Stories

DHEC stream team with Wingate University interns at Thompson Creek

Water is the lifeblood of the land, and there’s a lot flowing here at the Southern Eighths Field Station. With 4 miles of frontage on Thompson Creek, and 11 miles of smaller tributary streams flowing from the property to the Great Pee Dee River, caring for the quality and quantity of that water is a responsibility we take very seriously. After all, the full diversity of life on Earth, people, plants, and animals, depends on reliable sources of clean, plentiful water.

So, you can imagine our excitement when a talented team of aquatic scientists from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) joined us at Southern Eighths for several visits this spring. They came to learn more about our corner of the state, assist us in understanding the quality and quantity of water, and what we can do to care for it.

While many landowners balk at the thought of regulatory agencies visiting their properties, our Carolina Wildlands team was thrilled to show them our local streams, ponds, and discuss our concerns about agricultural impacts. Bryan Rabon, Lindsey Lachenmeyer, and the stream team from DHEC’s Bureau of Water/Aquatic Science Program brightened up our spring by:

• Highlighting their focus on understanding the quality and quantity of water across our state, and addressing the potential impacts to those aquatic ecosystems from pollution and withdrawals
• Helping us understand how our own monitoring of water quality and quantity could be part of statewide efforts, such as DHEC’s Adopt-a-Stream program
• Offering expert field training to our Field Biology Interns from Wingate University to sample benthic macroinvertebrate insects as indicators of the aquatic health of Thompson Creek, then attending the final presentations by our Interns and Research Fellows
• Introducing us to the University of South Carolina’s Clean Water Institute, to explore future collaboration on stream research
  Scheduling a meeting with Myra Reece when our own Brianna Bergamini and Morgan Warner presented their overview of the Thompson Creek watershed
• Scheduling a meeting with Myra Reece, DHEC’s Director of Environmental Affairs, during which our own Brianna Bergamini and Morgan Warner presented their overview of the Thompson Creek watershed

We believe that the connections we’ve made with DHEC’s Bureau of Water will benefit the Thompson Creek watershed for years to come. Thompson Creek, like many watersheds across the Carolinas, faces impacts from the dual challenges of poor agricultural management practices and overdevelopment. Keeping our waterways clean and healthy will require us all to serve as water protectors – to learn more about what you can do in your own watershed check out DHEC’s Adopt-a-Stream program.

Hear Bryan Rabon of DHEC speak about DHEC’s mission and their relationship with Carolina Wildlands Foundation.

Note: This July 1st, DHEC will reorganize into two separate departments: the South Carolina Department of Environmental Service (SCDES), which includes the Bureau of Water, and the South Carolina Department of Public Health (SCDPH).