Existing Park Resources Acres Park Units Berkeley County 170

Utilities

Berkeley County is serviced by eight utility entities:

• Berkeley County Water & Sanitation (BCWS) • Santee Cooper (Wholesale Water Utility) • Summerville CPW

• Goose Creek Public Works (Public Water

Only) • Hanahan Public Works (Public Water Only) • Town of Jamestown (Public Water Only) • Moncks Corner Water Works/Public Works

Commission

• Charleston Water System Six of the eight agencies responded to the survey, but the focus for this study is on BCWS.

Most water for the County is initially sourced and treated by Santee Cooper. Santee Cooper operates two wholesale water systems; one on Lake Moultrie and one on Lake Marion. Both water systems have been honored with the “Best Tasting Water” award from the South Carolina Rural Water Association. The Santee Cooper Regional Water System utilizes 20 miles of transmission pipeline to deliver drinking water to the Lake Moultrie Water Agency, which is comprised of Berkeley County, the City of Goose Creek, the Moncks Corner Public Works Commission and the Summerville Commissioners of Public Works. Santee Cooper owns the system's treatment plant, transmission lines, pump stations and facilities near Lake Moultrie’sLions Beach.

Most water and sewer service in the County is provided by Berkeley County Water & Sanitation (BCWS). Municipal water systems supply water in Charleston, Moncks Corner, Summerville, Goose Creek and Hanahan. Sewer service is provided by municipalities in Charleston, Moncks Corner and Summerville. In Goose Creek and Hanahan, BCWS handles sewer service but not water. Jamestown maintains a small public water system.

The Berkeley County Water and Sanitation authority currently serves about 23,000 water and 40,000 sewer customers. The customer base has grown steadily since 2009, with average annual growth of 4% and 2.5% for water and sewer respectively (?).

A GIS estimate for the County suggests that there are 1,316 miles of water lines and 951 miles of sewer line in the County.

The sewer system covers six separate service areas, with three of these systems considered regional and the other three smaller in scope. The County's largest wastewater plant, the Lower Berkeley Wastewater System, has capacity for 22.5 million gallons per day (mgd). Its second-largest wastewater treatment plant, the Central Berkeley Wastewater Treatment Plant has capacity for 3 mgd, and in 2019 announced plans to expand to 6.0 mgd.

The Berkeley County Water and Sanitation system consists of about 739 miles of water distribution lines, 720 miles of sewer lines, 156 pump stations, 2,852 fire hydrants, one metered connection to the Charleston Water System, and six metered connections to the Santee Cooper System. By comparing these numbers with the total amount of water and sewer lines, it’s evident that the utility has the most expansive system in the county, managing over 50% of all water lines and 75% of all sewer lines. The Utility has 251 employees and maintains a fleet of 128 vehicles.