S.C. Community Partners with Utility for Water Reuse
Tradition Hilton Head, a 5,300-acre, master-planned, sustainable green community, has joined with the Beaufort-Jasper Water & Sewer Authority to provide the water utility’s first water reuse service for residential irrigation here.
While BJWSA has been a leader in reusing reclaimed water for irrigation of commercial areas and golf courses, Tradition Hilton Head is its first residential reuse project. BJWSA will supply reclaimed water for all of Tradition Hilton Head’s irrigation needs, including residential lots, common areas, landscaped medians, and the community’s 18-hole Tradition National Golf Club.
“We are excited to join with Beaufort-Jasper Water & Sewer Authority in this green and environmentally friendly initiative, which exemplifies Tradition Hilton Head’s efforts and commitment to being sustainable and green,” said Bob Swift, general manager of Tradition Hilton Head. “Our parent company, Core Communities, has a long and distinguished history of reclaiming water for irrigation of public green areas and golf courses as a significant way to conserve water,” Swift said. “Tradition Hilton Head reuses not only collected stormwater runoff for irrigation but also water recovered from BJWSA’s treatment plant - water that has been treated to standards that allows safe reuse.
“Essentially, treated water from BJWSA will supplement the stormwater runoff we collect at Tradition Hilton Head,” he said, noting that reclaimed rainwater is used for irrigating residential lots, public green spaces, and Tradition National Golf Club, in addition to keeping lakes and lagoons filled.
The Tradition irrigation system is not only a BJWSA first, but the first system of its type in South Carolina, according to BJWSA. In the hot, humid Lowcountry climate, irrigation causes a huge increase in water usage during the summer months, and water reuse for residential irrigation is a significant step forward in using an alternative water source and reducing the peak demand on our drinking water system, BJWSA officials said. For many years, BJWSA has been providing treated wastewater to golf courses for much needed irrigation. BJWSA serves 12 golf courses overall.