New May River no-wake zone push could come in spring, focus on environmental impacts
Zone would stretch along May River from Old Town Bluffton's Calhoun Street dock to Oyster Factory Park
State has denied past applications for zone
Town staff, residents say zone could be boon to safety, environment
Bluffton residents with docks along the May River have been pushing the state for years for a no-wake zone along a stretch of the waterway near Old Town.
They are going to have to wait at least a few more months.
Despite support from town officials, the S.C. Department of Natural Resources has twice rebuffed attempts to set up the zone that would stretch from east of the Calhoun Street public dock to west of Oyster Factory Park.
"When we put forth our application to DNR previously, they denied it summarily," town director of engineer Kim Jones said earlier this week. "They said come back to us when" improvement projects planned for Oyster Factory Park are complete.
Those projects -- which include expanding the park's boat ramp and adding more parking -- aren't expected to wrap up until mid-April.
SILVER LINING
But waiting until the spring to reapply might not be all bad. In fact, supporters are hoping it could increase the chances.
"We don't want to (apply again) too early because we want to get it right," Jones said.
"We want it to be boating season" before another application is made, she said, because applying during cooler months when fewer boats are on the water might not give DNR investigators a sense for the full scope of the problem.
Lt. Michael Thomas with DNR's law enforcement division said Wednesday that it's often "most beneficial for us to come out and investigate during the high traffics months of the year," which are between May and September.
TWO-PRONGED APPROACH
The problem on the May River is two-fold -- speeding boats that leave wake in their path could pose a threat both to humans and the environment, Waters Street resident Kent Collins said.
"Our interest is not only in safety, but there are ecological concerns," Collins, who has worked with the town and DNR on previous no-wake zone applications, said.
Those applications have focused on the safety benefits no-wake zones, which makes sense because DNR's law enforcement division is tasked with approving applications.
But the extra few months between now and April could allow the town and the neighbors to make the environmental case to officials in other DNR divisions.
"The enforcement side (has been) hard pressed" to approve past applications, but "there might be folks within (other divisions of) DNR who may say wakes are bad for oysters, spartina, and the ecology (of the river) channel," Jones said.
Wes Jones, chairman of a town committee on river issues, said he has recently noticed increased erosion along the river bluffs near his home.
"It's obviously from all the boats," he said. "...Wakes really do make an impact."
State officials could be missing an important part of the equation "if this is only being looked from the enforcement side and not from the ecology side and science side," Kim Jones said.
The state investigates a host of criteria before establishing a no-wake zone, channel size, boat traffic and water depth, among them.
But Thomas said when the enforcement division has investigated Bluffton's no-wake applications in the past, "the question of environmental hazards hasn't come up."
Typically, DNR investigators only assess environmental factors when considering zones near fuel docks, which could cause major water contamination if struck by a speeding boat, he said.
SPEED LIMITS
Collins has encouraged town staff to seek speed limits with any upcoming no-wake zone applications.
Larger vessels traveling at high rate of speed might not create much wake, but could still be dangerous to swimmers or other boaters, he said.
Committee chairman Wes Jones agreed, saying he has seen boats "that must be running at 60 miles per hour."
"Quite frankly, they don't throw up much of a wake, but it's still dangerous," he said. "...Someone needs to tell them that this isn't a race zone."
Follow reporter Lucas High on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Lucas.
Related content:
- Should Bluffton establish no-wake zone on May River?, Oct. 30, 2015
- May River speed demons leave angry Bluffton dock owners in their wake, Aug. 22, 2013
This story was originally published January 27, 2016 at 2:27 PM with the headline "New May River no-wake zone push could come in spring, focus on environmental impacts."