The Georgetown County League of Women Voters is opposing the effort to place treated sewage water in the Waccamaw River.

Sue Myers, co-chair of the Natural Resources Committee, said the group decided Wednesday night they would not support the plan.

DeBordieu, a gated community, has asked to put excess treated sewage water in the Waccamaw River, rather than placing all of it on their golf course.

A limited amount of treated sewage would be diverted to the river, only if the community’s treatment plant was overwhelmed during heavy rainfall.

“We decided to oppose it because the water is not tertiary treated,’’ Myers said. “I want North Inlet protected, but it [the plan] has the potential to destroy another area.’’

Tertiary treatment means the treated sewage undergoes more cleaning before it is put in the Waccamaw River, Myers said.

The treated sewage going in the Waccamaw River would meet standards set by the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

The current standards only provide for minimum treatment of the treated sewage, Myers said.

“I feel that we need to raise our water quality standards, and the league does too,’’ Myers said.

The very thing that drives people here we’re in danger of losing.”

Impacting Murrells Inlet

Some Murrells Inlet residents are also opposing the plan.

Bill Chandler and Keith Palmer attended Tuesday’s public hearing at Waccamaw Middle School.

Chandler said he doesn’t want the treated water to go in North Inlet or the Waccamaw River.

“In my mind, there is no way you can put this in the Waccamaw, without deteriorating the water in the Waccamaw,’’ Chandler said. “They ought to say they don’t want to put any water in the Waccamaw.’’

“The reason we are opposing it is because it does affect Murrells Inlet on the west side,’’ Chandler said. “It does affect our fresh water.’’

Chandler wants to know whether the treated sewage can be pumped offshore, but said so far, he has not received an answer.

“If they’re trying to get it into the ocean, then why not take it offshore for half a mile,’’ he said. “I felt like there are other options to be considered. What I would like to see done, is to take the water to a cleaner level. This is an opportunity for DeBordieu and the water and sewer board to set an example for putting material in the Waccamaw. This is an opportunity for us to be stewards of the environment.’’

 Richard Moore, president of the Winyah Rivers Foundation, also wants more information.

Questions have not been addressed about the possible impact the sewage could have on oxygen levels in the river, said Waccamaw River Keeper Christine Ellis.

Ellis and other environmental leaders spoke against the proposed permit during the public hearing.

“The permit did not answer many questions,’’ Moore said. “Without that information, I find it hard to see how anyone could arrive at a decision to approve this permit.’’

Some support

Officials from the Baruch Marine Laboratory, the Coastal Conservation League and the S.C. Department of Natural Resources have given a thumbs up to the plan.

“Having reviewed the project, we don’t have a problem with it,’’ said DNR biologist Priscilla Wendt.

“I think our issues have been resolved. We have a number of e-mail exchanges with people at DHEC. It is intended to protect North Inlet.”

Coastal Conservation League Director Nancy Cave and Baruch biologist Dennis Allen said they are in favor of the permit because it protects North Inlet.

North Inlet is considered a highly protected body of water, according to DHEC. No amount of discharge is allowed in North Inlet.

The proposed permit allows very little liquid to be discharged from DeBordieu, and only under certain circumstances, Cave said.

Allen said the extra treated material won’t have significant impact on the river.

“That’s negligible,’’ Allen said.

The area where the  effluent will be piped is not under a special pollution management plan from DHEC.

A portion of the Waccamaw River, however, has already come under scrutiny by DHEC after samples showed some pollution.

DHEC then put together a plan to improve water quality.

The draft permit says the sewage disposal plan will be used sparingly, Wendt said. The water can be sent to the Waccamaw when the community's water treatment plant can't handle the excess load.

The gated community has applied for the permit because it is being overwhelmed with millions of gallons of treated sewage that is sprayed on the golf course, said DeBordieu resident Wilson Lowery.

Last year, about 98 million gallons of sewage water was used to water the golf course, he said. The golf course can handle about 30 million gallons of treated sewage for irrigation.

The current disposal permit was approved when DeBordieu was a much smaller community, Lowery said. About 10 years ago, the community used about 22 million gallons of treated product to water the golf course.

Other communities already pump their effluent into the river, he said.

Moore said the permit doesn’t discuss when the treated sewage would be released.

“Somebody has to stand up and say we don’t want any more,’’ Chandler said. “Putting any more in the river could be the tipping point. There’s no excuse in reaching this point without some good briefings.

“The numbers on this don’t tell the full story. They’re setting a precedent that would make it very difficult to keep the environment that we have down here. That Waccamaw is just as important as North Inlet.’’