July 4, 2018 – Okatie, SC – The beginning of FY19 finds Beaufort-Jasper Water & Sewer Authority (BJWSA) celebrating a significant milestone – more than one million safe work hours without an injury resulting in a lost workday. As of July 1, the Authority’s staff has worked safely 1,163 days to accumulate 1,047,540 hours. This remarkable record is a result of every employee’s commitment to safety and compliance with their robust safety program. BJWSA’s Safety Specialist Steve Lee, along with management staff, ensure that all hazards are identified and the appropriate personal protective equipment is provided and implemented before any work begins. BJWSA reached this milestone once before but due to complacency, made missteps in the workplace that resulted in several injuries. To avoid repeating this, employees are laser focused on achieving the 2,000,000 safe hours mark.
The BJWSA Board recently approved a five-year strategic plan, Crystal Clear 2022.
In FY19, the authority will expedite their galvanized/cast iron replacement program and commit $4M/year for the next two years to fund full replacement of the remaining lines. This program, along with achieving enhanced call center metrics, new metering and bill paying initiatives, enhanced predictive maintenance and asset management strategies, is all tied to the strategic plan.
The Hardeeville Water Reclamation Facility (HWRF) expansion project comes online this year. The project received the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI) Envision rating system’s Bronze award, the first of its kind in South Carolina. This innovative facility provides additional capacity to support new businesses and industries moving to the area and produces a highly treated, reclaimed water quality effluent.
Additionally, a project is currently underway to divert wastewater from Lady’s Island to the Port Royal Water Reclamation Facility (PRWRF.) This diversion of the existing sewer flows to PRWRF will eliminate excessive treated effluent loads currently experienced at St. Helena Waste Water Treatment Plant during the winter months and redirect these flows to PRWRF, where there is adequate effluent disposal capacity.
BJWSA is a founding member of the Savannah River Clean Water Fund (SRCWF,) one of the largest bi-state utility collaboration projects of its kind, working with four other utilities in SC and GA to establish conservation easements on large parcels adjacent to the river to protect water quality. Growing evidence suggests that maintaining a high-quality source water can lead to compelling utility savings in avoided water infrastructure and treatment costs. The lower basin is a 2.8 million-acre watershed that provides drinking water for more than a million people. Learn more about this initiative at www.savannahrivercleanwater.org.
Throughout the year, customers are reminded to call BJWSA’s main number if they have issues of any kind: 843-987-9200, and to visit the website at www.bjwsa.org. BJWSA’s mission is to inspire trust and enhance public health.
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