Development pressures on rivers must be reduced

Development pressures continue despite the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. While little new construction is coming up out of the ground right now, developers are jockeying for position to be ready to capitalize on the next economic upswing. And the town of Bluffton seems to be doing what it can to help them, including a design competition for the Okatie headwaters area and the possibility of another annexation that will lead to yet another development agreement and more commercial development.

Bluffton sprawls for 50 square miles now, so what's 40 acres more? It's a lot when you consider where it is and what development there could mean to the troubled estuary. The potential for commercial development near the intersection of U.S. 278 and S.C. 170, thanks in large part to the city of Hardeeville and now Bluffton, looms large and makes a mockery of the more than $8 million Beaufort County has spent trying to restore and protect the Okatie, as well as the several million dollars state and federal officials have spent studying ways to protect the river and other waterways like it.

Early results of the most recent study show that current pollution loads must be dramatically reduced, according to the Coastal Conservation League. To state it another way, the river needs relief from existing development, with its hard surfaces and polluting stormwater runoff, not more new development. Bluffton officials seem to think we can just design our way out of this, but no one has designed a better water filtration system than Mother Nature's. And there are areas that simply can't handle the strain of development.

More of the same won't do if we are committed to protecting and restoring local waterways, particularly the headwater areas of the May and Okatie rivers. Years of research tell us we must limit hard surfaces in these watersheds to no more than 10 percent of the area if we want to maintain water quality that allows shellfish harvesting -- our stated goal. Bluffton officials can't tell us where we stand today on this critical measure. They might be afraid to find out.

Bluffton officials say they want to work with their Beaufort County counterparts to protect the rivers. Saying it doesn't make it so.

They note that the town's comprehensive plans shows areas in the Okatie headwaters are "to be developed for commercial and higher intensity residential uses." That suggests the comprehensive plan should be changed, not used as justification for development in these environmentally sensitive areas. High density, mixed-use development with a connected network of walkable streets, paths and sidewalks is still sprawl if built in the wrong place.

There's no need to worry about shutting down development. It will come. Too much has been approved already to stop that juggernaut. But officials shouldn't encourage more development in sensitive headwaters areas. The Coastal Conservation League is right: The development patterns of the past decade must be broken.

The best way to protect our waterways is for all government officials to keep that 10 percent threshold in the forefront of every decision and to work together to see that we get as close as possible to it. These lessons apply in all areas of the county.

Anything short of that won't do, and pledges to protect our rivers will be only empty promises.