The ninth season of the Midlands Rivers Coalition 's weekly recreational water quality monitoring just concluded at the end of September. This season was a mixed bag of results, with several weeks of swimming advisories, but also lots of "all greens." The numbers below provide a snapshot of the season: 11 sites on the Broad, Lower Saluda and Congaree Rivers were sampled every week for 21 weeks, from May - September 269 total bacteria samples were collected (231 regular samples and 38 follow-up samples) 49 samples did not meet the state standard for contact recreation (38 regular samples and 11 follow-up samples) 86% of all samples collected this season met the state standard for contact recreation (an improvement from last year's 78%) 8 weeks with at least one swimming advisory issued (but only 3 of those had advisories continue after follow-up sampling ) Finished with 6 straight weeks of All Greens! From 8/14 - 9/24 all samples met the state standard for contact recreation and there were no swimming advisories issued 10 of the 11 sample sites had multiple swimming advisories issued this season Once again, only one site, the Saluda Shoals Canoe Landing (aka Upper Landing) had zero advisories this season Stormwater runoff is a significant source of pollution, and a major driver of the high bacteria levels and swimming advisories. Remember, we often see elevated bacteria levels in the 24-48 hours after significant rain events. River users should always pay attention to the weather and use their best judgement. Sewer spills also contribute to water quality issues, and the coalition used the website to notify the public of several spills impacting the rivers this season. Thank you so much to all of the Midlands Rivers Coalition partners who help make this effort possible. Weekly water quality monitoring will resume in May of 2026.

Pollution of the Congaree River violates federal Clean Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, groups say