What's at Stake
Nothing is more important to the health of our communities and the economic vitality of our state than clean, abundant water. Yet a majority of South Carolina’s freshwater resources – literally thousands of miles of lakes and rivers – are unfit for swimming or fishing due to contamination from pollutants like fecal coli-form and mercury. In 2006, all 24 major rivers in South Carolina were listed in the Department of Health and Environmental Control’s (DHEC) registry of impaired waters.
In other words, we’ve been swimming in sewage without any posting or warning system in place. South Carolinians must be informed when their favorite swimming or fishing holes are unsafe. Contaminated water presents a danger not just to the health of our communities, but to our economy. South Carolina’s 800,000 anglers generate more than $1 billion in annual revenue for the state’s economy, and a considerable portion of this money is spent in economically distressed rural areas.
The status quo sacrifices the public’s rights to clean water for the sake of poorly planned sprawl, massive hog farms or dirty coal plants. Our residential and business communities require safe, abundant water and assume local water supplies to be safe in the absence of notification to the contrary.
Challenges
Bacteria and metals cause approximately 85 percent of the non-point source pollution in South Carolina. The biggest sources of bacterial pollution are wastewater runoff from urban sprawl, overflowing municipal waste treatment plants, failed shoreline septic systems and large factory poultry and hog operations. The biggest sources of metal contamination are coal-fired power plants, municipal combustors and medical incinerators. Communities and businesses have a responsibility to ensure that citizens’ right to clean water is not compromised by private enterprise.
Finally, DHEC must be responsible for enforcing existing regulations and informing citizens of potential threats at the site of the contaminated water. Current efforts to inform the public via DHEC’s website are inadequate and must be expanded to also include posted notification on the water’s shore.
Next Steps
DHEC needs to promote easy access to public records and information about water quality and by post warnings of water pollution at obvious points like boat ramps and swimming holes. Notice of sewer spills should be made within 24 hours.
DHEC must identify the causes of water pollution and actively plan to clean up our lakes and streams by enforcing existing regulations and closing regulatory loopholes.
The General Assembly should create a permitting system for water withdrawal to ensure that water levels and flows are sufficient to protect water quality.
For more information:
Bob Guild, Sierra Club, 803-252-1419
Earl Meyer, Sierra Club, 864-944-1699
Fast Facts
One third of SC’s rivers are unfit for recreational use.
Nearly half (46 percent) of DHEC’s 1,972 monitoring sites have failed to meet clean water standards.
Plastic bags are among the 12 items of debris most often found in coastal cleanups, according to the nonprofit Center for Marine Conservation.
DHEC will begin posting warnings for mercury and bacteria in the spring of 2008.