500,000 gallons of wastewater dumped near, and some into, Beaufort’s Battery Creek
An estimated 500,000 gallons of sewage spilled from a sewer main into a tidal ditch leading to Battery Creek in Beaufort on Monday, prompting an immediate closure of shellfish harvest beds.
A 16-inch ductile iron sewer main crossing under the tidal ditch failed, causing the overflow, according to the Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority (BJWSA). It’s at least the third sewer line breach in the vicinity since 2017.
The spill, which occurred near the intersection of Parris Island Gateway and the Savannah Highway, has been stopped and is now under investigation by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC).
“They erected a dirt berm between the spill and where it was going and cleaned up around there so there won’t be any more that’s going into the creek,” BJWSA spokeswoman Pam Flasch said Tuesday morning. “But, yes, it did get into Battery Creek.”
The saltwater creek, which has no freshwater inputs other than stormwater runoff, drains to the Beaufort River, which in turn drains into Port Royal Sound and the Atlantic Ocean. Shelfish are harvested from its waters. While the water quality within the watershed is generally good, according to a 2013 study of the watershed completed for the city and county, it sometimes exceeds standards set for shellfish in portions of the river.
Water samples are being tested now to see how much sewage reached Battery Creek and the impact, Flasch said.
Wastewater that can be collected is being pumped into the nearby sewer system, Flasch said.
Water and sewer authority crews were alerted by a resident who detected an odor in the vicinity, BJWSA said.
Tuesday morning, multiple BJWSA employees were working in the ditch and the surrounding neighborhood. Signs have been posted in the area to inform the public.
BJWSA is working in conjunction with DHEC to address any effects caused by the overflow, the authority said.
DHEC closed all open areas of Battery Creek, and portions of the Broad River from the Broad River Bridge south to Archers Creek and east to Malecon Drive in Parris Island, to shellfish harvesting for 21 days due to the sewer line breach.
A swim advisory also is in effect.
The 9,946-acre Battery Creek watershed spans portions of the city of Beaufort, the town of Port Royal, and unincorporated Beaufort County.
BJWSA delivers an average of 10 million gallons of wastewater to eight wastewater treatment facilities in the region daily.
There’s been other sewage releases in Beaufort into Battery Creek in recent years.
In December 2020, an estimated 3,300 gallons of wastewater leaked from a sewer main into a tidal ditch that leads to Battery Creek.
In 2017, shellfish beds in Battery Creek were closed for harvesting following a sewer spill from a neighborhood off Dowlingwood Drive near Shell Point.
This story was originally published February 1, 2022 at 9:59 AM.
