Johns Island services: library, post office, water, power, trash, schools and who to call

This is the island’s “who serves my address” desk. Every address, phone number and set of hours here was checked on Oct. 29, 2026, against the official sources linked below, and places listed as on the island were checked against OpenStreetMap’s outline of Johns Island.

Does it matter whether I’m in the city or the county?

Yes, for trash, police and fire. Johns Island is split, parcel by parcel, between the City of Charleston and unincorporated Charleston County, and those three services follow the line. Water, power, public schools, the library, the post office, mosquito control and the elections office are the same on either side.

To check an address, search it on Charleston County’s GIS map and turn on the Municipal Boundaries layer, the method the City of Charleston recommends. Or call County Zoning & Planning at 843-202-7200. Our guide Is Johns Island in the City of Charleston? covers what else changes.

Who do I call about…?

About	Who handles it	Phone
Any emergency	Police, fire and ambulance	Call or text 911
Police, non-emergency	Sheriff’s Office (county areas) or Charleston Police (city areas)	843-743-7200
Power outage	Berkeley Electric Cooperative	1-855-938-3615
No water or a leak	St. John’s Water Company	843-559-0186; after hours 843-724-7912
Sewer	Charleston Water System or Seabrook Island Utility Commission	843-727-6800 or 843-768-0102
Garbage cart or pickup, city address	City Citizen Services Desk	843-724-7311
Trash pickup, county address	Trident Waste & Recycling, the County’s hauler	843-576-5050
Recycling carts and drop-off centers	Charleston County Environmental Management	843-720-7111
Mosquitoes	Charleston County Mosquito Control	843-202-7880
Zoning	City Zoning or County Zoning & Planning	843-724-3765 or 843-202-7200
Fire department business	St. Johns Fire District or Charleston Fire Department	843-559-9194 or 843-720-3991
Voting	Charleston County Board of Voter Registration & Elections	843-744-8683

What are the John’s Island Library’s hours?

Monday to Thursday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed Sunday. Those were the Charleston County Public Library’s posted hours for the John’s Island Library, 3531 Maybank Highway, on Oct. 29, 2026. Call 843-559-1945.

The library opened Oct. 26, 2004. Besides books and movies, it has Wi-Fi and public computers, printing, meeting rooms you can reserve and a notary by appointment.

When is the Johns Island post office open?

Weekdays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2:30 to 5 p.m., and Saturday 9 to 10 a.m. Those are the counter hours at the Johns Island Post Office, 2860 Maybank Highway, according to USPS on Oct. 29, 2026. It’s closed Sunday. The phone number is 843-559-0622.

• Lunch break: the counter closes from 1 to 2:30 p.m. on weekdays.
• Last mail collection: 4:45 p.m. weekdays, noon Saturday.
• Passports: by appointment weekdays 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., and Saturday 9 to 11 a.m. Walk-ins are taken Tuesday to Thursday, 9 to 10 a.m.
• PO boxes: open around the clock.

Who provides water and sewer?

Water comes from St. John’s Water Company, often written St. Johns Water Company, for City and county addresses alike. It’s a member-owned, nonprofit co-op formed in 1975. It buys its water from Charleston Water System, has almost 10,000 retail customers and also sells water to Kiawah and Seabrook, according to its 2025 water quality report.

• Office: 3362 Maybank Highway, Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; 843-559-0186. New service is set up there until 4 p.m.
• After-hours emergencies: 843-724-7912. You can pay by phone any time at 855-786-4097.
• Rates since Jan. 1, 2026: a $20.90 monthly minimum that includes 2,000 gallons, then $8.55 per 1,000 gallons up to 8,000 gallons, on a standard 3/4-inch meter (rates and fees).
• Moving in: call the office to put an existing tap in your name; the service fee is $35 on a standard meter. A new standard tap costs $3,000, plus a $75 user fee for owners that’s refunded, minus anything you owe, when service ends.

Sewer is a separate utility. St. John’s provides water only. Charleston Water System provides sewer in parts of Johns Island inside the urban growth boundary, and the Seabrook Island Utility Commission serves some other areas. Search an address on CWS’s service-area map. A home that isn’t on public sewer has its own system, such as a septic tank. For a copy of a septic permit, call the SC Department of Environmental Services at 1-855-731-2504.

Who provides electricity, and who do I call when the power goes out?

Berkeley Electric Cooperative. The member-owned co-op has a Johns Island district office at 1135 Main Road, open Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Electric service territories are set by the state, so confirm an address on the co-op’s service-territory map.

To report an outage, call 1-855-938-3615 or report it online, and follow repairs on the outage map. The co-op asks you to check your breakers first and not to assume a neighbor has already called.

Construction has driven a run of outages. In October 2025, Berkeley Electric told The Post and Courier it had logged 75 outages in six months in the River Road area between Main Road and Maybank Highway, up from 40 in the same months of 2024, and that 73 percent were tied to construction.

Dominion Energy South Carolina’s outage map counted 2,614 customers in the 29455 ZIP code on Oct. 29, 2026. That ZIP code reaches beyond the island, and we couldn’t confirm whether any of those customers are on Johns Island itself. If your bill comes from Dominion, report outages through Dominion; its line for downed wires is 1-888-333-4465.

Getting ready for a storm? Our hurricane guide covers the island’s evacuation zone, route and emergency alerts.

Who picks up trash and recycling?

It depends on which side of the city line you’re on.

City of Charleston addresses get garbage pickup once a week from green carts, plus weekly pickup of yard waste and bulky “trash” set at the curb. On Johns Island, the City’s routes are run by its contractor, Trident Waste. Look up your day in the City’s CHS TrashTracker app or on its Mapnet map. For a cart, call the Citizen Services Desk at 843-724-7311.

• Put garbage out no earlier than 6 p.m. the night before pickup, and trash no earlier than two days before.
• Leaves and clippings go in brown paper yard bags. Cut tree limbs into 4-foot lengths and stack them at the curb.

Unincorporated county addresses don’t get County garbage service: Charleston County’s Environmental Management Department “does not collect garbage.” Curbside pickup there is an optional subscription from the County’s franchise hauler, Trident Waste & Recycling, which took over in July 2023. Call 843-576-5050 to sign up or check service at your address. Otherwise, haul it to a County convenience center, which is free for county residents who show a photo ID with proof of residency.

There’s no convenience center on Johns Island. The closest full-service one is at 1558 Liberia Road on Wadmalaw, open Monday to Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. as of Oct. 29, 2026. It takes household garbage, yard debris, furniture and other bulky items, appliances and scrap metal, up to four tires, recycling, TVs and computers, paint and other household hazardous waste. The Signal Point Road center on James Island takes recycling, electronics, paint, batteries and tires, but not household garbage, yard waste, construction debris or appliances. Double-axle trailers, box trucks and moving vans need an appointment: 843-720-7111.

Recycling: the City doesn’t collect recycling. City addresses get County curbside recycling every other week; look up your day on the County’s recycling map, or call 843-720-7111 for a cart. In unincorporated areas, the County’s 2023 contract offered curbside recycling from Trident as a paid add-on. Any county resident can drop off recycling at a convenience center.

Which fire department serves my address?

St. Johns Fire District in unincorporated areas; the City of Charleston Fire Department inside city limits. Charleston County’s GIS map assigns island parcels to one fire district or the other in its County Tax Districts layer. In an emergency, call 911 either way; the County’s consolidated 9-1-1 center dispatches both departments.

St. Johns Fire District has protected Johns, Kiawah, Seabrook and Wadmalaw islands, about 185 square miles, since 1959. Its headquarters is at 1148 Main Road (843-559-9194), and three of its seven stations are on Johns Island: Station 1 on Maybank Highway, Station 5 on River Road and Station 7 on Main Road. Work on a new Station 5, on the same site, began in October 2026; the old station stays open until the new one is done. Station 8 is under construction in the Kiawah River neighborhood. The district’s crews provide advanced life support but don’t transport patients.

Charleston Fire Department runs Station 17 at 1830 Bohicket Road. Its second island station, Station 23, is going up at Maybank Highway and Wildts Battery Boulevard. It was first set to open in October 2026, The Post and Courier reported in June. On Oct. 6, City officials said it was on track for completion by the end of 2026, ABC News 4 reported.

Who polices Johns Island?

The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office in unincorporated areas, and the Charleston Police Department inside city limits. The Sheriff’s West Patrol District covers Johns Island along with West Ashley, James Island, Wadmalaw, Seabrook and Kiawah. Charleston Police Patrol Team 3 covers James Island and Johns Island. The team’s listed contact number is 843-720-3916, but police team substations aren’t staffed around the clock.

For non-emergencies, both agencies use the same dispatch line, 843-743-7200. For emergencies, call or text 911.

Which public schools serve Johns Island?

The Charleston County School District runs four schools on the island:

School	Grades	Address
Angel Oak Primary	Pre-K to 1st	6134 Chisolm Road
Johns Island Elementary	2 to 5	2950 Claybrook Street
Haut Gap Middle	6 to 8	1861 Bohicket Road
St. John’s High	9 to 12	1518 Main Road

Johns Island Elementary opened Aug. 12, 2025, combining Mount Zion and Angel Oak elementary schools, Live 5 News reported. On neighboring Wadmalaw Island, Edith L. Frierson Montessori School serves pre-K to 8th grade at 6133 Maybank Highway.

Your address decides your zoned school. Look it up with the district’s Find My School tool, which the district links from its schools map for zoning and magnet options.

When does Charleston County spray for mosquitoes?

Spray trucks treat for adult mosquitoes from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. Charleston County Mosquito Control covers the whole county, 1,353 square miles, by truck, helicopter and plane.

• Ground spraying: enter your address on the ground spray schedule to find your zone.
• Aerial spraying: check the aerial spray schedule. None was scheduled on Oct. 29, 2026.
• Requests and notices: report a mosquito problem or join the notification list, used by beekeepers and people with allergies or chemical sensitivities, through the request form or at 843-202-7880. People on the list get at least 24 hours’ notice before aerial spraying for adult mosquitoes and about 36 hours’ notice before truck spraying.

Where do I vote?

Look up your polling place on scVOTES. For registration questions, contact the Charleston County Board of Voter Registration & Elections, 4340 Corporate Road in North Charleston, at 843-744-8683 (744-VOTE).

The statewide general election is Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, with polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Early voting runs through Saturday, Oct. 31, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Any registered county voter can use any early-voting center, including the one on the island at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 3673 Maybank Highway. Bring an unexpired photo ID, such as a South Carolina driver’s license or DMV ID card, a voter registration card with photo, a U.S. passport or a military ID.

Where are the nearest DMV and emergency rooms?

SCDMV: the closest branch is in West Ashley at 946 Orleans Road, 843-852-2636. As of Oct. 29, 2026, it’s open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Wednesday 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Knowledge tests stop at 4 p.m., and walk-in road tests at 1:30 p.m.

Emergency rooms: in an emergency, call 911. The island doesn’t have an ER yet. Trident Health’s freestanding Johns Island ER, on Maybank Highway near Zelasko Road, was due to open by September 2026; on Oct. 29, Trident’s website still listed it as coming soon. The nearest options, all open 24 hours:

• MUSC Health Emergency at Kiawah Partners Medical Pavilion, 1857 Seabrook Island Road, at the Freshfields Village roundabout just off the island; 843-985-4500. It opened in December 2025.
• HCA Healthcare James Island ER, 945 Folly Road; 854-214-2510.
• Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital, 2095 Henry Tecklenburg Drive in West Ashley, the closest full hospital; 843-402-1000.

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