Hilton Head commits $3.5 million to help bring sewer to all residents by 2020
The Town of Hilton Head Island has committed more than $3.5 million to its pledge to provide sewer access to every resident by 2020.
Town Council unanimously committed the funding at its meeting Tuesday night, setting into motion a plan that has long had political support but heretofore lacked much of the financial jump-start it needed.
"It's a good plan, and it will definitely bring better opportunities and land use to the entire island," said councilman Marc Grant, whose Ward 1 includes many of the residents still without sewer.
"I'm looking forward to hearing from the residents who need it most," he said. "We can eliminate these septic tanks and we have the opportunity to ensure these areas are safe and clean for our children to play in."
Today almost 900 properties -- many in black and Hispanic neighborhoods -- lack access. Any one property could represent a single homeowner or multiple households.
Earlier this year the service district extended sewer service along Gum Tree Road, bringing immediate access to about 28 properties and eventual access to 18 more.
Next year, almost $950,000 of the town's $3.5 million commitment will go toward sewer access in the Oakview area off Spanish Wells Road and to properties along Dillon Road near Ferguson Lane. Those funds are already allocated through the town's capital improvements program, said Scott Liggett, town director of public projects.
It's in the Oakview area on Sam Frazier Retreat where native islander Rochelle Williams has often found her backyard ankle deep in sludge after a heavy rain. Failing septic tanks at homes on the road have the nightmarish effect of flooding the neighborhood with feces during bad storms, she told The Island Packet earlier this year.
The newspaper's video footage of the mess helped solidify the town's commitment to the issue, which Mayor David Bennett and Grant have pressed as their top priority.
Council members were in such agreement with the decision that the plan, which has been debated and turned over for years, required no discussion Tuesday. That is because clean sewer service is a fundamental need for every island resident, regardless of means, leaders agreed.
"It's huge," town manager Steve Riley said after the meeting. "It's really a monumental step for the town after many, many years."
Future years of the new program will extend service along Gumtree, Marshland, Squire Pope, Wild Horse, Jonesville, Fish Haul, Bay Gall and Chaplin roads.
The commitment will only build the new sewer lines, however, and will not cover the cost of connecting homes to the new sewer lines.
That will cost at least an estimated $2.5 million over the next five years to hook medium- and low-income residents through the Project Sewer Access for Everyone, administered by the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry, said town chief financial officer Susan Simmons.
A task force including Bennett, Simmons, Grant and other local leaders and foundation board members are investigating how to raise about $3 million to support those connections over the next several years.
Costs to purchase easements to install the new sewer lines also are likely to add to the project costs, but no estimates are available for those costs and they vary from parcel to parcel, town administrators said.
In total, sewer expansion to the remainder of the island will cost more than $7.1 million, according to district documents. Those improvements include the $3.5 million committed by the town, the eventual expansion to the Spanish Wells community, upgrades to existing pipes and the construction of new pump stations.
Follow reporter Zach Murdock on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Zach and on Facebook at facebook.com/IPBGZach.
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April 24, 2015 Despite native islanders' long-standing pleas for their dirt roads to be paved, the Town of Hilton Head Island has made little progress in accomplishing the task. Instead, it has spent generously on other non-basic services and projects. | READ
- Sewer service coming soon to some low-income Hilton Head residents, May 22, 2015
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- Unpaved roads aside, residents also live with unsightly and unhealthy septic overflows, April 24, 2015
This story was originally published December 15, 2015 at 8:12 PM with the headline "Hilton Head commits $3.5 million to help bring sewer to all residents by 2020."