Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority

The Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority (often shortened to BJWSA) is a public water system and non-profit corporation which handles water and wastewater operations for many areas in Beaufort and Jasper counties in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina. The Authority was created under the provisions of Act 784 by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1954 to provide services to Beaufort County. In 1969, its powers were expanded to include wastewater facility construction and services. In 1983, the authority merged with the Jasper County Water and Sewer Authority and thus adopting the BJWSA moniker.

Although initially set up to provide water and wastewater services to unincorporated areas, BJWSA has over time acquired municipal water and sewer systems for Beaufort, Port Royal, Bluffton, and Hardeeville. Since 2008, BJWSA also provides water and service to the military installations located in northern Beaufort County. In 2009, BJWSA assumed ownership of the former Port Royal Railroad right-of-way in northern Beaufort County. The railway was decommissioned and removed in order to allow BJWSA to use the right-of-way for future utility routing and to create the Spanish Moss Trail.