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 town in southern Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. The population as of the 2020 census was 27,716, an increase of over 120% since the 2010 census, making it the 17th-most populous municipality and one of the fastest growing municipalities in South Carolina. It is primarily located around U.S. Route 278, between Hilton Head Island and Interstate 95. The Lowcountry town's original one square mile area, now known as Old Town, is situated on a bluff along the May River. Bluffton is a primary town within the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Hardeeville is a city in Jasper and Beaufort counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 7,473 as of the 2020 census, an increase of over 150% since 2010. Hardeeville is included within the Hilton Head Island–Bluffton metropolitan area.
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 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 98.4 percent, since 1994, for capturing and cleaning wastewater from 28 communities in a 411-square-mile (1,060 km2) area. The national goal is 85 percent of all the rain and wastewater that enters their sewer systems.
The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority(DC Water) provides drinking water, sewage collection, and sewage treatment for 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 Washington, D.C.
A combination of aqueducts, reservoirs, and tunnels supplies 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.
The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD), originally known as the Sanitary District of Chicago, is a special-purpose district chartered to operate in Cook County, Illinois since 1889. Although its name may imply otherwise, it is not a part of the City of Chicago's local government but is created by Illinois state government with an elected Board of Commissioners. The MWRD's main purposes are the reclamation and treatment of wastewater and flood water abatement in Cook County to protect the health and safety of citizens and of area waterways. In 1900, the District notably reversed the flow of the Chicago River, and it is currently involved in the large multi-decade construction of the "Deep Tunnel," Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP).
The Pawtuxet River, also known as the Pawtuxet River Main Stem and the Lower Pawtuxet, is a river in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows 12.3 miles (19.8 km) and empties into the upper Narragansett Bay of the Atlantic Ocean. Together with its two main tributary branches, the North Branch Pawtuxet River and the South Branch Pawtuxet River, it drains a watershed of 231.6 square miles (600 km2), all of which is in the state of R.I.
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 49Archived 2006-10-04 at the Wayback Machine 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.
U.S. Route 278 (US 278) is a 146.130-mile (235.173 km) 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 17.330-mile-long (27.890 km) state highway in Jasper and Beaufort counties in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina. It connects the rapidly growing communities of Hardeeville and Bluffton and serves as a parallel route to U.S. Route 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.
The Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) is a regional water authority in the U.S. state of Michigan. It provides drinking water treatment, drinking water distribution, wastewater collection, and wastewater treatment services for the Southeast Michigan communities, including Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties, among others. GLWA overlays a majority of the water and sewer assets which were formerly operated and maintained by the Detroit Water Sewer District (DWSD) prior to the bankruptcy of the City of Detroit, Michigan.
The San José–Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility is a wastewater treatment plant located in the Alviso neighborhood of San Jose, California. The facility treats 110 million U.S. gallons of wastewater per day, with a capacity of up to 167 million U.S. gal/d (630 ML/d), making it the largest tertiary treatment plant in the western United States. It serves 1.5 million residents and over 17,000 business facilities in eight cities. The 2,600-acre (1,100 ha) site is operated by the San Jose Environmental Services Department and jointly owned by the cities of San Jose and Santa Clara. It began operations in 1956 to address severe water pollution issues and played a key role in San Jose's aggressive annexation program during the 1950s and 1960s.
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