Carolina Clear survey of Charleston region highlights water quality issues

Published: February 16, 2010

Carolina Clear image by: Carolina Clear

NORTH CHARLESTON — Survey results by Clemson University’s Carolina Clear stormwater pollution and awareness program show that one in five Charleston-area residents do not realize pet waste pollutes rivers, lakes and streams.

And 77 percent incorrectly answered that stormwater is treated before it reaches these waterbodies and beaches.

The survey results highlight how local residents view stormwater issues in the area, and their attitudes, knowledge and behaviors related to the environment.

The survey also found that more residents of Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties dispose of oil, paint or other chemical down storm drains compared with any other region surveyed.

The Environmental Protection Agency emphasizes public education as a fundamental component in reducing stormwater runoff pollution. The EPA and the state of South Carolina require that 73 municipalities and counties in the state educate and involve the public as part of the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System stormwater permit program.

Carolina Clear’s goal is to minimize polluted stormwater runoff by educating the general public, youth, builders, developers, homeowners and government officials about how to keep water in the state’s streams, rivers and basins as clean as possible, said Katie Giacalone, Carolina Clear regional coordinator and natural resources agent.

“The results of these surveys will help Carolina Clear’s Ashley Cooper Stormwater Education Consortium and officials across the three-county region identify the messages and education programs that will most benefit local residents and, hopefully, the local environment” Giacalone said.

“The end game here is to identify behaviors that each of us easily can modify to better protect our important natural resources for future generations,” she said.

The survey also found:

• Two in three could not give the correct definition of a watershed

• 83 percent said they “always” pick up after their pets

• 32 percent said they were “very concerned” about pollution and environmental quality of local waterways

The Charleston-area survey was one of four conducted around the state. Other regions surveyed were the Midlands, Pee Dee, and in Horry and Georgetown counties. Full reports of the surveys’ findings are available on Carolina Clear’s Web site at http://www.carolinaclear.clemson.edu/surveys.html.

END

About the survey
Carolina Clear and the Clemson University Restoration Institute contracted with researchers from Clemson University’s sociology and anthropology department and the School of Computing to conduct a telephone survey of residents of Horry and Georgetown counties. 

The population of these counties is such that a sample of 385 to 400 respondents would permit estimates of the survey results with a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent at a 95 percent confidence level. The survey was conducted from late May to early July 2009. Data were collected from 398 residents across zip codes in the two counties.

Carolina Clear
Carolina Clear is a stormwater education and awareness program of the Clemson University Restoration Institute and the Center for Watershed Excellence. The program’s goal is to minimize polluted stormwater runoff by educating the general public, youth, builders, developers, homeowners and government officials about how they can keep water in the state’s streams, rivers and basins as clean as possible.