Support Us
Our Supporters Helped Us..
Prevent the development of Long Island in Charleston County in 2008..
Donate NowWhat is the issue?
Water is a finite resource, and there is no substitute. South Carolina needs to pass a strong water withdrawal permitting bill to protect our dwindling water supplies. Scientists predict that global warming will bring longer and more intense droughts to the Southeast, including South Carolina. That, along with increasing populations, will place unprecedented strain on the region’s water. We must manage the water we do have wisely. In light of our ongoing conflicts over shared water resources with North Carolina and Georgia, South Carolina needs strong legislation to demonstrate that it takes water resources seriously.
How would it affect South Carolina?
Water is a limited precious resource used for drinking, recreation, plant and animal habitat, and business purposes. In South Carolina, clean and abundant water has long been taken for granted. Recurrent droughts, increasingly polluted lakes and rivers, rising conflicts over water rights with neighboring states and population growth projections all make it painfully obvious that we must manage our water supplies and that we must do it now. Threats include:
• South Carolina Supreme Court lawsuit over water rights with North Carolina over the Catawba interbasin transfer of scare water resources. Without good permitting regulations that monitor withdrawals, SC is in a disadvantage because we can’t accurately state our needs. Neighboring states have already approved withdrawal legislation.
• Recurrent and prolonged drought in the Upstate has brought water levels to record low listing numerous upstate counties as “extreme drought” and the worst droughts SC has ever recorded. Climate change will likely exacerbate the situation.
• Shared water resources will be depleted without coordination and strict regulations in place. The Savannah River, a shared water resource for both GA and SC drinking water, is currently being considered as a resource to remedy Atlanta’s water shortage.
• Saltwater intrusion. The Georgia Ports Authority is proposing to deepen the Savannah River’s channel to accommodate larger vessels. The deepening may violate the Clean Water Act and will likely compromise drinking water for millions of people in SC and GA. The increased concentrations of salt will not only affect ground water but will extend into the National Wildlife Refuge impacting over 29,000 acres of diverse freshwater wetlands.
What can you do about it?
You can use this website to contact your legislator and let them know that insuring clean and abundant water for the future is important to you and ask them to support a strong water withdrawal permitting bill. Sign up for CCL alerts and updates to know when decisions are being made at the Statehouse.
- A strong water withdrawal bill will help set the course of our state’s water use for years to come. It will give existing withdrawers certainty that the water they need will never be taken by an upstream user, it gives downstream users notice as to how much water will be available for their use, and it protects the recreational and wildlife uses of rivers and streams.
- The implications of South Carolina’s lack of authority over its rivers and streams extend beyond our state. Most of our major rivers originate in other states, so we must also look beyond our borders to protect our interests in shared freshwater resources. If South Carolina fails to pass a strong water withdrawal permitting bill, we will have missed our opportunity to protect our waterways ina dvance of the next drought.
