Dear Island Neighbors,
Please be aware that scammers have been targeting some residents with business before the town. Using email addresses obtained from public records on the town’s website — such as applications to the Design Review Board and Board of Zoning Appeals — scammers send official-looking emails posing as town staff, requesting fee payments and including an “invoice” attachment. Payment is typically demanded through online services such as PayPal or Venmo.
These emails may appear at first glance to come from a town address but, upon closer inspection, do not (for example, “planning.sullivansisland.sc_gov@usa.com”). Please note that all legitimate town email addresses end in “.sc.gov.” In some cases, scammers may also spoof the name of a town employee, making it appear the fraudulent email address belongs to that individual.
If you receive a payment demand or unexpected bill that appears to come from the town, please call Town Hall to verify before opening any attachments. Do not submit payment through any website other than the official town website, which is where all legitimate town payments are made online.
STORMWATER PROJECT UPDATE
Construction of stormwater infrastructure in the areas around Station 28½ and Station 31 is well underway. Recent work includes reconstructing both outfalls with check valves, installing large-capacity pipes and beginning major trunk lines from Marshall Boulevard to the marsh.
Next steps include installing pipes along Middle Street, where road closures are currently in effect between Station 31 and Station 32. A detour map has been posted on the town’s project webpage.
Elsewhere on the island, staff have initiated an ongoing maintenance strategy to provide more immediate flooding relief. This includes jet-vac cleaning of pipes, restructuring ditches and closed-circuit television inspections of infrastructure in the island’s most problematic areas. In a recent test, the town’s newly purchased portable pump was deployed to provide temporary drainage around blockages.
Several additional stormwater projects are in the pipeline. More information will be shared soon.
MOSQUITO INFORMATION
Coming out of a winter storm, mosquitoes are hardly top of mind. However, there has recently been some potentially misleading information regarding the type and extent of mosquito spraying conducted on the island.
All mosquito control is provided by the Charleston County Mosquito Control Program, which is responsible for all 1,353 square miles of Charleston County. The program conducts comprehensive assessments of mosquito populations and locations and deploys both ground spray vehicles and aerial spraying helicopters to reduce the risk of mosquito-borne illness.
In a letter to the town, J. Brian Hayes, director of the program, explained:
“All treatment decisions are guided by daily mosquito surveillance data collected countywide, including on Sullivan’s Island. Our field inspectors identify standing water containing mosquito larvae, respond to residents’ service requests and take landing counts to measure adult mosquito activity. Our lab team traps and identifies mosquito species, tests for mosquito-borne diseases and analyzes data to guide treatment recommendations. When Sullivan’s Island residents see a CCMC helicopter, its crew is almost always inspecting for mosquito larvae or treating larvae identified during a recent inspection.”
Mosquito control trucks spray for both larvae and adult mosquitoes using pyrethroids, which are derived from chrysanthemum flowers. These treatments are applied at extremely low concentrations — approximately one teaspoon per football field — and break down rapidly after landing on surfaces. Spraying occurs late at night to minimize impacts on pollinators.
More toxic treatments are used only in rare circumstances. Hayes noted that aerial adulticide applications are considered only when ground treatments are ineffective or during mosquito-borne disease outbreaks. If such treatment were necessary, the public would receive 36 to 48 hours’ advance notice, along with additional precautions listed on the pesticide label. These applications occur as close to dusk as possible to further limit impacts on non-target organisms.
He added that such measures have not been taken on the island since 2017, following unusually heavy rainfall and concerns related to the Zika virus.
Finally, Hayes noted that the program has not requested, nor does it require, any additional management of Sullivan’s Island’s maritime forest, adding that crews are trained to inspect and treat mosquito habitats without impacting the environment.
More information about the county’s mosquito program is available at:
https://bit.ly/4qcDIu6.
See you around the island,
Pat O’Neil Mayor 843-670-9266
oneilp@sullivansisland.sc.gov