Lowcountry Regional Water Quality Management Plan Lowcountry Council of Governments Planning Department Table of Contents Chapter 1 - Introduction ........................................................................... 5 Plan Purpose .................................................................................................................................... 5 Need for WQMP Update ................................................................................................................ 7 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 7 Environmental and Planning Concerns ................................................................................... 8 Planning Process/Overview ........................................................................................................... 9 Chapter 2 - Roles & Responsibilities ..................................................... 10 Overview ......................................................................................................................................... 10 Water Quality Planning Agency (WQPA) .................................................................................. 10 Water Quality Management Agency (WQMA) .......................................................................... 10 Level 1 Management Agency .................................................................................................. 11 Level II Management Agency .................................................................................................. 11 Level III Management Agency ................................................................................................ 11 Service Agency .............................................................................................................................. 12 Public Wastewater Treatment Plant Boundaries ...................................................................... 14 Chapter 3 - Regional Overview .............................................................. 15 Location & Setting of Lowcountry ............................................................................................... 15 Land Cover ................................................................................................................................. 16 Beaufort County ..................................................................................................................... 19 Colleton County ..................................................................................................................... 21 Hampton County .................................................................................................................... 23 Jasper County...................................................................................................................... 25 Demographics ................................................................................................................................ 27 Projections.................................................................................................................................. 27 Development Trends ..................................................................................................................... 29 (A) 208 Certification .................................................................................................................. 29 (B) Building Permit Development Tracking.................................................................................. 30 Chapter 4 - Water Quality Data & Issues ............................................... 33 Overview ......................................................................................................................................... 33 Lowcountry River Basins .............................................................................................................. 34 Lowcountry Sub Basins ............................................................................................................ 35 Lower Savannah Sub-basin .................................................................................................... 36 Broad River/Beaufort River/Port Royal Sound Sub-Basin .................................................. 40 Salkehatchie River and Coosaw/Ashepoo River/ St. Helena Sound Sub-Basin ........................... 43 Salkehatchie Costal Frontage Sub-Basin ............................................................................. 46 Edisto River Sub-Basin ................................................................................................................. 48 Chapter 5 - Infrastructure ....................................................................... 50 Water Service Areas ..................................................................................................................... 51 WWTP by BJWSA ......................................................................................................................... 52 Waste Water and Water Projects................................................................................................ 53 Water Projection in the Lowcountry ............................................................................................ 54 Chapter 6 - Goals, Objectives, and Policies .......................................... 55 Goals ........................................................................................................................................... 55 Objectives ................................................................................................................................... 55 2 Lowcountry Regional Water Quality Management Plan – September 2012 Policies ............................................................................................................................................ 55 Chapter 7 - Administrative Procedures ................................................. 71 Overview ......................................................................................................................................... 71 Public Participation ........................................................................................................................ 71 Conformance Review ................................................................................................................... 72 Amendment Procedures ............................................................................................................... 73 Chapter 8 - Conclusions ......................................................................... 75 Implementation .............................................................................................................................. 75 Appendix ................................................................................................. 77 Acronyms ........................................................................................................................................ 77 Definitions ....................................................................................................................................... 78 Toxic Elements Found in the Lowcountry .................................................................................. 81 Previous 208 Plan Amendments ................................................................................................. 83 Lowcountry Watershed Photos ................................................................................................... 85 Basin and Watershed Maps ......................................................................................................... 96 References ................................................................................................................................... 113 3 Lowcountry Regional Water Quality Management Plan – September 2012 Figures Figure 1: Lowcountry Region Waste Water Availability .................................................................14 Figure 2: Land And Water Area ......................................................................................................15 Figure 3: Okatie Area Watershed Land Cover Change .................................................................18 Figure 4: Beaufort County Land Cover Change .............................................................................20 Figure 5: Colleton County Land Cover Change .............................................................................22 Figure 6: Hampton County Land Cover Change ............................................................................24 Figure 7: Jasper County Land Cover Change ................................................................................26 Figure 8: Lowcountry Population 2000 And 2010 ..........................................................................27 Figure 9: Population Projections ....................................................................................................28 Figure 10: Population Projections ..................................................................................................28 Figure 11: Population Projections ..................................................................................................29 Figure 12: 208 Certifications ..........................................................................................................30