Edisto Island Septic System Improvement and Assistance Program
The Edisto Island Watershed-Based Plan highlights bacteria as the primary impairment for the Edisto Island Watershed. The Plan also identifies failing or poorly maintained septic systems as the major source of bacterial pollution. Increased levels of fecal coliform, enterococcus, and other bacteria, can result in negative health impacts and reduced recreational opportunities for everyone who uses our tidal waterways and can cause hardships for the members of the community who rely on our creeks to put food on the table. To tackle reducing the bacterial load in the watershed, EIOLT created the Edisto Island Septic System Improvement and Assistance Program to do two things: (1) educate all septic owners on Edisto Island about the importance of septic system maintenance and (2) to fund the replacement or repair of septic systems for residents who can use the financial help.
This program began in summer of 2022 with a grant from the Healthy Harbors Fund, which is managed by the Coastal Community Foundation, and has since been expanded in scope and scale with a second grant from the Healthy Harbors Fund in combination with a three-year EPA Section 319 grant via SC-DHEC and a one-year Charleston County Community Investment grant for 2024. EIOLT staff manage the program and work closely with our program partners to make progress towards reducing bacterial pollution in our tidal creeks.
Be Septic Safe
As homeowners, visitors, and residents on the beautiful and rural Edisto Island, it is each of our responsibilities to properly maintain and care for our Septic Systems. If we fail to do so, not only do we risk incurring expensive repair bills and days, or even weeks, without plumbing, but we also may be endangering the health of ourselves, our neighbors, and our community as well as threatening the integrity of the waterways we rely on for recreation, seafood, and ecosystem services. Do you know where your septic tank and drain field are buried? Do you know what common household products are and are not septic safe? Do you know the principles behind how a septic system works? Do you know the signs to look out for to know when your septic system is failing or damaged? How old is your septic system? When was the last time you had your septic system inspected and pumped-out?
Click Here to Learn how to Properly Maintain your Septic System
Financial Assistance
Replacing a failed septic system isn’t cheap. The Septic System Financial Assistance Program was created to help homeowners when they may not be able to afford to inspect, repair, or replace their septic system. The program prioritizes helping the members of our community with the greatest need, whose systems are failing or outdated, and those who live near impaired waterways and on soils prone to flooding. We’re also able to assist residents on heir’s properties or long-term rental properties in both Charleston and Colleton Counties. The program provides a free septic system inspection and pump-out to qualified applicants. If the septic system is in a priority area and the inspection finds it to be damaged or failing, the financial assistance program may be able to repair or replace the system, at zero-cost to the homeowner. The program can also cover the costs of repairs to any damaged wastewater plumbing leading into the septic system.
Click Here to Apply for Financial Assistance through EIOLT’s Septic Assistance Program
Edisto Island Septic System Improvement and Assistance Program is administered by EIOLT and funded by the Coastal Community Foundation’s Healthy Harbors Fund, Charleston County’s Community Investment Fund, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency and made possible by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.
If you need septic work done immediately, please contact a local septic system servicer. The contact info for several local companies is listed below. (EIOLT cannot reimburse landowners for any septic work performed outside of the program.)
Phone: (843) 889-1767
Email: islandsepticsystems@yahoo.com
GRASS Choppers Landscaping LLC
Phone: (843) 909-0596
Email: GRASSCHOPPERSLANDSCAPINGLLC@gmail.com
Phone: (843) 873-3930
Phone: (843) 761-6244
Email: a1septictankservice@att.net
