The Richland Countywide Stormwater Consortium is comprised of Richland County, the Town of Arcadia Lakes, and the City of Forest Acres. The goal of the consortium is to support the restoration and protection of healthy waterways in Richland County through outreach, stormwater education, public involvement, and partnerships with local governments, citizens, businesses, schools, and organizations.
AnnouncementsLocal teens mark storm drains with "No Dumping, Drains to River" messages. Currently, Richland County has marked 75% of the stormdrains in the county, to be completed next summer.
Announcements:
Carolina Clear Telephone Surveys Completed
Last summer, to better understand how aware the public is of stormwater pollution issues, and what people might be doing to either reduce or cause pollution, Carolina Clear conducted a series of telephone surveys throughout the state. To learn more about these survey, view the final results, and learn what they mean for Richland County, follow this link.
Gills Creek TMDLs Open to Public Review
TMDL stands for "Total Maximum Daily Load" and is a document from SCDHEC setting a limit on how much of a particular pollutant can be present in a lake, stream, or river. SCDHEC found that Gills Creek needs TMDLs for fecal bacteria and low dissolved oxygen. Sources of fecal bacteria include sanitary sewer overflows, leaking septic systems, pet waste, livestock, and water fowl. Dissolved oxygen is important because fish and other aquatic life depend on it to breathe. Causes of low dissolved oxygen include bacteria, fertilizer, decaying leaves, and sediment.
Click here read these documents and submit your feedback if desired. The deadline for submitting feedback is February 8, 2010. Once the TMDL is approved by SCDHEC, it will be the responsibility of Richland County and the City of Columbia to reduce the amount of these pollutants in Gills Creek. To learn more about the Gills Creek watershed, please visit the GCWA website.
Recent Events:
Richland County Recycles!
At Richland County's celebration of America Recycles Day on Nov. 14, 7000 residents brought 420,000 lbs of computers, mattresses, old appliances, batteries, documents to be shredded, and other house hold waste to Sandhills REC to be recycled! The event included free food, children's activities, live music, prizes, and giveaways. Although Richland County residents can recycle all year long through curbside pickup and drop-off centers, this event supplements that by taking items too large or unusual for the regular recycling program.
Rain Garden Installed at Bookman Road Elementary School
At a workshop for homeowners and schools on Saturday Nov. 7, with the help of 20 volunteers, the Richland Soil and Water Conservation District and the Richland County Conservation Commission, and East Peidmont Resource Conservation & Development installed a rain garden at Bookman Road ES to combat a serious erosion problem. The garden uses a sunken design filled with perrenial shrubs, grasses, and flowers to stop the large volumes of water from the school's roof and allows it to sink into the ground naturally. Read more about rain gardens on the Carolina Clear website!
Joint Proclamation Signing
On October 6, 2009, representatives from Richland County, the city
of Forest Acres, and the town of Arcadia Lakes, signed a proclamation
to officially adopt a regional stormwater runoff education strategy
through the Richland Countywide Stormwater Consortium. This signing is
a great step forward for our orgnaization, as it demonstrates
commitment from the local governments, and officially announced our
existence to the public. The signing had a nice turnout, and was
covered on the WACH FOX nightly news.
River Sweep 2009
Thanks to Keep the Midlands Beautiful and over 100 volunteers, the Saluda River is a whole lot cleaner! On Sept. 19 as part of the statewide Beach Sweep and River Sweep initiative, Richland and Lexington County citizens gathered to clean up the shores of the Lower Saluda River near Riverbanks Zoo. Together they picked up 1,780 pounds of trash and recyclables, including:
• 90 bags of litter
• 701 aluminum cans
• 744 glass bottles
• 460 plastic bottles.
Keep the Midlands Beautiful hosts litter pick-ups every third Saturday at various locations throughout the Midlands. Check out their calendar (click here) for details.
Community News
- Keep the Midlands Beautiful is selling Earth Machine compost bins for $45. Call (803) 733-1139 to schedule a time to pick up a bin.
- Sonoco Recycling now offers free shredding to any resident or business, Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. You can even watch your paper being shredded! Sonoco Recycling is located in Columbia at 1132 Idlewilde Boulevard, off of Bluff Road.
- The Richland Conservation District is selling rain barrel systems for $90 each. To purchase a rain barrel, e-mail Charlie Fisher or call 803-576-2080. To learn more, visit Keep the Midlands Beautiful web site at this link.
Page maintained by: Mary Nevins, mnevins@clemson.edu