Sewage spills tripled last year in Beaufort County. Here’s what happened.

The spill of raw sewage into backyards, city streets and rivers — an ongoing concern for local officials — continues to pose a threat to Beaufort County waterways and environment in general.

In 2017, Beaufort County utilities spilled 20,500 gallons of sewage — more than three times the amount spilled in 2016 and more than the previous four years combined, according to data from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

The sewage spilled during seven separate incidents, five from the Fripp Island Public Service District and two from Beaufort Jasper Water & Sewer Authority. Five of the seven spills were near a body of water, according to DHEC data.

Sanitary sewer overflows can contaminate waters, causing serious water quality problems and back-up into homes, cause property damage and threaten public health. Raw sewage carries diseases and viruses that can be contracted in drinking water sources, direct contact and through shellfish harvesting, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

More than 10 shellfish harvesting areas in the county are currently closed due to high levels of fecal coliform, a type of bacteria typically found in waterways. Portions of the Calibogue Sound and the May, Okatie, Coosaw, Morgan and Beaufort rivers have been affected, according to DHEC.

The unprecedented increase in overflows last year was primarily due to a single spill by the Beaufort Jasper Water & Sewer Authority on May 16, 2017, when 15,000 gallons of sewage were released into a detention basin in Bluffton’s Pine Ridge neighborhood.

According to BJWSA, a valve on a sewer pump was left unsecured after maintenance work, causing the overflow near the intersections of Pine Ridge Drive and Buckwalter Parkway.

The sewage was vacuumed up and the detention basin was treated and lined. None of the sewage reached the May River, according to Pamela Flasch, communications manager for BJWSA said.

After the incident in May, caps were placed on all sewage pumps in the area to prevent future problems, Flasch said.

“Safety is our No. 1 focus, especially environmental safety and the safety for our customers,” she said. “This was a very unusual event.”

No citations or enforcement actions were taken by DHEC as a result of the spill.

Still, any overflow of sewage poses health and environmental challenges for local officials.

“In general, if any of the sewage was to find its way to a water body, then a spill can increase the amount of bacteria in the water body, if it is indeed raw sewage,” said Eric Larson, director of Environmental Engineering an Land Management for Beaufort County.

“We have bacteria problems in many watersheds in this county, where the levels are higher than allowed for their intentional use of shellfish harvesting. Any increase would contribute to that,” he said.

Larson, who is in charge of implementing the county’s stormwater management plan, said overflows from local utility companies are not his primary concern.

“They (the utility companies) are not one of my higher priorities when it comes to sources (of pollution) in our environment, because they’re permitted (by DHEC) and they manage those spills very well,” Larson said.

Sources not regulated by DHEC, such as residential septic tanks, poorly planned development and wildlife and pet waste, are some of Larson’s main concerns, he said.

Bluffton’s May River Watershed Action Plan Advisory Committee is also working to try and reduce bacteria levels in the May River and find the specific sources of pollution within the town.

One of the committee’s initiatives is to reduce the potential for negative impacts by residential septic tanks in Bluffton’s Old Town.

Even if septic tanks are working properly, when substantial levels of rain fall, the additional pressure can cause the systems to leak. “We hope that this will be an example for the rest of the county, especially with homes near the water,” said Al Stokes, a member of the advisory committee.

At the committee’s Jan. 25 meeting, members recommended that Bluffton Town Council adopt the six “proposed historic district sanitary sewer project areas” — Pritchard Street, Bridge Street, Colcox Street, Lawrence Street, Green Street and East and West Water Street — in order to extend sewer infrastructure into those areas and eventually ask residents to move from their septic systems to BJWSA’s sewer system.

This story was originally published February 5, 2018 at 3:55 PM with the headline "Sewage spills tripled last year in Beaufort County. Here’s what happened.."