Chester Metropolitan District

The Chester Metropolitan District is a Special Purpose District created by the South Carolina legislature in 1959 and serves as the public water supply authority for Chester County. CMD distributes water throughout the county via a surface water treatment plant on the Catawba River at Fort Lawn, with service along SC Highway 9, SC Route 99, the US 21 corridor, and to the municipalities of Chester, Fort Lawn, Great Falls, and Richburg.

The system operates a 7.2 million gallon per day treatment facility currently at approximately 42 percent capacity for average conditions. Water is distributed through a network of pipelines, including a 24-inch main serving the Highway 9 corridor and a 16-inch main serving the southern part of the county. The district maintains 5.7 million gallons of storage across multiple tanks and facilities. CMD also provides wastewater and garbage service to Chester County residents and businesses.

Water quality from the Fort Lawn treatment plant meets all South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control drinking water regulations. The district maintains system reliability through monthly flushing and testing, annual hydrant flushing, bi-annual valve exercising, and annual chlorine burnout procedures. CMD has experienced only two treatment plant shutdowns in the past twelve years with no loss of service to industrial customers since 1995.