BLUFFTON, S.C. (WTOC) – The Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority, the Town of Bluffton and Beaufort County broke ground Wednesday on the “Go to Sewer” initiative in the Alljoy community.
The first phase of the project will connect roughly 100 homes to a new low-pressure wastewater system, replacing septic tanks that officials say are a threat to groundwater and the May River watershed.
What officials said
Michael Bell, chairman of the Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority, said the project targets areas where septic systems are failing.
“This event is the groundbreaking for the Alljoy sewer project. This is phase one, we’re going to move about a hundred homes off of a septic tank — septic tanks that are pretty non-functional when they’re wet — to a low-pressure sewer system,” Bell said. “We are working through our septic-to-sewer program, and it encompasses both Beaufort and Jasper counties, since that’s our territory. We’re looking at pockets of areas that are pretty much in environmentally sensitive areas with non-functioning septic tanks.”…