Home > News > 2007 Achievements

FOLKS' goal is to preserve, protect and enhance Lake Keowee by Education, Advocacy, Cleaning & Monitoring. A summary of 2007 actions in each area follows:

Cleans:

• The Spring & Fall Lake Litter Sweep cleaned the entire 300+ shoreline
• Worked with Walhalla Uitlities to remediate sanitary sewage overflows
• Work on 1/4 million $ Grant to bring Cane Creek up to state standards
• Worked with Boys Troop Troop 45 to identify & mark storm drains "no dump"
• Our Ombudsmen took action on callers' concerns such as sediment etc

Monitors:

• Continued 4 different monitoring projects to measure Lake Keowee health:
• Secchi Disc - Which measures water clarity
• Tile Project - That measures rate of algal growth
• Chlorophyll A - indicator of nutrient levels in the water
• Hydrosonde - Measures oxygen, temp and conductivity at various depths

Educates:

• Published 6 Sentinels focusing on erosion, sediment & water quality
• Developed the LID project which demonstrated low impact lake landscapes
• Held several educational Forums (public meetings) regarding lake issues
• Worked with Clemson & local High School students on lake projects
• Worked projects with Boy Scout Troops 45 &120 and Cherokee Boy's School
• Provided boats for Clemson Extension week long 4H2O Pontoon Classroom
• Did same for Belarusian Children of Chernobyl & Picken Leadership grads
• Participated in Boating Safety Day, Native Plant Workshop, Library Earth Day
• Participated in National Hunting-Fishing Day, Square D Fair, Newcomers Club
• Web site & Sentinel informed public on Drought & Duke Shoreline Mgmt Plan
• Improved web site traffic to over 29 thousand visitor sessions a year

Advocates:

• Took part in push to establish Stumphouse Tunnel lands as 'park'
• Worked to encourage Oconee to create lake buffer for new construction
• Proposed Oconee Y-valve regulation to prevent lake dumping from boats
• Provided input to Federal Regulators on Warpath Project and info to public.
• Provided suggestions to reduce Warpath's impact upon the lake
• Encouraged early water conservation during the summer-fall drought
• Continued work with local, state government, Clemson, DHEC, DNR, Duke

To Accomplish these goals we raised $ and re-established member contact by:

• Meeting goals to obtains funds from 1/4 million $ grant from EPA-DHEC
• Gained Cliffs Communities& Dreyfus* grants for LID landscape demo
• Renewed and better organized membership & year-end fund drives
• Annual Theater Party to raise money and renew membership contacts
• Established FOLKS Endowment with profits that help fund all above
• Annual Golf tournament
• Improved business advertising to self-support the Sentinel Newsletter
• Annual Member Meeting- Picnic and volunteer recognition

This author apologizes to the volunteers who have worked on projects that he has failed to list.

*Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation