- Landowners of Cainhoy Plantation are suing Charleston Water System over a 30-year infrastructure agreement extension, arguing that the utility should fund the remaining water and wastewater infrastructure for the Point Hope development.
CHARLESTON — Landowners of the extensive Cainhoy Plantation in Berkeley County are suing the Charleston Water System over a 30-year infrastructure agreement that could leave one side footing the bill for fresh water and wastewater infrastructure as the peninsula develops.
The suit, filed in March, centers on an agreement between Cainhoy Land & Timber, LLC and CWS. Under the agreement, Cainhoy peninsula was annexed by the city of Charleston. In exchange, landowners would provide the easements required to install infrastructure like water pipes, drains and sewers, with CWS responsible for providing water service to the area and getting the necessary permits from the state.
The complaint argues that the deal, which was signed in December 1995 and originally set to expire at the end of 2025, has been extended by state legislators multiple times under resolutions passed in 2010 and 2013 in the aftermath of the Great Recession…