Water restrictions start Wednesday in parts of Beaufort County ahead of Hurricane Dorian
Water will be restricted but not completely shut off in more than a dozen areas of Beaufort County on Wednesday afternoon before Hurricane Dorian is expected to bring lots of wind and rain.
Beaufort-Jasper Water & Sewer Authority plans to restrict the flow of water at certain causeway valves starting at 4 p.m. “to protect the drinking water system,” a BJWSA news release said.
The decision was made “due to the current forecast” for the hurricane and “out of abundance of caution,” the release said.
Affected areas include:
• Bermuda Bluff
• Birdfoot Landing
• Callawassie Island
• Cat Island
• Coosaw Island
• Distant Island
• Vivian’s Island
• Harbor, Hunting and Fripp islands
• Horse Island Drive
• Kingston Key Drive
• Myrtle Island Drive
• Pine Island
• Tansi Village
• Warsaw Island
On Tuesday morning, BJWSA announced these areas would have their water shut off at 8 p.m. Tuesday, but hours later suspended the decision, saying authority officials would continue to monitor the situation and provide residents as much notice as they could.
“The purpose of the water restriction is to avoid a catastrophic loss of water system pressure should a failure of the pipeline within a causeway occur due to the effects of the hurricane,” the release said. “Customers in these areas will still have water service but may experience lower water pressure.”
The release said the causeways they are restricting have critical lines that run across them, “making them vulnerable to storm surge, wind, and other calamities associated with hurricanes.”
