Keep Up With Your New Year's Resolution:

Track Your Household's Water Use in our Portal

Are you following along with the checklist for our WaterSense Partner’s “I’m for Water” Pledge?

The first to-do: Find out how much water your family uses each month!

While our WaterSense Partner has a great guide on how to read your water bill, our water usage portal makes it even easier to view & compare water usage. It’s a great way to make sure the household is sticking to your water-saving goals — and the portal even has a “leak alert” feature that can help you figure out if you have a potential leak in your home.

Any leaks that are promptly fixed can qualify you for a leak adjustment to your water bill.

To-do No. 2 of the month: Learn more about how we use water!

Read all about it on the WaterSense website — and start saving.

Freezing temps and your water service

The island has already seen temperatures below freezing multiple times this winter.

If we do experience an extended amount of time with below-freezing temperatures, customers are encouraged to do the following:

• Locate the main water shut-off valve for your home so that it can be shut off quickly in the event of a water pipe leak.
• Disconnect garden hoses from the spigot. Turn off irrigation systems.
• Keep a slow trickle of water flowing through faucets. This will help prevent the water in pipes from freezing.
• Keep kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors open to allow warm air to circulate around pipes.

If pipes do freeze:

• Shut off the water immediately. Do not attempt to thaw pipes without first turning off the main shut-off valve.
• Thaw pipes with warm air – not direct heat. Never use any type of open flame to attempt to thaw pipes.
• Be careful turning water back on. Once pipes are thawed, slowly turn the water back on and check pipes and joints for cracks or leaks.

Please continue to use water efficient practices with your irrigation system during the winter months:

💧Know what type of grass you have — and if it needs watering at all during the winter.

💧Continue to follow HHI town ordinance if your lawn/plants do require year-round irrigation. That means using your system no more than twice per week, and having a working rain gauge. 

💧Above-ground pumps should always be drained completely unless they are housed in a heated location.

If you’re trying to drink more water this year, we’ve got you covered.

The tap water on Hilton Head is totally safe to drink — free of both lead & PFAS.

No lead in our drinking water

Decades of analysis have proven there is no lead in the drinking water Hilton Head PSD provides to its customers. Lead is not present in the PSD’s groundwater sources, nor is it found in the drinking water purchased wholesale from the mainland utility. Lead in drinking water generally comes from private-side pipes or plumbing rather than the drinking water source. Read more here.

An extensive inventory of the Hilton Head Public Service District (PSD) water distribution system found no lead piping in the PSD water distribution system. The inventory was conducted over the course of several years as part of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) requirement. The PSD used extensive research and field observations to verify pipe materials. Decades-long, routine sampling of the water supplied by the PSD has found no lead in the tap water provided by the PSD. The inventory effort was led by PSD Water Quality Supervisor Sarah Hickman and PSD Project Manager Pete Schuelke, both of whom have been recognized by statewide water industry associations as outstanding water professionals. Read more.

No PFAS in PSD's groundwater wells

The PSD’s drinking water meets or exceeds all current state and federal water quality regulations, including the drinking water the PSD purchases on a wholesale basis from the Beaufort-Jasper Water & Sewer Authority. There are no known PFAS-related environmental pollution sites within the PSD’s service area.

None of the six PFAS compounds proposed to be regulated have been detected in the PSD’s groundwater wells, according to recent monitoring. 

View the full PFAS Fact Sheet at the link below.

Getting rid of last year’s expired medications?

Reminder: Please don’t flush prescription medications!

Improper disposal of drugs can contaminate our local waterways.

All unused medications should be properly disposed of in one of Beaufort County’s drop-off boxes — not flushed or thrown away.

There are drop-off boxes in Beaufort County that are safe places to properly dispose of extra or unused prescription medications instead of flushing them into the PSD’s sanitary sewer system.

When you drop-off your medications (also accepting hypodermic needles), a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office deputy will meet you in the lobby and place all of the medications in a sealed bag. Individuals are not allowed to use the box without a deputy present. The bag is then deposited into the secured box, which is bolted to the floor, and the drugs are burned. There is no ID or paperwork required. It’s a quick and free process.

These drop-off locations include:

• The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office on Hilton Head, located at 58 Shelter Cove Lane.
• Beaufort County Government Building, 4819 Bluffton Parkway in Bluffton.
• The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, located at 2001 Duke Street in Beaufort.

The drop-off boxes on Hilton Head and in Beaufort are open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Bluffton location is open 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. You can also call to arrange a time after hours or on weekends .

Did you know that those so-called “flushable” wipes can actually clog your pipes?

No matter what the packaging says, these wipes don’t break down in the water in the same way toilet paper does. This causes them to clump up and get stuck in the pipes, accumulating until water and waste can’t get through.

The result? Raw sewage could potentially back up into your home!

So please, don’t flush anything except human waste and toilet paper.

Want to see for yourself? Our What Not To Flush page has a ton of free resources, including a fun science experiment you can do with the kids (or by yourself) to see the difference between wipes & toilet paper. Check it out at the link below.

Hilton Head Island Gullah Celebration

Feb. 1-28

Discover the captivating Hilton Head Island Gullah Celebration, a vibrant showcase of the rich cultural heritage and history of the Gullah people on Hilton Head Island. Immerse yourself in a diverse lineup of events carefully curated to captivate residents, regional visitors, and travelers from around the globe. Recognized by the prestigious Southeast Tourism Society as one of the Top 20 Events in the Southeast, the Hilton Head Island Gullah Celebration promises an unforgettable and immersive experience in Gullah culture. Learn more here.