Aiken County Allocations

Aiken County serves a significant number of wholesale wastewater customers across its regional collection system. Ardurra helped the county digitize and improve permit tracking by building a data platform that ensures high data fidelity and accurate routing of wastewater flows downstream, enabling the county to view current capacity across all wholesale customers for a range of scenarios — including currently committed capacity and capacity pending approval at a granular level.

Ardurra used Python and Power BI to clean raw permit data, integrate it into a traceable network that routes flow statically, and surface those results in an interactive analytics environment. A key component of the engagement was the development of a permit recommender system built on logic-based rules that helps county staff evaluate whether new permit applications should be approved, reducing the subjectivity and manual effort previously required in that process.

Ardurra also developed a Microsoft-based permit application tool that streamlines the intake process for new permit applications and immediately reflects proposed changes in the capacity allocation database. This allows Aiken County to evaluate not only permits sequentially but also to model the potential outcomes of multiple permits applied in parallel affecting the same downstream lines — a capability that significantly improves the accuracy and confidence of capacity planning decisions.

Key Highlights:

• Digitized Aiken County's wholesale wastewater permit and capacity data, replacing fragmented manual tracking with a clean, traceable data platform that reflects committed, pending, and available capacity at a granular level.

• Built a logic-based permit recommender system that evaluates new applications against current capacity conditions, enabling county staff to make faster, more consistent, and better-informed approval decisions.

• Developed a Microsoft-based permit application tool that updates the capacity allocation database in real time, giving the county immediate visibility into how proposed permits affect system capacity before approval.

• Enabled parallel permit scenario modeling — allowing Aiken County to assess the cumulative impact of multiple simultaneous permit applications on the same downstream lines, a capability previously unavailable with manual processes.

• Delivered a replicable data integration framework using Python and Power BI that positions Aiken County to maintain high data fidelity and expand the platform as the wholesale customer base grows.

Ardurra gave Aiken County the data infrastructure and analytical tools needed to manage wholesale wastewater capacity with precision and confidence. By digitizing permit records, building a traceable flow network, and developing an intelligent permit recommender system, Ardurra enabled the county to shift from manual, sequential permit review to a dynamic, scenario-driven decision process. The result is a more efficient, transparent, and defensible approach to capacity allocation that supports Aiken County's long-term wastewater planning and growth management.