14K acres along Savannah River in SC are now protected. What’s it mean for Beaufort Co.?
Beaufort-Jasper Water & Sewer Authority recently invested more than a half-million dollars in a joint conservation effort it hopes will help to keep the Lowcountry’s water clean.
Almost 14,000 acres along the Savannah River were put aside earlier this year to protect the land permanently from development. The $12.2 million conservation easement, the result of contributions from private, commercial, nonprofit, and government donors, is the largest private easement in South Carolina’s history, according to a U.S. Fish and Wild Life Service news release.
BJWSA general manager Joe Mantua said the agency pulls the majority of the water it uses from the Savannah River, so its recent contribution is a “relatively small price” to prevent further development or growth that could cause runoff and contaminate the agency’s water source.
A conservation easement is “a voluntary, legal agreement that permanently limits uses of the land in order to protect its conservation values,” according to the Land Trust Alliance.
The 13,868-acre tract included in the easement, which is about the size of Manhattan, is within the Groton Plantation in Hampton County near Allendale. The plantation is owned by the descendants of John Winthrop, who founded the Massachusetts Bay colony almost 400 years ago. The Nature Conservancy handled the easement for the family, who had also previously donated 7,400 acres to conservation efforts.
Although the land itself is about 50 miles northwest of Beaufort County, water in that area affects those downstream.
“We’re trying to be proactive in protecting the source that comes to us,” Mantua said. “We’re looking to maintain the quality of the water in the Savannah so it helps us in what we ultimately deliver” to residents.
The family who owns the plantation donated 70% of the $12.2 million cost of the easement. The remaining money came from a variety of donors, including BJWSA. The authority is one of five water utilities that are part of the Savannah River Clean Water Fund.
This easement project is a step toward protecting the water for a lot of people for current and future generations, said Tonya Bonitatibus, executive director of non-profit group Savannah Riverkeeper.
Although the easement is not in Beaufort or Jasper counties, it should help both counties because a “majority of the pollution affecting their drinking water is coming from upstream,” she said.
She said it’s also saving taxpayer money.
“It’s more expensive to clean dirty water than it is to clean clean water,” she said. “The principle is if you can put protections into place and put in place ways the water can filter itself before getting to you, that’s good.”
This story was originally published December 20, 2019 at 4:45 AM.
