Hilton Head is a barrier island along the coast of South Carolina. The island is heavily reliant on tourism, with approximately 2.5 million visitors annually. Sandy soil, a high-water table, tides, and storms — and their associated rains and surges — are problematic for onsite wastewater disposal. A study from the University of South Carolina at Beaufort biology department looked at the soil types and concluded that the local soil types were not suitable for the island’s septic tanks.

During the past several years, Hilton Head has committed to eliminating septic tanks and replacing them with pressure sewers. Homeowners no longer have to worry about saturation of their septic tanks during storms and septic tanks overflowing into their yards. The flexibility of installing pressure sewer allowed trees and other landscaping to be preserved with minimal disruption to the community — an important social impact factor, especially in a resort area.

The original pressure sewer system was designed to use centrifugal pumps, which proved to be problematic. Level sensors failed repeatedly and had to be replaced hundreds of times. Some entire pumps required repeated replacement, driving up operating and maintenance costs.

After replacing hundreds of level sensors on their old centrifugal pumps and running into repeated issues with some pumps at certain locations Hilton Head Public Sewer District (PSD) tested one E/One pump at a problem location on Covalen’s advice. After replacing that centrifugal pump as many as four or five times, the E/One pump provided consistent service without failing.

After having this experience with E/One pumps to reduce repair costs, Hilton Head PSD compared the costs of replacement parts and labor of their existing pumps with the longevity of the E/One pumps and assessed that it would save them money in the long term to switch to E/One.

Adapted from E/One’s Case Study.