Thirty years ago, South Carolina Governor Caroll Campbell dedicated the Santee Cooper Regional Water System on Lake Moultrie. Now named one of the state’s “Best Tasting Water” by the S.C. Rural Water Association, the water system has grown to help hydrate communities and attract industry.
The idea of using the Santee Cooper Lakes as a wholesale source of water was supported by several public entities and government officials, including Congressman James E. Clyburn. Following enabling legislation in 1987, the Santee Cooper Board of Directors approved construction of the Santee Cooper Regional Water System, allowing Santee Cooper to hydrate communities. The $34.7 million project was called symbolic and a shining example of public-entity cooperation because it was the first regional approach to water distribution in the Lowcountry.
Santee Cooper became a wholesale water supplier to the Lake Moultrie Water Agency, which includes four Lowcountry water utilities: Summerville Commissioners of Public Works, Berkeley County Water and Sanitation Authority, City of Goose Creek and Moncks Corner Public Works Commission.
The system provided much-needed rate stability to the Agency’s member utilities, which had routinely faced annual increases in water rates from previous wholesale providers. In addition, Agency members had a “seat at the table” and continue to help steer the system’s future. This success led to a movement to develop a similar project that would provide water from Lake Marion.
In 2008, the Lake Marion Regional Water System was dedicated, billed as a beacon of hope for one of the state’s most economically depressed regions. It serves five wholesale customers that also make up the Lake Marion Regional Water Agency: Berkeley, Calhoun, Dorchester, and Orangeburg counties, and the Town of Santee. As with the Lake Moultrie system, Santee Cooper owns and operates the Lake Marion water treatment plant.
The $35 million, 8-million gallons per day plant was celebrated for the residents and the potential to attract new industry. U.S. Rep. James Clyburn said at the time, “When I began my service in Congress in 1993, the Lake Marion Regional Water Agency was one of my top priorities. It was no more than a dream then. Today, 15 years later, I am so pleased to be dedicating this water treatment facility. This is a tremendous day for the communities in the six-county region around Lake Marion that will ultimately benefit from the clean, safe drinking water this project will provide.”
The Santee Cooper Regional Water System continues to build on a solid 30 years of operations. The Partnership for Safe Water awarded the Santee Cooper Regional Water System its Directors Award every year since 1999, along with its 5-year, 10-year, 15-year, 20-year and 25-year Directors Awards.