BEAUFORT, S.C. (Aug. 25, 2022) – City Council adopted the Southern Lowcountry Stormwater Design Manual at its Regular Meeting on Aug. 23, reinforcing its commitment to regional stormwater standards to protect the environment of the Lowcountry.
“Stormwater does not respect regional boundaries, so cooperating in a regional way makes a tremendous amount of sense,” Mayor Stephen Murray said during the meeting.
The manual establishes three stormwater standards:
- Bacteria and Shellfish Watershed Protection Area – The City of Beaufort is entirely within this area, and this area has the most stringent standards.
- General Watershed Protection Area – This applies to the more rural parts of the region.
- Savannah River Watershed Protection Area – This area is within Jasper County.
The effort to come up with regional standards was spearheaded by the Southern Lowcountry Regional Board, said Katie Herrera, Beaufort County stormwater manager. Work began on the manual in 2018, and was completed in 2020, she said.
Thus far, Bluffton and Beaufort County have adopted the manual. Hardeeville, Port Royal and Jasper County have yet to adopt it.
Herrera said at the meeting that the collaboration on this manual has won accolades from the South Carolina Office of Resiliency, as well as other coastal communities in the state. “They are completely in awe that we could do this,” she said.
“Having these standards will continue to contribute to the quality of life in this area,” Herrera added.
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