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When it comes to new developments, there are the obvious impacts on the local community, like increased traffic, the loss of open land and just more people — but what about the issues that are just as impactful, yet less obvious?
It was the Chair of the Seabrook Island Utility Commission Annie Smith-Jones that brought some of those potential issues to light at the recent Seabrook Island Town Council meeting on July 25.
The mayor and members of the Seabrook Island Town Council got a full look at the potential wastewater treatment capacity issues that will inevitably come when the new developments on the horizon are erected in and around the town.
The main reason for Smith-Jones to present the estimates of wastewater capacity has to do with the potential annexation of the Andell property next to Bohicket Marina. The topic is currently being examined by the Town of Seabrook Island and will further be addressed at the Aug. 22 Town Council meeting.
Smith-Jones said she was asked by some of the Council members to look at the capacity issues as it relates to the annexation of the Andell property. It’s important to note that capacity is measured in Equivalent Residential Units (ERUs), which means one residential household or business is equal to a total of 300 gallons per day (according to DHEC) of sewer flow at domestic wastewater strength.
For example, Smith-Jones noted that the current Bohicket Marina runs at 39 ERUs, and that capacity for them would be not greater than 40 ERUs.
Smith-Jones also addressed the holding ponds. “One question that came up was if we would have any issues with our holding pond, which can hold 16 million gallons,” she said. “We are allowed to pump out 1.1 million gallons a day, which flows to Seabrook Island Golf Course and Oak Point Golf Course. That is actually our agreement with Seabrook Island. We might have more problems during the three winter months when golf courses don’t want to receive huge amounts of water, which are December, January and February. The rest of the year, we have to pump water out of the deep well for their needs for their irrigation purposes.”
When it comes to the new developments, Smith-Jones shared the following projections:
Capacity Projections - Seabrook Island Wastewater Treatment Plant (in ERUs)
• Current Connections – 3,239
• Seabrook Island Infill – 241
• Haulover Developments (property behind Freshfields) – 1,400
• Freshfields Phase II and III Build Out – 100
• Freshfields Senior Center – 130
• Kiawah River Estates Build Out – 154
• Cassique Build Out – 58
• Bohicket Marina (new Andell property) – 35
• MUSC Medical Center – 15 = 5,372
“We are obligated to all these pieces of property,” Smith-Jones said. “When the Town bought the utility in the late 1990s, we agreed to uphold all these agreements. We are obligated to all except the expansion of the Andell property for Bohicket Marina, that is. But as you can see the annexation of the Andell property for Bohicket Marina is a small portion.”
She went on to explain, “The 3,239 current connections represent businesses and residents that are both within Seabrook and outside of Seabrook that we already service. That includes those served in Cassique, Kiawah River Estates and Bohicket Marina. To put it into context, the number of ERUs that we service outside of the gate is 16% of our customers, and that is residential and commercial properties.”
Smith-Jones was also asked by Council, prior to the meeting, about what state the Town’s utility infrastructure is in.
“Most of it was developed initially in 1973, and it expanded in 1988 to the 1.1 million gallons a day that we are allowed to pump out now,” Smith-Jones said. “We have a management maintenance program and we are continually looking at our infrastructure. All the main lines are about two miles long that go through the main pump station on Seabrook called Pump Station Number One. We have never found any problems with those lines and we have thoroughly inspected them.”
She also noted that they have never dealt with root intrusion to their main line. “Like I said, we continually inspect all of our lines and we are continually working at the pump stations and at our plant operation.”
Another positive aspect about Seabrook Island Utility is their current bill. It remains one of the lowest in Charleston County.
Smith-Jones provided the following information:
Average Monthly Residential Water and Sewer Bill (based on an average consumption of 8,000 gallons from November 9, 2022)
• Seabrook Island - $118.25
• Mount Pleasant – $130.64
• Isle of Palms – $137.00
• Kiawah Island Utility – $147.54
• Charleston Water (Inside) – $147.99
• Folly Beach – $151.82
• Sullivan’s Island – $175.98
“As you can see, our rates are very reasonable,” she concluded.
She said that some council members also asked about rates changing due to annexing new developments into the Town’s limits, therefore the development would use the Town’s utilities.
“If a developer is bringing on a new piece of property, or you were an owner of a piece of property that is going to bring your home piping into our sewer, that ERU would have an impact fee for that one unit and that would cost you $7,500. That has gone up 300% in the last three years based on engineering studies that say that we need to be doing a number of projects to increase capacity, but we would not need increased capacity if we were not taking on a new development – unless, of course, it was development that we were obligated to take on. Our feeling is that our current customers should not have to foot the bill for all of that development or increased capacity. Yes, they should pay perhaps some, but right now all of the fees are collected by the impact fee, which is $7,500 per ERU.”
Seabrook Island Town Council Member Jeri Finke chimed in, “The homeowner has to take care of all of the piping and actual hookup at our line.”
To clarify if indeed the Town of Seabrook Island is close to capacity for wastewater treatment, Seabrook Island Town Council Member Barry Goldstein asked, “What is the plant’s capacity in ERUs per day?”
Smith-Jones said that DHEC actually dropped Seabrook Island down since they were not using their full capacity. “The plant has a physical capacity and DHEC reduced it because we weren’t using it,” she said.
“So that means that DHEC has a capacity that could be tuned to run at a higher capacity, and we would have to request a higher capacity if needed,” Goldstein explained.
The plant is maxed out at 1.1 million gallons per day – and these are estimates – if everything was 100% developed. “The plant is in a good situation to handle all the near future development. Haulover, the property behind Freshfields Village, is a huge portion, but we have no indication of if and when they will develop that. For everything else it runs well, it operates well and can handle any and all of the future developments – except for Haulover, and they would never build 1,400 homes in an instant. Even if they chose to do that, it would be a five to 10-year project. Bottom line, we will not have a problem with any additions to the plant,” said Goldstein.
Seabrook Island Town Council Member Dan Kortvelesy asked if there was any grant money available for plants to expand. “There’s a lot of infrastructure money out there,” he added.
Smith-Jones explained that they applied for a $12 million grant. “We did not receive any of it, so now we are regrouping and trying to decide the next step to go forward.” She added, “I don’t want to miss any opportunities.”