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:
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!
Dispose of Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs Safely at Home Depot!
CFL light bulbs are a great way to save energy in our homes and workplaces! They use up to 75% less energy and last up to 10 times longer than regular bulbs.
"If every home in America replaced just one incandescent light bulb with a CFL, in one year it would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes. That would prevent the release of greenhouse gas emissions equal to that of about 800,000 cars." (www.energystar.gov)
However, because CFL's contain the harmful chemical mercury, they cannot be thrown in the trash, and must be disposed of in a special way. Now, their is a local solution! Local Home Depot stores will take your old CFL bulbs and recycle them for you. So take your bulbs to Home Depot, and while your their, buy a new one and tell the store how much you appreciate this service!
Richland Countywide Stormwater Consortium Meeting
Join us for our upcoming consortium meeting, Wednesday, November 18, 10AM - 12PM.
Click here for more information!
Read the minutes from our October meeting!
Recent Events:
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