Folly Beach Pilot Inspection Program
From late 1998 to early 2000, DHEC-OCRM conducted a pilot septic system inspection program with the City of Folly Beach with hopes that it could become a model program for other coastal communities to follow.
Located at just 10 feet above sea level, this 12.3 square mile barrier island in Charleston County is locally known as "The Edge of America." Sewer service is provided to the central commercial district and one subdivision development. Otherwise, about 1500 septic systems serve the rest of the community. Many of the lots are small and are considered "half lots." The full time population of just over 2000 rises dramatically during the prime summer tourist season. Many of the smaller (1000 sq. ft.) homes were rebuilt after Hurricane Hugo hit in 1989, and were replaced with larger properties that may have utilized the original septic system.
The City's desire to keep the long-time cottage feel of the community and thus limit high density development afforded by centralized sewer was the primary impetus for participating in the pilot program. They realized that septic systems would have to be managed properly if they wanted to continue to rely on their use. Therefore, they committed the time and resources necessary, in addition to matching a $10,000 grant from DHEC-OCRM, to complete the pilot program.
With direction from a Steering Committee, the City utilized surveys, public meetings and workshops, their cable access channel, and various news outlets to engage citizens and promote the program. Forty households volunteered to have their system inspected for the program at no cost to them. In addition to public engagement, this pilot program was a great example of cooperation at the state, local, and private level. DHEC staff from OCRM and the Trident Environmental Health Office trained a private waste management company on how to thoroughly inspect a septic system. A crew from the city's Public Works Deparment located and unearthed each septic tank top in advance of the contract inspectors. The inspectors opened each tank, measured and pumped the contents (if determined necessary) and with the help of OCRM and Trident staff conducted a thorough inspection of the tank and drainfield.
With a couple of interruptions due to hurricane scares, all 40 systems were inspected between October and December 1999. The inspections were documented with photographs and digital video. After all the inspections were completed, a meeting was held to rank the results into categories of high (A), medium (B), and low (C) for purposes of prioritizing repairs and upgrades. The seven A-ranked systems were considered to be in need of total system upgrades. These systems ranged from homemade, brick, bottomless septic tanks to drainfields located under housing additions. Many of the A- and B-ranked systems had broken or missing inlet and outlet tees and many had cracked lids and sometimes cracked tanks. The main problems, if any, associated with the C-ranked systems were related to missing protective barriers. A couple of the systems could not be inspected because the tanks were not accessible.
Therefore, out of 40 systems inspected, 18% were determined to be failing and in need of replacement, 35% had conditions that warranted repairs, 44% were in good condition, and 3% were inaccessible [for a detailed look, see Folly Beach Pilot Inspection Results (pdf)].
Each participant received an inspection report, a record-keeping folder and fact sheet, and a letter that recommended repairs or management advice. The City offered to share system replacement costs with the owners of the seven failed systems. Four accepted the offer and those systems were replaced.
The myriad of septic tank types and conditions - from homemade, bottomless, brick tanks to wooden lids and cracked lids, to broken tees, to saturated drainfields proved the necessity of some type of management program. In order to keep relying on septic systems for the majority of the island, a proactive approach was needed. This approach is discussed further in the Ordinance Development Pilot Program section.