2030 Plan - Grand Strand Water and Sewer Authority

E. Health Hazard Elimination
In 1986, just after GSWSA acquired the service area in the western part of the county, the
South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) designated the
Bucksport and Longs communities as imminent health hazards because of the large
number of failing septic tanks in these areas. West of the Waccamaw River, very little
public wastewater facilities existed outside the city limits of Conway and Loris.
Providing service to the Bucksport and Longs communities required starting from
scratch. GSWSA obtained funding through federal, state, and local governments to
install wastewater collection systems and treatment facilities in these communities. In
all, over 500 households received wastewater service within 24 months of GSWSA
receiving authority to provide service in these areas. With the aid of a DHEC sponsored
construction grant, a grant from the Federal Farmers Home Administration, Community
Development Block Grants, and its own resources, GSWSA spent over $6,000,000 to
eliminate these health hazards. At the time, these areas were rated among the most
severe imminent health hazards in the State of South Carolina. Since that time GSWSA
has worked with local, state, and federal officials to install wastewater systems in other
areas of the county designated as either imminent health hazards or environmentally
distressed communities. These include the Burgess community, extensions of the
systems in the Bucksport and Longs communities, the Cedar Branch community, and the
Bennettown community. Well over 1,500 households have received water and or
wastewater service through these projects.
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