Beaufort and Jasper counties asked to reduce water use through Wednesday, officials say
Beaufort Jasper Water Sewer Authority is asking customers to reduce water usage until at least Wednesday and begin watering plants on a rotating schedule following a pump outage at the water treatment plant in Okatie, officials said in a press release.
Residents in Beaufort and Jasper counties are being asked to water outdoor plants three days a week on a rotating schedule following a power surge which came after the demand for water reached a new high on May 18. At that time, the authority’s 63,000 customers used 34.9 million gallons of water, a rate that was faster than what the authority’s water plants could treat, according to the press release.
“If customers curb their water use this weekend and into the early part of the week, it will buy our crews time to make repairs before we start to lose pressure in the system,” said Brian Chemsak, BJWSA chief of plant operations.
If pressure were to drop in the system, Chemstak said, residents could see reduced water pressure and a change of color in their tap water. If a major drop in pressure were to occur, it could impede firefighters’ access to water in an emergency, or the authority could issue boil-water advisories for residents as a safety precaution.
Crews are working to address the pump outage and it is expected to be fixed by Wednesday evening, the press release said.
Residents are being asked to use water outdoors three days a week, with no word on how long that would last. Those with odd-numbered addresses are asked to irrigate Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays while even-numbered addresses can do so on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. No irrigation should take place from 3 a.m. to 9 a.m. or on Mondays, officials said in the press release.
The authority is looking to increase water production and has a $52 million project in the works for a water treatment plant in Jasper County that is expected to be completed in 2025.
“We’re working around the clock to resolve the issue before symptoms start to arise at people’s taps,” Chemstak said.
More information can be found at www.bjwsa.org/water-use.
This story was originally published June 5, 2022 at 9:29 AM.
