MPW's 14-year Campaign Helps Protect Groundwater for Generations
Clean, good-tasting drinking water in Mount Pleasant should stay that way for generations to come, thanks to a 14-year campaign by Mount Pleasant Waterworks (MPW) that recently culminated with “Capacity Use” protection of the Middendorf Aquifer.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) Board voted unanimously in August 2002 to approve new regulations to require permits and monitor large volume withdrawals of pristine groundwater.
MPW Commissioners have been calling for the regulations, known as “Capacity Use,” since 1988. The new requirements have nothing to do with the current drought status now underway throughout the state.
"We are delighted with the outcome - - not only because it was a long, tedious fight, but more importantly because it was the right thing to do for the people of Mount Pleasant, and to a larger extent, for all citizens of South Carolina," said MPW Commission Chairman William L. Golightly, Jr. "Our objective all along was to protect one of this earth’s most precious resources," he said. "We have worked very hard as an advocate for placing a priority on aquifer water as a drinking water source rather than as an industrial source. Aquifer water is too pure, too unique to be left unchecked and unregulated."
Past Commission Vice-Chairman Warren Player said the designation will help ensure a long, healthy life for deep, groundwater sources. "The regulations will not prevent access to the aquifer but it will give DHEC permit authority to measure draw-down and study potential impacts to the aquifer," said Player. "It’s estimated that surface water takes thousands of years to reach the aquifer. This designation will help protect our drinking water supply for generations to come."
About 80-percent of the 6.5 million gallons of water MPW provides its 55,000 customers each day comes from the Middendorf aquifer. The Middendorf is about 1,800 to 2,000 feet below ground and is spread out underneath Charleston, Dorchester and Berkeley counties. MPW also purchases water from the Charleston Commissioners of Public Works, which uses surface water from rivers and reservoirs.
The DHEC ruling requires anyone withdrawing 100,000 gallons of water per day from the aquifer to get a permit from DHEC. Typical large volume users include water companies, industries, golf courses and large farming operations.
Capacity Use designations have been in place for years all along the state’s coast except for Charleston. The regulations already help protect groundwater in Beaufort, Jasper and Colleton counties to the south and in Horry and Georgetown counties to the north.
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