Beaufort County, S.C., Gets a New Storm Water Chief

Dan Ahern, a longtime supporter of clean waterways and recent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) retiree, has assumed the position of storm water utility manager in Beaufort County, S.C.

County officials tapped Ahern to assume the position, filling a vacancy created more than a year ago when the county's original storm water manager, Charles Gatch, retired. Ahern had retired from the EPA, where he spent 30 years working primarily within water programs, about one month earlier. During his last ten years with the agency, Ahern served the Southeast U.S. as pollution prevention program manager. He worked with businesses within the region, helping them create personalized pollution prevention plans.

In his new post, Ahern said he plans to focus on implementing the county's storm water master plan. The 600-plus page plan, which was approved last year by the county council despite being overdue and criticized by the storm water utility board as being uncomprehensive, seeks to improve drainage monitoring, water quality and storm water runoff control within Beaufort County. Infrastructure maintenance, increased water quality monitoring and acquisition of rights-of-way for storm water drainage improvements are key components.

The work called for in the plan would be funded primarily through the county's storm water utility fee, which costs the average homeowner $44.43 a year. Ahern said he intends to focus on investing money in parts of the plan that do not receive much federal funding--reworking drainage ditches along hurricane evacuation route roads, improving water quality in developments, etc.

"I'm trying to look at efficiency to see how we can do more with what we got," Ahern said. He suggested eventually launching a public education program about how to improve water quality, for instance. "We can all have an impact on our water resources," he concluded.

Source: The Beaufort Gazette