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The Town of Bluffton instituted a “war plan” to protect water quality in the May River. The plan identified 11 locations for weekly collection of waterquality samples where pollutants could enter the May River. The samples are sent to the Water Quality Testing Laboratory at the University of South Carolina Beaufort South Campus for bacterial analysis.
Bluffton also is working with Property Owner Associations to gain weekly water quality testing and is coordinating its efforts with Beaufort County and the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.
Fecal-coliform bacteria numbers are trending upward in the headwaters of the May River and may prompt DHEC to close a portion of the headwaters to shellfish harvesting at the start of the season in September. The impacted headwaters stretch from Crane Island (located below the midway point between Buck Island Road and Buckwalter Parkway) to the westerly extent of the May River (located approximately below Old Miller Road). Town of Bluffton and Beaufort County officials will know the status of the potential closure by mid-summer when DHEC issues its Shellfish Management Area 19 2009 Annual Update. Closure classifications are: Approved, Conditionally Approved, Restricted, and Prohibited. They are based upon National Shellfish Sanitation Program requirements set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
