What’s at Stake

Polluted stormwater runoff is a large and growing problem with increasing quantities of sediment, nutrients and toxic contaminants washing from the land into the nearest stream every time it rains. Unfortunately, current laws make it difficult or impossible for communities to effectively manage stormwater.

Stormwater runoff pollutes water in three different ways. First, poor erosion control practices on construction sites allow enormous quantities of sediment to flow into streams, suffocating aquatic life. Second, stormwater that washes over streets, roofs, parking lots, and other “developed” surfaces carries fertilizer, motor oil, heavy metals, bacteria, and other pollutants directly into nearby waters. And third, flooding that can result from poorly managed stormwater often causes stream banks to become unstable, leading to massive erosion of streambanks.

The bottom line is we must take stormwater management as seriously as we take sewage treatment, or result will be the permanent degradation of our rivers, lakes, and coastal marshes.

Challenges

Stormwater management in South Carolina is fractured and incoherent, with contradictory rules and overlapping mandates. In some parts of the state, DHEC is directly responsible for stormwater. In other areas, authority has been delegated to local government, but certain types of facilities—schools, for instance—remain under DHEC’s jurisdiction. The patchwork is confusing for everyone involved.

To make matters worse, the rules that govern stormwater planning have the effect of making developers and regulators alike argue that any problems that result are someone else’s fault. Developers are responsible for drawing up plans for stormwater management during construction as well as designs for post-construction systems. But regulators often pick the plans apart, requiring numerous changes before granting approval. If the system then fails finger-pointing often takes precedence over problem-solving. Finally, even with a stormwater plan in place, there is no guarantee that it will actually do anything to reduce flooding or improve water quality. 

Next Steps

• Set rigorous local stormwater quality standards and let developers decide how best to meet those standards.
  
  
• Provide strong incentives for designing developments in ways that reduce the amount of runoff produced in the first place.

Fast Facts

Typically, stormwater retention basins in South Carolina are designed to hold back only the largest storms. 

Runoff from more frequent smaller storms simply passes right through a standard basin and is discharged untreated into the water bodies we use for swimming, boating, fishing and drinking water.

Sediment clouds water and debris such as plastic bags, six-pack rings, bottles and cigarette butts can choke, suffocate or disable ducks, fish, turtles and birds.