AllJoy residents urge Beaufort County to favor pervious sidewalks as drainage study begins

Residents of the AllJoy neighborhood told the Beaufort County Stormwater Utility Board on April 16, 2025, that a proposed SCDOT sidewalk project and county plans for concrete paving risk increasing polluted runoff into the May River watershed and urged the board to recommend pervious paving options.

Jim Walton, who identified himself as a resident of 52 Oyster Street in AllJoy, asked the board to adopt "best use practices for pervious paving materials on sidewalks, bypass, and parking areas on, near, or upstream of critical waterways, such as the May River," and to communicate that position to Beaufort County engineering and county council. Walton also urged the board to recommend placing a May River watershed parcel (34 Ulmer Road, plat R6003900B00380000) into a conservation easement via the Beaufort County Green Space Fund, saying the site is "essential to the Stormwater Utility Board's mission" to "determine appropriate levels of public stormwater management services, recommend funding for program elements, advise on master planning and cost of service studies, and support sound stormwater management practices to mitigate pollution and improve drainage."

Laura Wilson, another AllJoy resident, told the board she had circulated six photos showing local examples of pervious surfaces and said the community had been told the county administrator supported keeping previous services for AllJoy but that the county was "seeing a continued push for concrete." She warned that piping under a concrete path "will catch and dump unfiltered stormwater, oil, chemicals, pollutants directly into the main river." Collins Demi, also an AllJoy resident, described persistent ditch-blocking vegetation and standing water in neighborhood ditches and said she had repeatedly requested maintenance.

In reporting to the board, staff said the AllJoy drainage study was approved at the Planning and Systems Committee on March 17 and was approved by county council on the consent agenda; the draft contract was sent to RIA for review and, once returned, the consultant Seaman Whiteside will begin work. Staff said the study will produce a drainage-area map and a "menu of solutions" and that a community meeting will be held after the consultant completes the draft so public-works staff can present proposed solutions and collect resident feedback.

Board members and staff discussed that SCDOT projects fall under SCDOT standards and may not be required to follow the county's design manual; staff said they would contact SCDOT and the county's engineering director to ask whether pervious options had been considered and what permit/design requirements applied. The board asked staff to seek an engineering presence or a written explanation on the permitting and materials issue ahead of the next meeting.

The board did not direct a formal regulatory change at the April 16 meeting, but members asked staff to report back on SCDOT permitting and how county design guidance (the county design manual currently out for comment) applies to projects in county right-of-way. Staff emphasized the AllJoy study will provide a list of proposed fixes and that the public meeting will present consultant recommendations to residents.