The Water Log: December 2022

Can you believe it is already December? This year has flown by, and our team is proud to share our accomplishments from this year. With your support, we have made tremendous progress in decreasing nonpoint source pollution in our priority watersheds, have leaned into state water planning in the Broad River Basin, and continue to advocate for improved policies at the local level that protect water quality.  

We could not do this work without citizens like you. Your interest in protecting our natural water resources does not go unnoticed. We hope you know that we deeply appreciate and acknowledge the role you play in sharing the importance of clean water conservation, and this celebration of our success includes you.  

Sincerely, 

Erika Hollis
Clean Water Director
Upstate Forever

Completed Phase 1 of Tyger 319 nonpoint source pollution reduction program 

The purpose of this project was to address the long-term bacterial and biological impairments in three sub-watersheds of the Tyger River Basin: the South, Middle, and North Tyger (S/M/N) subwatersheds. These goals were met by tackling nonpoint source pollution (natural and manmade pollutants picked up by runoff and discharged into the nearest waterway) through a combination of agricultural, septic, and land protection Best Management Practices (BMPs) over a period of 45 months.

The great success of the implementation phase led our team to seek funding for a phase two implementation project in this area. We continue to install BMPs throughout this region. The S/M/N Tyger River Implementation Phase 1 was a 3 1/2-year project that began in October 2018 and ran through July 2022. During this period, we tackled bacteria, sediment, and nutrient pollution with following BMPs:  

• 44 septic system repairs 
• 368 acres of land protected 
• 1000 feet of stream bank repaired 
• 65 acres of conservation cover installed 
• 19 acres of livestock fencing 
• 8 animal watering units 
• 6 acres of drip irrigation installed on vegetable crops

Selected to serve on the Broad River Basin Council (RBC) and represents conservation interests in the basin

In 2019, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) published the South Carolina State Water Planning Framework under the guidance of the Planning Process and Advisory Committee. The Planning Framework provides the process of developing regional water plans, now formally called River Basin Plans, that will support the development of a new comprehensive State Water Plan. Local River Basin Plans will be developed for the eight planning basins in the State – Broad, Catawba, Edisto, Lower Savannah-Salkehatchie, Pee Dee, Saluda, Santee, and Upper Savannah. 

The Broad RBC is made up of 23 individuals from eight water interest categories and is charged with creating a locally focused, sustainable water management plan for the region over the next 50 years. Each River Basin Plan takes two years to complete and will include a collection of water management strategies including policy, legislative, regulatory, technical, and planning process recommendations designed to ensure a river basin’s surface and groundwater resources will be available for all uses into the future.

Ongoing Projects 

Tyger Phase 2 
Phase 2 is off to a great start! This year alone, the team has completed 22 septic repair projects and an agricultural project with the installation of a livestock stream crossing. Additionally, our team has been so happy to participate in outreach events, including Discover Your Watershed, Imagine a Day Without Water, and Lake Robinson Day. Our team looks forward to completing more projects, so if you are interested in participating, click here for more information.  

Three & Twenty Creek 
As we enter the third and final year of this project, we are happy to share that our team has completed 29 septic tank repairs and is well underway for hosting a streambank repair workshop in the Spring of 2023. In addition to this project success, our team was excited to participate in partner outreach events like Barrels and Beer and the Farm City Breakfast hosted by the Pickens County Farm Bureau.  

Twelvemile Watershed Based Plan 
Our team is steadily progressing with the development of a watershed-based plan for the Twelvemile River in partnership with the Clemson University Center for Watershed Excellence. As a friendly reminder, we are still soliciting public feedback about water quality in this region and would appreciate our readers taking a moment to fill out this survey.  

Local Water Advocacy 
Upstate Forever had a busy year assisting with local water advocacy efforts. First, you can refer to the September Water Log where we gave a recap on the letter writing event UF hosted at Liability Brewing. This event and Water Log highlighted a specific local advocacy goal: protection of riparian buffer requirements.  

Additionally, the Clean Water Team gave a presentation on the benefits of riparian buffers at Save Our Saluda’s Streambank Repair Workshop on November 10th. This workshop highlighted the usefulness of riparian buffers in streambank stabilization and enhanced our team’s technical knowledge of how to properly restore them.  

We continue to participate in the Reedy River Water Quality Group, a group of organizations, citizens, local, state, and federal governments working together to improve water quality in the Reedy River Watershed. UF has staff serving on the public outreach, BMP, and modeling committees since 2017. 

Erika at Discover Your Watershed (left), the Clean Water and State Policy Teams at the SC Water Resources Conference (middle), and Erika & Rebecca participating in a litter clean up with Greer CPW to celebrate Imagine a Day Without Water (right)

Our work is far from complete, but we are looking forward to continuing this effort in 2023.  We will see you in the new year!

Until next time. . .

Thank you for signing up to receive The Water Log, Upstate Forever’s email newsletter dedicated to Clean Water news, issues, and information. We appreciate your interest and dedication to safeguarding the Upstate’s water resources.  

If you have any questions about this topic, or would like to learn about another Clean Water issue in a future edition, please contact me at ehollis@upstateforever.org.