Runoff from Cayce Quarry

On Monday December 19th Congaree Riverkeeper was alerted of a pollution problem affecting the Congaree River.  While walking on the Cayce portion of the riverwalk a concerned citizen noticed milky white water flowing into Monkey Springs Creek and then into the river.  She contacted Congaree Riverkeeper and sent photos of the problem.  We followed up on the report and were able to trace the problem to the Cayce Quarry.  Officials at the quarry, which is operated by Martin Marietta Materials, investigated the problem with us and were quick to respond.

A pile of rock had fallen over into a stream that carries water used in the mining process.  This water, which contained crushed granite, was pushed over the banks and flowed into the creek.  Once alerted the quarry was able to fix the problem within a few hours by removing the blockage and building up a small berm.

We commend the Cayce Quarry for working with us to quickly solve this problem.  We would also like to thank the concerned citizen for making us aware of this issue. People like her are the eyes and ears of our organization and help us do our job better by alerting us to problems we may not otherwise see.

Runoff flowing into Monkey Springs Creek

Stream containing crushed granite that overflowed into creek

Quarry officials inspecting new berm