June 2003 Contents

Message From the Executive Director:

Articles:

Upstate Conservation:

Upstate Forever News:

  

 

The Saluda-Reedy Watershed
Project Receives $1.5 Million!

  Two grants totaling $1.5 million have launched a comprehensive project focused on the Saluda-Reedy watershed. The V. Kann Rasmussen Foundation has pledged $1 million over two years, and Fuji Photo Film, Inc. has made a commitment of $500,000 over five years. Upstate Forever will serve as the coordinator of the project.

The Saluda Reedy watershed covers 1,165 square miles in six counties and includes over 1,400 miles of rivers and streams.

     The Saluda River and Reedy River flow through one of the most rapidly growing and developing regions in the country. Within the 1,165 square mile watershed above Lake Greenwood, the population is increasing at the rate of approximately 32 people per day, while open land is being converted to development at the rate of about 23 acres per day. The Saluda-Reedy Watershed Consortium was formed to provide assistance, support and science-based information to state and local agencies and the public in addressing the immense challenges that confront the watershed. The principal members of the Consortium are:

  • Upstate Forever
  • Pinnacle Consulting Group, Inc.
  • Clemson University/Jim Self Center on the Future
  • South Carolina Water Resources Center
  • Clemson Environmental Institute
  • South Carolina Department of Natural Resources

Other members include:

  • The Conestee Foundation s
  • Friends of the Reedy River
  • SpectroTech, Inc.
  • Furman University
  • Lander University
  • Upper Savannah Land Trust

     There is no doubt that the Saluda-Reedy watershed will continue to experience dramatic growth and change. Nor is there any doubt about the urgent need to plan for this growth to ensure that our water resources are protected to meet all of the demands of this increasing population for drinking water, tourism, recreation, economic development and waste treatment. For example, wastewater discharges into the Reedy River are projected to increase from the present amount of 34 million gallons per day to 51 million gallons per day by 2015; discharges into the Saluda River are projected to increase from 13 to 31 million gallons per day. For both rivers, that is almost a two-fold increase in less than 15 years. Moreover, stormwater water runoff and sedimentation associated with rapid development in the watershed are having a serious adverse impact on water quality.

Cedar Shoals on the Reedy River: one of the many beautiful places in the watershed.

     The Consortium has designed an integrated and comprehensive program of actions, demonstrations and studies with the ultimate goal of improving water quality throughout the Saluda-Reedy Watershed. The project is divided into the following eight major tasks:

  1. Land Cover:
    To determine the current
    uses of land in the watershed.
  2. Growth Model:
    To predict the extent of future
    growth in the watershed if current
    development patterns continue unchanged.
  3. Economic Evaluation:
    To evaluate the economic
    impact of water use and
    wastewater discharges.
  4. Water Quality:
    To collect and analyze data needed
    to truly understand the causes and
    effects of water quality problems in the watershed.
  5. Riparian Lands:
    To identify, protect, and restore
    important lands along the Saluda
    and Reedy Rivers and their principal tributaries
  6. Education:

    This aerial photo shows how much of the Reedy River arm of Lake Greenwood (left) has silted in with sediment, compared to the Rabon Creek arm (right), whose watershed has experienced much less development.
    To improve public understanding
    and appreciation of watershed issues
    and problems.
  7. Performance:
    To monitor compliance with regulatory
    standards in the watershed and to
    assess the effectiveness of those standards
  8. Integrated Watershed Management:
    To develop a plan for comprehensively managing the resources of the watershed based on long term, sustainable objectives and to advocate for appropriate policies to protect and improve water quality.

     Work has already begun on the project, and a website will be established soon. The grants will not
enable the Consortium to complete all of the tasks so additional funding is being sought.

     The V. Kann Rasmussen Foundation, named for the founder of the VELUX window, has made a number of significant grants in South Carolina over the last 12 years, many of which have been for environmental initiatives and projects.

Severe algal blooms in Lake Greenwood have caused serious concerns about the lake’s future.

     The grant from Fuji was announced as part of a ceremony on March 7 celebrating a $100 million expansion of their plant in Greenwood and the development of a new line of medical imaging products. Since Fuji opened its North American manufacturing and research and development headquarters in Greenwood in 1988, the company has accompanied each major expansion announcement with a donation to the community. Past contributions include the John and Holly Self Drummond Environmental Education Center at Lake Greenwood State Park.

| advocate main page | june 2003 cover |