Partnership with Town of Bluffton and Beaufort County will take 150 May River properties off septic systems
May 18, 2023 (Okatie, SC) – Beaufort County, the Town of Bluffton, and BJWSA have received a South Carolina Infrastructure Investment Program (SCIIP) grant to install a new sewer system in Bluffton’s Stoney Creek Watershed, adjacent to the May River.
The need for the project was originally identified by the county, Bluffton and BJWSA as part of the 2011 May River Watershed Action Plan. It will allow septic systems for 150 properties to be decommissioned, removing the risk of contamination of the May River from septic system failures. The existing septic tanks and drain fields will be replaced by a vacuum sewer system that will transport wastewater to a BJSWA treatment plant for treatment and ultimate disposal.
The project is budgeted at $9,550,000, comprised of $5,925,000 of SCIIP grant funding and $3,625,000 local match. It is expected to be completed in 2026.
Updates to this project will be posted here once begun.
Work begins on Purrysburg Water Treatment Plant expansion
The expansion, augmenting the 1965 the Chelsea Plant, gives the area a much-needed 39% boost from 39 MGD to 54 MGD. From its initial design phase in the 1990s, Purrysburg Water Treatment Plant was built for the future of the growing Lowcountry. When the plant opened in 2006, it boasted a design that could be expanded twice – each time adding 15 MGD. Over the lifetime of the facility, Jasper County’s population has increased 35% and Beaufort County’s 30%.
In recent years, BJWSA has added approximately 3,000 new customers annually. That growth shows no signs of slowing. BJWSA’s newly-adopted mission – to provide quality water and wastewater services to our current and future customers in the Lowcountry – was crafted with this growth – and the subsequent gravitas of their public health commission – at its heart.
Though completion of this first expansion is expected in the summer of 2025, BJWSA is looking at a variety of initiatives – old and new – to stay ahead of demand and to prepare for the future of its 750-square-mile service area.
BJWSA completes North Street Transmission Main in Beaufort
(Click on image below to enlarge.)
BJWSA improves service to Bluffton area
Plans include increased storage, water flow
Bluffton Parkway Transmission Main Portion Complete
What is this project along Bluffton Parkway? (Click on link to open document.)
Update – January 13, 2023
Update – December 16, 2022
Update – December 5, 2022
Update – November 18, 2022
Update – November 8, 2022
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Update – August 26, 2022
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Update – July 15, 2022
Update – July 1, 2022
Update – June 17, 2022
Update – June 3, 2022
Update – May 20, 2022
Update – May 6, 2022
Update – April 22, 2022
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Update – March 28, 2022
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Update – February 25, 2022
Update – February 11, 2022
Update – January 28, 2022
Update – January 14, 2022
Update – December 30, 2021
February 12, 2021: Beaufort Jasper Water and Sewer Authority (BJWSA) is designing a large-diameter water transmission main line along a portion of Hwy 170, Bluffton Parkway and Buckwalter Parkway within the Town of Bluffton. The project limits are shown on this map. We are also planning a 1.5-million-gallon elevated water storage tank. This work is part of a larger design-build project that will include a new water transmission main in Bluffton. Read the full media statement here. If you have questions about our projects, please send them here.
BJWSA Solar Arrays save energy, money
BJWSA’s solar arrays are housed at the Port Royal Island and St. Helena Island water reclamation facilities. The program produces electricity and will pay for itself in less than 10 years. New arrays are coming to other sites as part of our Sustainability Program. Our beautiful Lowcountry environment is at the heart of every undertaking at BJWSA.