27K gallons of wastewater spilled Friday in Bluffton. Here is what happened.
An estimated 27,000 gallons of wastewater were released from a ruptured force main in Bluffton, according to a Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority news release Saturday.
Around 3 p.m. Friday, staff from the authority were alerted to overflow at Berkeley Place off Buckwalter Parkway. By 4:30 p.m., crews had finished the process of cleanup and recovery, and a majority of the standing sewer was recoverable.
Force mains are pipelines that move wastewater under pressure from the discharge side of a pump or pneumatic ejector to a discharge point, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
BJWSA notified the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control and posted signs at the location of the release.
The overflow comes days after a similar-sized spill left about 25,000 gallons of sewage seeping into salt marsh in Beaufort on April 26. In February, about 45,000 gallons of wastewater were released from a gravity main in Bluffton. That spill, in the Farm neighborhood, did not impact the water system in the area.
The authority delivers about 10 million gallons of wastewater each day to eight wastewater treatment facilities for treatment and disposal. For any suspected or seen sewer collection system spills, call BJWSA at 843-987-9200.
