Logo of the Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority
The Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority (often shortened to BJWSA) is a public water system and non-profit corporation which handles water and wastewater operations for many areas in Beaufort and Jasper counties in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina.[1] The Authority was created under the provisions of Act 784 by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1954 to provide services to Beaufort County. In 1969, its powers were expanded to include wastewater facility construction and services. In 1983, the authority merged with the Jasper County Water and Sewer Authority and thus adopting the BJWSA moniker.
Although initially set up to provide water and wastewater services to unincorporated areas, BJWSA has over time acquired municipal water and sewer systems for Beaufort, Port Royal, Bluffton, and Hardeeville. Since 2008, BJWSA also provides water and service to the military installations located in northern Beaufort County.[2] In 2009, BJWSA assumed ownership of the former Port Royal Railroad right-of-way in northern Beaufort County. The railway was decommissioned and removed in order to allow BJWSA to use the right-of-way for future utility routing and to create the Spanish Moss Trail.[3]
The authority is governed by an eleven-member board appointed by the Governor of South Carolina. A general manager is in charge of day-to-day operations of the authority and oversees the various departments and functions of BJWSA. The Authority's headquarters is located near the border of Beaufort and Jasper counties, between Beaufort and Bluffton along S.C. Highway 170 in the Okatie area.
The major fresh-water source for BJWSA is the Savannah River, approximately eight miles north of downtown Hardeeville. An eighteen-mile canal carries freshwater from the river to the BJWSA facility for treatment purposes. The authority operates two water treatment plants, three wastewater treatment plants and hundreds of pump stations.
BJWSA has approximately 57,000 retail accounts for water services and approximately 38,000 for wastewater services. BJWSA treats an average of 20 million gallons of water for consumption and 9 million gallons of wastewater each day.[4]
Awards
BJWSA has received many awards from state and national groups, including:[5]
Association of Metropolitan Water Associations 'Platinum Award for Competitiveness Achievement'
Bluffton is a Lowcountry town in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is primarily located around U.S. Route 278, between Hilton Head Island and Interstate 95. The town's original one square mile area, now known as Old Town, is situated on a bluff along the May River. The population was counted by the 2010 census at 12,893, and was estimated to have swelled to 25,557 in 2019. Additionally, it is the fastest growing municipality in South Carolina with a population over 2,500, growing 882.7% between the 2000 and 2010 census. Bluffton is the fifth largest municipality in South Carolina by land area. The town is a primary city within the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Hardeeville is a city in Jasper and Beaufort counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 2,952 as of the 2010 census and was estimated to be 6,515 in 2018. Hardeeville is included within the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The University of South Carolina Beaufort is a public university with three campuses located in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina. It is part of the University of South Carolina System and enrolls about 1,900 students. The main campus is in Bluffton, offering over 20 programs of study. The institution's campus in Beaufort houses the school's honor programs and the Department of Visual Arts & Design. The campus in Hilton Head Island is home to the school's program for hospitality management.
The Central Contra Costa Sanitary District (CCCSD), also called Central San, provides sanitary sewage transport and treatment for the central portion of Contra Costa County, California. The main facility is a 54-million-US-gallon (200,000 m3) per day treatment plant in residential Martinez, California and it provides service to approx 462,000 residents. It operates and maintains 1,500 miles (2,400 km) of sewer lines out of its second location in Walnut Creek, California. It is a California Energy Commission Showcase Plant.
The Lowcountry is a geographic and cultural region along South Carolina's coast, including the Sea Islands. Once known for its slave-based agricultural wealth in rice and indigo, crops that flourished in the hot subtropical climate, the Lowcountry today is known for its historic cities and communities, natural environment, cultural heritage, and tourism industry.
The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) is a regional government agency that provides water reclamation and flood management services for about 1.1 million people in 28 communities in the Greater Milwaukee Area. A recipient of the U.S. Water Prize and many other awards, the District has a record of 98.5%, since 1994, for capturing and cleaning wastewater from 28 communities in a 411-square-mile (1,060 km2) area. The national goal is 85% of all the rain and wastewater that enters their sewer systems.
The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority provides drinking water, sewage collection and sewage treatment in Washington, D.C.. The utility also provides wholesale wastewater treatment services to several adjoining municipalities in Maryland and Virginia, and maintains more than 9,000 public fire hydrants in the District of Columbia. DC Water was created in 1996, when the District Government and the U.S. federal government established it as an independent authority of the District government.
A combination of aqueducts, reservoirs, and tunnels supply fresh water to New York City. With three major water systems stretching up to 125 miles (201 km) away from the city, its water supply system is one of the most extensive municipal water systems in the world.
Dallas Water Utilities (DWU) is the water and wastewater service operated by the City of Dallas, Texas, in the United States. DWU is a non-profit City of Dallas department that provides services to the city and 31 nearby communities, employs approximately 1450 people, and consists of 26 programs. DWU's budget is completely funded through the rates charged for water and wastewater services provided to customers. Rates are based on the cost of providing the services. The department does not receive any tax revenues. Primary authority and rules for the department are listed in Chapter 49 of the Dallas City Code.
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is the department of the government of New York City that manages the city's water supply and works to reduce air, noise, and hazardous materials pollution.
Issues that affect water supply and sanitation in the United States include water scarcity, pollution, a backlog of investment, concerns about the affordability of water for the poorest, and a rapidly retiring workforce. Increased variability and intensity of rainfall as a result of climate change is expected to produce both more severe droughts and flooding, with potentially serious consequences for water supply and for pollution from combined sewer overflows. Droughts are likely to particularly affect the 66 percent of Americans whose communities depend on surface water. As for drinking water quality, there are concerns about disinfection by-products, lead, perchlorates, PFAS and pharmaceutical substances, but generally drinking water quality in the U.S. is good.
U.S. Route 278 (US 278) is an east–west United States highway that traverses through the South Carolina Lowcountry, from North Augusta to Hilton Head Island.
The Technical College of the Lowcountry (TCL) is a public community college in Beaufort, South Carolina that serves the Lowcountry region of South Carolina.
South Carolina Highway 46 (SC 46) is a 17.3-mile-long (27.8 km) state highway in Beaufort and Jasper Counties in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina. It connects the rapidly growing communities of Bluffton and Hardeeville and serves as a parallel route to U.S. Highway 278 (US 278).
The Port Royal Railroad was a South Carolina railroad that was constructed following the American Civil War. The line was chartered in 1856 but wasn't built until 1870. By 1871, it ran from Port Royal, South Carolina, to Yemassee, South Carolina. It was extended to Augusta, Georgia in 1873. That same year, the company declared bankruptcy and was sold to the new Port Royal and Augusta Railway in 1878.
The Philadelphia Water Department is the public water utility for the City of Philadelphia. PWD provides integrated potable water, wastewater, and stormwater services for Philadelphia and some communities in Bucks, Delaware and Montgomery counties. PWD is a municipal agency of the City of Philadelphia, and is seated in rented space at the Jefferson Tower in the Market East area of Center City, Philadelphia.
Palmetto Electric Cooperative Inc. is a non-profit electric utility cooperative headquartered in Ridgeland, South Carolina. It has a membership of approximately 66,000 customers.
Del Webb's Sun City Hilton Head is an age-restricted planned community located in the Okatie area of Beaufort and Jasper counties in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina. Although not a separate incorporated community or census-designated place, there are close to 10,000 permanent residents within three major phases of the community, which is clustered around its golf courses and community centers. The community is also renowned for its political activism, with many local, state, and national candidates for political office stopping in Sun City while in the area. Sun City is included within the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Okatie is an unincorporated suburban community west of Hilton Head Island, located in Beaufort and Jasper counties, in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. Okatie takes its name from the nearby Okatee River, an estuary of the Port Royal Sound. The headquarters of the Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority are located in Okatie, as are the Beaufort-Jasper Academy for Career Excellence and John Paul II Catholic High School.
Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant, located at 5000 Overlook Ave SW, Washington, DC 20032, is the largest advanced wastewater treatment plant in the world. The facility is operated by the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority. The plant opened in 1937 as a primary treatment facility, and advanced treatment capacity was added in the 1970s and 1980s. The effluent that leaves Blue Plains is discharged to the Potomac River and meets some of the most stringent permit limits in the United States.
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