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USCB, Bluffton partner to create water quality lab

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A new water quality lab on the Bluffton campus of the University of South Carolina Beaufort will help local officials better analyze pollution levels in the May, Okatie, Colleton and New rivers.

The college partnered with the Town of Bluffton to create the local lab and the town committed $325,000 over the next three years to fund the project. That money also will pay for equipment once the lab is staffed by a water quality analyst.

Alan Warren, USCB academic program director of environmental health science, said the hiring process is under way and the analyst position should be filled by next week.

It will be about three months, however, before the lab is fully functional, he said.

"We need to make certain we're capable of giving the town a valid result before we launch into generating data," Warren said. "There's a lot of behind-the-scenes work, practice analyses, and making sure we are operating as we should be."

Warren said the new analyst will be able to work after-hours or on the weekends, unlike the lab Bluffton currently works with in Savannah, TestAmerica Laboratories.

Bluffton officials collect samples from the May River on a quarterly basis and after significant rains. That water is tested for bacteria, nutrients and sediment levels, among other things.

Some types of bacteria, such as fecal coliform, require quick analysis following rainfall to determine if there are any public health concerns. If levels are too high, for example, state and local agencies would issue swimming or fishing advisories.

But test results are not always timely with TestAmerica, which doesn't provide testing during evening or weekend hours, said Kim Jones, Bluffton's natural resources manager.

"The advantage of having a local (analyst) is we'll be able to call up the lab technician manager and grab a sample and have them run the sample without having to go to Savannah," she said.

Bluffton environmental director Jeff McNesby said the lab also will provide a better understanding of pollution levels in local rivers.

"This (new lab) will allow us the ability to get a lot more samples and quicker turnaround (of results)," he said. "We want to watch the streams, go into gated communities. ... We want to know what's going on and where the largest amount of pollution is coming from. We need local data to figure out what's going on to deal with future developments."

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