Debra Hernandez
Coastal Engineer Manager,
DHEC Department of Ocean
and Coastal Resources
Biographical Sketch

Answer 1, Answer 2, Answer 3

Question 1 : What do you think are the greatest threats to surface water quality in the ACE Basin area?

Answer : Like most relatively undeveloped areas in coastal South Carolina, the greatest threat to water quality is from the impacts of growth and development. As land is converted from forest to urban land cover; drainage patterns change. Rainwater that use to fall in the forest and soak into the ground now travels over construction sites, parking lots, roads, and manicured lawns. This runoff picks up sediments, oils, grease, nutrients, and many other pollutants. This contaminated rainwater is called nonpoint source pollution because it comes from so many different sources. In fact, nonpoint source pollution is the leading cause of water quality violations in South Carolina and nationwide.

Another potential threat to water quality is atmospheric deposition. Contaminants in the air that either come down with the rain or which settle its dry deposition can be a significant source of pollution. The sources of pollution can be many miles away. A preliminary estimate for the Charleston Harbor, which is just north of the ACE Basin, is that 14% of the annual nitrogen load comes from atmospheric sources. This is an issue that requires more study, but which everyone should consider a significant source of pollution in the ACE Basin area.

Question 2 : What can or should be done to protect the ACE's surface water quality?

Answer : Water quality can only be protected by managing the activities on the land. The activities that occur on the land are primarily decided by the local governments. Many people believe that the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Health and Environmental Control, and other state and federal resource protection agencies can protect water quality. Those programs, however, have great limitations. Decisions like where roads are built, whether buffers are required, and what kinds of drainage systems are installed, are in the hands of local officials. These officials are not necessarily aware the impact that those decisions have on water quality. Therefore, comprehensive land use plans that consider the natural environment have to be developed, adopted, and enforced. These plans can prevent water quality degradation, and are much more effective than trying to correct a problem after it occurs. Additionally, we need more stringent standards than are currently required by the state to address storm water from development and to better manage septic tanks.

Question 3 : What are some of your suggestions for educating the public on water quality issue?

Answer : There are many on-going educational programs being implemented by various agencies, such as the Clemson Extension, Sea Grant, the Department of Natural Resources, and the Department of Health and Environmental Control. Local officials and the public must be educated about how the impacts of land use affects water quality. I believe they also need to be made to understand about the long term economic benefits in protecting water quality. There are many tools that can be used to estimate how development will impact the adjacent natural environment. Growth and development are inevitable. But, this growth can occur without significantly harming water quality if an educated citizenry demands proper land use planning. They only know what to demand by being educated. They also need to be convinced that by putting land use controls in place, you will not harm the economic value of land or the long term prosperity of their communities.

Gordon Locatis
Resident of Edisto Island

Biographical Sketch

Answer 1, Answer 2, Answer 3

Question 1 : What do you think are the greatest threats to surface water quality in the ACE basin area?

Answer : I think certainly that surface water contamination of the watersheds is very important. Upstream contamination by industry or by agriculture is a primary threat to this area because its been proven that other areas that are developed or overpopulated have become real problems such as in North Carolina and other populated areas along the eastern seaboard. The ACE Basin is one of the last areas that is still clean, and we need to protect the watershed with the utmost importance.

Question 2 : What can or should be done to protect the ACE's surface water quality?

Answer : I think that it is real important that on-going research be maintained and that there is enough funding to keep technicians and biologists on the water, so they can see if there is any significant changes occurring. If a problem is detected, scientists need to figure out the cause of the problem and then find ways to correct it because the nursery of the ocean must be protected. We need to keep our waters as clean as possible.

Question 3: What are some of your suggestions for educating the public?

Answer: I think people who really care about water quality and the ACE basin are people who watch educational television. I think short programs that are funded to entertain and educate people about the ACE Basin are real important. The second most important avenue for educating the public is the newspaper. Feature articles in local papers such as Charleston, Beaufort, and Walterboro about the significant research studies occurring in the ACE Basin would enhance public awareness. Articles that include pictures of fun things going, research vessels, animals, or significant studies would serve a big purpose in teaching people how important it is to keep the ACE Basin clean and to protect it from any future threats that we see occurring all over the country.

Nancy Vinson
South Carolina Coastal
Conservation League

Biographical Sketch

Answer 1, Answer 2, Answer 3

Question 1 : What do you think is the greatest threat to surface water quality in the ACE Basin area?

Answer : I think there are two main threats to water quality in the ACE Basin. The first is runoff, or nonpoint source pollution (NPS), from any nearby uncontrolled development. The second is stormwater runoff from poorly-run forestry or agricultural operations on lands within the ACE Basin. Nonpoint source pollution, or stormwater runoff from streets, yards, roof tops, parking lots, and farm fields is the main source of water pollution in America today. It contains oil, grease, pesticides, fertilizers, and bacteria from animal wastes.

As development occurs in areas surrounding the ACE Basin, we must be sure that unplanned haphazard development is not allowed to generate contaminated runoff problems for the ACE Basin. Within the ACE Basin, how the rural protected lands are managed is the key issue in protecting clean water. Farm and forestry operations must use best management practices to prevent contaminated runoff.

Question 2 :What can or should be done to protect the ACE's surface water quality?

Answer : To protect the high quality waters in the ACE Basin's tidal creek marshes and tidal marshes, it is very important to protect the remaining lands within the ACE Basin boundaries from any large-scale development, either through purchase or conservation easements. We must also work closely with local government leaders in communities surrounding the basin to ensure that sound land use plans are adopted which will protect water quality within the ACE Basin. The land owners within the ACE Basin must be educated and kept up to date in the use of best management practices for farming and forestry operations to prevent pesticides, fertilizers, and excessive sediments from harming the nearby waters in the ACE Basin.

Question 3 : What are some of your suggestions for educating the public on water quality issues?

Answer : Some suggestions for educating the public on water quality issues would be that we educate local government leaders and citizens in the communities surrounding the ACE Basin of the importance on this wonderful natural area and what is needed to protect it.

We could provide educational tours, slide shows, talks for the general public and for civic groups and businesses groups, and local government leaders. We also need to work with the news media whenever possible to generate news coverage at the local and state levels so that everyone will develop a greater appreciation for enjoying and protecting the ACE Basin.

Priscilla Wendt
Environmental Evaluations,
SCDNR Marine Resources Division

Biographical Sketch

Answer 1, Answer 2, Answer 3

Question 1 : What do you think are the greatest threats to surface water quality in the ACE Basin area?

Answer : First of all, it is impossible to talk about water quality without talking about adjacent land uses because these topics are so closely related. Considering the existing rural character of the ACE Basin and the relatively small number of point-source discharges, the greatest threat to surface water quality in the ACE Basin is clearly from nonpoint source pollution. Currently, more than half of the land cover within the ACE Basin is forested, with 40% of the forested land devoted to silviculture. Agricultural lands compromise only 12%, while urban areas account for a mere 2% of existing land uses. With increasing development pressures, however, urbanization is expected to escalate. While all three of the land uses, which are agriculture, forestry, and urbanization development, are potential contributors to nonpoint source pollution, the specter of uncontrolled growth, or urban sprawl, around existing population centers may well pose an existing threat to water quality in and around the ACE Basin. Due to the implementation of best management practices (BMP) by the forestry industry and to the net conversion to agricultural lands to timberlands and natural cover, nutrient loading to water bodies in the ACE Basin have decreased over the past decade. With the increasing urbanization however, it is projected that this decreasing trend will soon be reversed. It is most likely that the frequency and duration of hypoxic events, that is the occasions when dissolved oxygen falls below the potentially lethal level of 2 mg/L, will increase with increased urbanization as well. We have also seen an increasing trend in fecal coliform concentrations in certain water bodies in the ACE Basin, primarily in areas of human development where septic systems are the primary mode of domestic waste water treatment and other sources of urban runoff are found.

Question 2 : What can or should be done to protect the ACE's surface water quality?

Answer : There are several things that can be done to protect the water quality in the ACE Basin, and several of these initiatives are already underway. Perhaps most importantly, a comprehensive land use plan should be developed which encourages the maintenance of traditional land uses, such as forestry and agriculture, and discourages urban sprawl. Conservation easements and other economic incentives can be used to accomplish this goal. Establishing urban growth boundaries, or green belts, around existing population centers would also control sprawl and contribute to the maintenance of good water quality by limiting the amounts of impervious surface area and consequently the volume of stormwater runoff. In addition, faulty septic systems should be identified and repaired and in densely populated areas, replaced with sewer systems and publicly-owned wastewater treatment facilities. Finally, there are numerous best management practices (BMPs) for forestry, agricultural, livestock operations, and urban development that can and should be implemented to minimize nonpoint source pollution of our waterways. These BMPs include, among many others, establishing natural vegetated buffers adjacent to wetlands and open waterbodies, using fertilizers and pesticides sparingly, and only when needed; and disposing of waste oil and other hazardous substances properly

Question 3 : What are some of your suggestions for educating the public on water quality issues?

Answer : For those who are interested, there are several goods sources of information about nonpoint source pollution and ways to minimize it by following appropriate best management practices. To name a few, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control publishes a quarterly newsletter entitled, Turning the Tide on Nonpoint Source Pollution. It contains a lot of useful information for the average citizen, as well as foresters, farmers, and environmental managers. The Clemson Extension has produced numerous informational brochures and two excellent risk assessment guides for protecting water quality. One of these guides is intended for the small farmers and is based on The National Farm Assist Program. The other guide entitled SC Home A Syst, is a self assessment manual that teaches citizens how to help protect the quality of surface and ground water near their homes and throughout their communities. The S.C. Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with several other agencies and institutions, have also published an excellent handbook of agricultural and conservationist practices entitled, Farming for Clean Water in South Carolina. Last but not least, the S.C. Forestry Commission has published a very informative booklet entitled, South Carolina's Best Management Practices for Forestry, which gives forest landowners and professional foresters guidelines to follow for practicing good stewardship of our valuable forest land which in turn will protect our nearby waterbodies. Of course, it is also important that we educate our children about water quality issues and attempt to instill in them an environmental ethic that will undoubtedly serve them and their community well into the future.