburg encourages its residents to reduce the amount of fats, oils and grease that enters the system because there are more residential kitchens than there are restaurants.
For more information on Fats, Oils and Grease please click here.