Keep Our River Clean

Today's editorial considers the health of the  Waccamaw River and the logistics of wastewater treatment.

The Waccamaw River that originates in Columbus County, N.C., and flows through Horry and Georgetown counties to empty into Winyah Bay forms a vital thread in the fabric that is this region. Some receive drinking water from it, many of us dispose of our wastewater in it, some eat of its bounty of fish, and some simply thrive on motoring or floating along its quiet, black, winding channels.

The health of the river is a measure of the health of the region's economy and prosperity. Today at Coastal Carolina University's Waccamaw Higher Education Center in Litchfield, we will learn how the watercourse is faring.

It is the fourth annual Data Conference for the Waccamaw River Volunteer Monitoring Project. The monitoring is under the umbrella of the Waccamaw Riverkeeper and the Burroughs and Chapin Center for Marine and Wetland Studies at CCU.

Riverkeeper Christine Ellis could not say earlier this week what the numbers might show, but the project has now had three years of monitoring and will be able to look at some trends.

Historically, the Waccamaw has had higher than normal levels of fecal coliform, a type of bacteria that comes from the innards of both humans and other animals. It has also had mercury levels high enough for the state to issue advisories about the river's fish.

The Waccamaw also has lower oxygen levels than most rivers, which is considered its normal state. But those lower levels of oxygen make it less able to easily process fecal coliform and other pollutants.

Now there is a new request to add more treated wastewater - that is, sewage - to the stream. The Georgetown County Water and Sewer District has received preliminary approval from the state Department of Health and Environmental Control for a backup discharge system from DeBordieu Colony.

The treated wastewater at DeBordieu is currently sprayed on the golf courses, a worthy method of recycling. But sometimes, such as in rainy weather, there is more liquid than the ground can absorb. DeBordieu has a 3.5 million-gallon storage lagoon for the waste, but sometimes even that is not enough, the utility district said in its filing.

The discharge into the Waccamaw would allow up to 500,000 gallons a day March through October and 350,000 gallons a day November through February of "secondarily treated" waste to be poured into the river. That means it is not treated to the highest level possible.

Even so, Waccamaw Regional Planning and Development Council, which oversees areawide wastewater planning, certified that the permit complies with the existing discharge plan for the river.

DHEC said the discharge is "necessary to important economic or social development." The riverkeeper has asked for a public hearing "to provide the opportunity for the public to raise issues of concern regarding the existing water quality and the implications of this new discharge," Ellis said.

Perhaps the discharge is justified, but it illustrates the dilemma and the hazards of using rivers as both waste valve and water tap. Last week, for example, officials disclosed that the city of Raleigh spilled at least 15 million gallons of raw sewage into High Rock Lake, which drains into the Yadkin River, which becomes the Pee Dee River. From the Pee Dee comes much of Horry County's drinking water.

The work of the volunteers who take regular samples of the Waccamaw could be the key to a decision on whether the river can take any more pollution and yet remain healthy enough to continue the other uses and resources that it offers.

It is the fourth annual Data Conference for the Waccamaw River Volunteer Monitoring Project. The monitoring is under the umbrella of the Waccamaw Riverkeeper and the Burroughs and Chapin Center for Marine and Wetland Studies at CCU.

Riverkeeper Christine Ellis could not say earlier this week what the numbers might show, but the project has now had three years of monitoring and will be able to look at some trends.

Historically, the Waccamaw has had higher than normal levels of fecal coliform, a type of bacteria that comes from the innards of both humans and other animals. It has also had mercury levels high enough for the state to issue advisories about the river's fish.

The Waccamaw also has lower oxygen levels than most rivers, which is considered its normal state. But those lower levels of oxygen make it less able to easily process fecal coliform and other pollutants.

Now there is a new request to add more treated wastewater - that is, sewage - to the stream. The Georgetown County Water and Sewer District has received preliminary approval from the state Department of Health and Environmental Control for a backup discharge system from DeBordieu Colony.

The treated wastewater at DeBordieu is currently sprayed on the golf courses, a worthy method of recycling. But sometimes, such as in rainy weather, there is more liquid than the ground can absorb. DeBordieu has a 3.5 million-gallon storage lagoon for the waste, but sometimes even that is not enough, the utility district said in its filing.

The discharge into the Waccamaw would allow up to 500,000 gallons a day March through October and 350,000 gallons a day November through February of "secondarily treated" waste to be poured into the river. That means it is not treated to the highest level possible.

Even so, Waccamaw Regional Planning and Development Council, which oversees areawide wastewater planning, certified that the permit complies with the existing discharge plan for the river.

DHEC said the discharge is "necessary to important economic or social development." The riverkeeper has asked for a public hearing "to provide the opportunity for the public to raise issues of concern regarding the existing water quality and the implications of this new discharge," Ellis said.

Perhaps the discharge is justified, but it illustrates the dilemma and the hazards of using rivers as both waste valve and water tap. Last week, for example, officials disclosed that the city of Raleigh spilled at least 15 million gallons of raw sewage into High Rock Lake, which drains into the Yadkin River, which becomes the Pee Dee River. From the Pee Dee comes much of Horry County's drinking water.

The work of the volunteers who take regular samples of the Waccamaw could be the key to a decision on whether the river can take any more pollution and yet remain healthy enough to continue the other uses and resources that it offers.