14-mile water line being built in Jasper County

HARDEEVILLE, S.C. (AP) — A new 14-mile-long line will bring water from the Savannah River to about 900 customers in Hardeeville on the southern tip of South Carolina.

The Island Packet of Hilton Head reports (http://bit.ly/KJHmnY) the $14 million project is the largest ever undertaken by the Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority.

The customers to be served by the new line currently rely on water drawn from wells that tap into the Upper Floridian Aquifer.

Utility spokesman Matthew Brady says the aquifer is being affected by salt water intrusion. As more people tap into the aquifer and the level of the aquifer lowers, salt water from the ocean seeps in underground.

Workers have already installed almost a mile of the new pipe and the work should be finished in a year.

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Information from: The Island Packet, http://www.islandpacket.com