Mount Pleasant Magazine July/August 2021

57 www.MountPl easantPodcas t . com | www. ReadMPM. com | www. I LoveMountPl easant . com Saying Farewell LongtimeMount PleasantWaterworks GMClay Duffie Retires D espite relying on his work product daily, most Mount Pleasant residents don’t know much about Clay Duffie. Now, he’s leaving the role he has held for more than 30 years: overseeing all of the town’s water needs for both drinking and sewage outflow. Duffie stepped into the job as General Manager of Mount Pleasant Waterworks in March of 1989, just six months before Hurricane Hugo hit, ripping through our coastal communities and causing massive devastation and destruction. In the decades since, Mount Pleasant Waterworks has continued to grow and to handle the water needs of a population that has more than doubled. As of July 15, Duffie will officially retire from his post as the water wizard East of the Cooper. Reflecting on his long and frequently honored career, Duffie told the professional journal of the American Waterworks Association that his most interesting task – and challenge – was managing “the construction and deployment of South Carolina’s first reverse osmosis water treatment system.” Later, he initiated the design of the state’s first permitted aquifer storage and recovery systems. Educating regulators proved to be a major challenge, since neither technology had ever been permitted in South Carolina. With that in mind, Mount Pleasant Magazine caught up with a few of the people who have known and worked with the Waterworks GM over the years. One of these Duffie fans is Rick Crosby, who has served on the Waterworks Commission for almost as many years as Duffie and currently chairs that body. “Clay has done an absolutely awesome job at growing our utility,” Crosby said. “He is exceedingly well known at the state and national levels and has won numerous honors. And he has created a tremendous management team. On a personal level, Clay is a thoroughly happy guy and an outgoing strong family man. He has always been a wonderful spokesman for the Waterworks and the Commission in the BY B I L L FARLEY around town Mount Pl easant Waterwor ks GM Cl ay Duf f i e. Photo prov i ded.