One utility for water, sewer, power and gas
The Greer Commission of Public Works reports more than 24,500 water meters in the city and beyond it, within a service area bounded by Highway 14, Highway 101 and the Enoree River. Water comes from Lake Robinson and Lake Cunningham, fed by the South Tyger River. The same commission runs the sewer.
That arrangement helps you in an emergency. One utility owns the street-side water and sewer, so a pressure drop on your whole block is a single call. Ask Greer CPW where its responsibility ends and yours begins, because we do not assume that line. Questions about mineral content belong in its annual water quality report.
Because the commission also sells natural gas, a gas smell is a call to 911 or the gas utility from outside the house. Plumbing waits until the building is clear.
Trade Street, Depot Street and the old rail line
Downtown Greer grew around the railroad. The first post office sat in the train station called Greer's Depot, and Greer Station still hosts events beside Trade Street and Depot Street, next to an active Norfolk Southern line. The covered bridge built between 1909 and 1911 is the only one left in South Carolina.
Buildings from that era often keep their original drain routes, and shops and restaurants add grease and wipes on top. A restaurant kitchen or a street-front shop needs commercial plumbing help, and a camera run is the fastest way to learn what is under an older slab.
Greer's sewer system in numbers
Greer CPW publishes these figures about its wastewater side. Here is what each means for a homeowner.
| Fact | Figure | What it means at your house |
|---|---|---|
| Maple Creek treatment plant | Built in the 1940s, permitted for 5 million gallons a day | The plant sits at the end of the line, so a backup is almost always closer to your lot |
| Customer accounts | Over 16,900 | Thousands of laterals share the system, so root and grease problems are common |
| Gravity sewer lines | 270 miles | Most flow depends on slope, which is why a sagging lateral holds water |
| Pump stations | 31 | If neighbors have the same backup, tell Greer CPW because a station may be involved |
Figures come from Greer CPW's wastewater page.
When a main breaks, the call is not yours
A 2024 break put nearly 10,000 Greer CPW customers under a precautionary boil advisory. A valve installed in the 1970s failed, repairs finished the same night, and samples cleared in about two days. On Jan 3 and 4, 2018, main breaks at Pelham Rd and E. James St left more than 100 homes briefly without water.
If your neighbors lost pressure too, the cause is probably the utility's main. If only your house is affected, check your own shutoff and call us. After any advisory lifts, follow Greer CPW's notice on flushing taps.
Before we arrive at a Greer address
Spend the wait on these four things.
Check the street first
Ask a neighbor whether water is off or weak. If the whole block is affected, Greer CPW is your first call.
Close the house valve
Shut the main where the line enters the house or at the meter box, then open a low faucet to drain the lines.
Keep electricity away from water
Switch off breakers for wet rooms, the water heater and any flooded appliances before touching them.
Move people and rugs out
Raw sewage on floors is a health risk. Keep children and pets out, and lift rugs and boxes clear of the water.
Then call (855) 575-2890 and give dispatch your street and ZIP, 29651 or 29650.
How a Greer sewer backup gets sorted out
Most backups follow the same path, and the order saves money.
- 1
Stop adding water
Pause the washer, showers and dishwasher. Each one pushes more into the same blockage.
- 2
Rule out the street
If neighbors are backing up too, report it to Greer CPW. A utility main clog is its job.
- 3
Camera the lateral
A sewer camera inspection shows roots, a sag or a collapsed section.
- 4
Clear the line
A cable handles soft clogs, and hydro jetting scours grease and root hair from pipe walls.
- 5
Repair what the camera found
A broken section may need a spot repair. We tell you when cleaning alone will not hold.
Two counties and a permit question in Greer
Greer sits in both Greenville and Spartanburg counties, and each of its ZIP codes, 29650 and 29651, crosses the county line. ZIP 29651 also carries the Duncan mailing name and part of Five Forks. The City of Greer Planning and Development Department handles permit issuance and inspections inside city limits.
Its page does not mention plumbing permits, so ask that department whether your repair needs one. For an address outside city limits, ask which office applies before work starts. Residential plumbers hold licenses from the SC Residential Builders Commission, and the LLR lookup confirms one in a minute.
Source type: City of Greer and SC LLR pages.
What else we handle in Greer
A slab or yard leak that shows up as a high bill is a job for electronic leak detection, which pinpoints the spot without trenching the whole lawn. Tank failures lead to a water heater replacement, often same-day when available.
Taylors splits water and sewer between separate agencies, which Greer does not, and our Taylors page explains that contrast. Greenville homeowners will find the Greenville Water side covered on our Greenville page.
Greer plumbing questions
Yes. We serve ZIP 29651, which also carries the Duncan mailing name and part of Five Forks, and ZIP 29650. Both cross the Greenville and Spartanburg county line, so we serve addresses on either side. Call the 24/7 line with your street and dispatch will confirm.
Yes. The 24/7 line at (855) 575-2890 is open nights, weekends and holidays. Dispatch tells you what to shut off and books a plumber for the earliest opening. No arrival time is promised.
Call Greer CPW first if neighbors also have backups, since the main may be blocked. If only your house is affected, the blockage is usually in your lateral, and a plumber with a camera can confirm that.
Usually not. An advisory comes from a utility event, like the 2024 valve failure. Follow Greer CPW's notice. Call a plumber only if you see leaks, low pressure in one house, or discolored water after the advisory ends.
Yes. Greer CPW's water area extends beyond the city, and so do both ZIP codes. Permit rules differ by jurisdiction, so we help you ask the right office.
Older drain lines near Trade Street and Depot Street may use materials from earlier eras, and commercial grease adds load. A camera run tells us what is under the floor before we quote any repair.