Bi-State Water Management (SC, GA)
States must work together to ensure proper water management
The five year drought that ended in 2002 made it clear that South Carolina can no longer take its water for granted. During the drought, the Pee Dee and Savannah Rivers reached such low levels that salt water crept up the Savannah and Waccamaw/Pee Dee Rivers to a point that threatened the freshwater intakes for Beaufort and Myrtle Beach. Groundwater levels also reached new lows. Lake levels in Lake Thurmond dropped such that only a few months of storage remained for downstream requirements.
©Charlie Shoffner
South Carolina faces threats of excessive water withdrawal from its major rivers by both North Carolina (from the Catawba and Pee Dee) and from Georgia (from the Savannah).
Even before the drought, and still after it, many of the state's rivers and lakes have been stretched near or beyond their ability to assimilate pollutants, and as a result, no longer meet applicable health and environmental standards. Confounding these problems is the fact that South Carolina must share most of its major rivers with two other states: Georgia and North Carolina.
In coming decades, the competition for water among Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina will only intensify as the populations of these states continue to grow. To prepare for that competition, South Carolina has recognized the need to enter into negotiations with Georgia and North Carolina to determine how best to allocate water from these basins among the states. In particular, South Carolina should set minimum protective flows for streams and rivers and establish a permitting program to regulate large withdrawals from surface waters. Without such measures, South Carolina will be at a disadvantage in its efforts to achieve the interstate water security needed for natural resource protection and continued economic development.
The Southern Environmental Law Center is working with a bi-state gubernatorial committee charged with developing a meaningful water management plan for the Savannah River. We are also promoting a surface water withdrawal permitting program for South Carolina. Georgia and North Carolina already have a permit program for industries and other entities who withdraw large volumes of water from surface waters such as the Savannah. Until South Carolina adopts such a program, rivers like the Savannah will be subject to overuse with no limitation by the state.
