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County, USCB outline plan to bring nutrient testing and source tracking in-house
Summary
Dr. Petty told the board the county finished quarter 2 sampling, is pursuing DHEC certification to run nutrient analyses in-house in about 6–8 months, and USCB has expanded microbial source-tracking (MST) markers (human and animal) to inform source identification in local watersheds.
Beaufort County monitoring staff and USCB researchers briefed the Stormwater Utility Board on Aug. 21 about progress toward in-house nutrient testing and expanded microbial source-tracking (MST) work.
Dr. Petty said the county completed quarter 2 sampling and is working on quarter 3. "We have secured the equipment to start doing it in house" for nutrient analyses but will need DHEC certification; he estimated that certification and operational readiness could take "maybe 6 to 8 months." He said bringing analyses in-house should reduce costs and allow the county to run more samples.
On MST, Petty described existing work: USCB has run human-source markers in the May River since roughly 2016 and began running human markers locally since about 2021–22. He said staff are adding markers for dog, horse and deer and are testing bird markers (with mixed success for geese) so the county can better distinguish human from animal sources of fecal indicator bacteria. He noted USCB now has roughly eight years of MST data to begin examining longer-term trends.
Petty also described a summer sampling project with a local cattle operation intended to develop cow-specific markers to test whether grazing cattle affect watershed bacterial levels. Board members asked whether results are published; Petty said staff publish findings when human markers are detected and that more progress will be shared as the in-house program develops.
The board did not vote on policy changes but discussed staffing needs for the lab and the goal of expanding capacity to reduce outsourcing costs.
