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“The South Carolina Comprehensive Statewide
Water Management Act”
SC House Bill H4393
By Rep Don Bowen (Anderson) &
Mike Massey (Past President Lake Hartwell Association)

Over the last several decades, South Carolina’s approach to water management has evolved in a diverse fashion due to a number of reasons such as federal and legislative mandates as well as localized and immediate water issues. Each requirement was frequently met as an independent legislative or policy effort as needed. This process, though adequate for the time, did not always provide adequate coordination or integration with other water management needs.

The state population and economy are growing and demands on the water are increasing. There is only so much water. As the population and business needs increase we must become more efficient about managing what we have. A comprehensive approach to water management is needed within the State containing well-defined practices and a departmentally integrated, project management approach to implementing them. The “The South Carolina Comprehensive Statewide Water Management Act” provides the means to solve that need.

Mike Massey, Bill Graham, Don Bowen at FOLKS Headquarters

The current state water plan was issued in January of 2004 by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. While reasonably thorough in its description of most water issues, it provides primarily guidelines for resolution to the water issues it discusses. It also proposes over 80 well-defined recommendations yet does not contain a timeline or project plan to assure the recommendations are followed-up and accomplished.

The current water plan also states that “the effective management of the state’s water resources is beyond the scope of any one agency or organization and will require cooperation and shared responsibility among federal, State, and local agencies, public and private parties” and again, does not propose a process to resolve this dilemma and bring the appropriate authorities together.

In addition, at the request of Governor Sanford, specific water issues were studied by a select committee in 2003. The Governor's "Water Law Report, January 2004", states the following conclusion: “Great opportunities exist, but so do time pressures to resolve key water management questions. The importance of the issues discussed in this report calls for the State’s very best efforts”. H 4393 provides impetus and will create the proper direction as well as an atmosphere of cooperation by which the State’s “very best efforts” can be achieved.

Water impacts specific to river basins or watersheds are also important aspects of this bill. Another prime recommendation from the current South Carolina Water Plan states: “The State should work to establish a river basin advisory committee for each of its four major basins”. A number of major concerns were associated with that recommendation. One was the potential interbasin transfer of water out of the basins such as the potential of one in the Savannah River Basin to serve the Metro-Atlanta needs. Other basin needs considered included saltwater intrusion, sustaining the quantity of water needed as well as quality monitoring. Two points emerged:

1. It is important to develop practices and laws in South Carolina that protect it and in some fashion match and coordinate the State efforts with the processes any neighboring state uses for its management of water basins.
2. Each water basin in the state should have separate management policies and practices. Currently all the water basins in the state are managed using primarily the same rules. There are, however, many variables affecting those basins. Factors such as water amounts available, need, differing economic requirements within the basin, residential and business growth projections, periodic variables, location of the basin, quantity and quality, recreation aspects, and many more, almost require that each basin be viewed and managed as an independent entity.

The “Act” provides the Department of Natural Resources the authority to develop a South Carolina comprehensive water “program” in a series of phases over several years through the efforts of a management organization called a "Water Board”. The Water Board consists of key managers and legislators within the State who have water-related responsibilities. The bill also calls for the creation of a Basin Advisory Committee for each of the major basins in the State to provide individual water resource plans unique to each basin. The basin plans will be coordinated and approved as part of the overall State policies managed by the Water Board.

The objective of the Water Board is for its members to work in cooperation with each other, organize advisory committees (including one for each basin), gather data, study all the water issues, propose integrated recommendations and resolutions. The final product will be a comprehensive water program designed to carry South Carolina into the future with a program of well defined process and set of practices. The water program will allow the state to be pro-active in water management and provide improved regulations and enforcement policies.

The proposed time-frame to have the program definition completed and approved by the General Assembly is prior to June 30, 2011. Actual implementation of the new water program would begin following that approval.