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Midlands Rivers Coalition Kicks Off Weekly Water Quality Monitoring
May 03, 2018
On May 2nd the Midlands Rivers Coalition, formerly known as the Lower Saluda River Coalition, began its second year of water quality monitoring of the major rivers in the Columbia area. This year, the monitoring has been expanded to include sampling locations on the Broad River in addition to existing sites on the Lower Saluda and Congaree Rivers. The testing will be done weekly and run from May through September. Weekly data will be posted each Thursday on HowsMySCRiver.org.
Created in 2016, the Midlands Rivers Coalition is made up of river related businesses, environmental organizations, academia, local and state government, recreation providers, property owners, industry and other users of the rivers. One of the main purposes of the coalition is to educate river users on water quality issues related to our rivers.
The Lower Saluda, Broad and Congaree Rivers are recreational destinations for public fishing, canoeing, kayaking, tubing, swimming and wading; and these activities involve contact with natural waters. As with most natural bodies of water, these rivers can be negatively impacted periodically by short-term events such as runoff from heavy rains, sewer overflows and other events. The program aims to enhance public awareness on these issues.
The primary objective of this program is to make water quality information more frequently and readily available to river users so they can make informed decisions on when to recreate in the river. This is the first program of its type for inland waters in South Carolina.
For more information on the program and the coalition visit HowsMySCRiver.org.
