SENECA — As water rates increase across Oconee County, some customers have been encouraged by elected officials to dig a well to dodge price hikes.

For those considering as much, The Journal reached out to the South Carolina Department of Environmental Control (DHEC) this month about the permitting process for digging a private residential well.

DHEC public information officer Laura Renwick told The Journal a private residential well permit can be issued by the agency regardless of a homeowner’s public waterline access. She said state law requires DHEC be notified of a private drinking water well or irrigation well before installation.

Since 1999 — the beginning of the state’s private well permitting program — there have been 1,088 private residential or irrigation wells permitted in Oconee, according to Renwick. There have been 2,538 wells reported in the area since 1985.

But there are caveats to having a private well in Oconee — some contradicted by the same officials who encourage them.

Anyone in Seneca city limits must be connected to the city utility system by city ordinance. Anyone failing to do so would be guilty of a misdemeanor resulting in a fine not exceeding $500 or imprisonment of up to 30 days.

Walhalla city administrator Brandon Burton said there was nothing in the city ordinances about having wells inside the city’s limits.

“There is nothing from SCDHEC that I am aware of, other than a caveat for irrigation wells,” he wrote in an email.

In Westminster, an ordinance dictates the installation of a well or septic system can only be approved after the city has determined the infrastructure isn’t available or the costs of the installation of the “necessary city infrastructure is prohibitive.”

But Westminster city administrator Kevin Bronson told The Journal if DHEC issued a permit to any customer, he didn’t believe the city had any right to negate it. He said the state agency would supersede the local rule of the city.

How much would well digging cost?

Before paying a fee to the state, the well owner or well driller must complete a notice of intent form and send it to DHEC. There is a $70 fee for a drinking water well or a $50 fee for an irrigation well, with the $20 difference attributed to water quality testing. The well driller will then contact the local environmental affairs office to notify them of the time and date of the drilling 48 hours before the project begins.

Rodgers Well Drilling owner Jimmy Rodgers told The Journal the average cost of a private well project is between $8,000 and $10,000. His Greenwood-based business, which services the Upstate, has seen demand go up “quite a bit” for private wells, and he estimated they were three to four months behind in drilling wells. Rodgers estimated 90 percent of a well can be drilled in a day, with another day needed to handle waterline and pump work.

Two in Walhalla talk wells

In an interview with another media outlet in March, Walhalla City Councilman Tyler Jordan said he didn’t view increased water rates as a form of taxation, but more as a “fee for a service we provide.”

“In my opinion, people just need to kind of step back and say, ‘Well, actually you can regulate your use of water or sewer within reason. It is a service the city provides.’ I do get people complaining about water rates,” Jordan said. “If you’re outside the city and we raise your water rate and you don’t have a vote, so you don’t feel like you have a voice. I get that.

“At the same time, people have the freedom to live where they want to,” he added. “You can regulate your water, you can get a well, you can get these things. The same goes for sewer, in a sense.”

Councilman Grant Keehn told The Journal his family has a well, but is limited in using it.

“I believe by state law, anybody can have a well, and it doesn’t matter where you are. I think you can have a well. Now, are you able to hook this? If you’re in the city, and you’re on sewer, no, you’re not allowed to hook that well to your house,” Keehn said. “We have city water, we have city sewer and we have a well, but I can’t hook the well to my house. I would love to and put a septic in, but since we’re on sewer, we can’t do that because there’s no meter to tell the city how much is going down the sewer.”

With budget planning underway this spring for the new fiscal year that begins in July, residents in areas across Oconee County should prepare for utility bills to increase.

Westminster Mayor Brian Ramey told The Journal rate increases “are not for the city to increase profit.”

“The reason for the rate increases is for us to continue to give that reliable service and keep everything to a top standard level. That’s really the only way the cities or any of the water suppliers or utility suppliers can afford to do that,” he said. “We have to continue providing that service. And the special situation that Westminster’s in is we’ve been in a rebuild stage for utilities for the last five years.”

Keehn said there was an effort within Walhalla to connect those struggling with bills to churches and organizations willing to help.

“My response to the rates going up is just we’ve got to pay for what we use, you know,” he said. “I mean, they’re not going to go up any more than they have to, but if they have to go up, they have to go up. We’ve got to pay for it, you know, you’ve got to pay your bills. You have the option to not pay your bill, but it’s going to get turned off.”

Last June, Seneca increased the base charge for electric, water and sewer service by $1.50 a month. There was also a $1.50 increase per 1,000 gallons for water and sewer service, half of a percent increase per kilowatt hour for electric service, along with a $1 demand charge.

In February, Walhalla increased sewer rates by 20 percent and implemented a water rate increase and fee restructure.

The average residential customer inside Walhalla city limits pays a little less than $5 more per month, and those outside the city will pay a little more than $6 more, thanks to the sewer increase. The water increase resulted in an average of an $8 increase per month for customers inside the city and an average of $12 extra for those outside city limits.

Westminster City Council increased both water and sewer rates in January.

Water rates for customers inside the city didn’t change, but customers outside the city pay about $6 more per 5,000 gallons of water on top of a $20 monthly base fee increase.

Sewer rates increased by 20 percent across the board. Customers now see an increase of $1.01 to $1.46 per 1,000 gallons, depending on whether they’re classified as residential or commercial and if they live inside or outside city limits.

Want to DIG A WELL?

Visit scdhec.gov/BOW/private-drinking-water-wells for more information.

Andrea Kelley and Lauren Pierce contributed to this report.

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