What you don't see in the Catawba River is what's doing the most harm

In the murky waters of the Catawba River and the ripples of its peaceful creeks and streams lurk potential threats to people and wildlife.

Harmful bacteria and chemical elements pouring into the Catawba River Basin from homes, stormwater runoff and sewage spills have caused parts of the Catawba and most of its tributaries to miss the mark on federal clean water standards, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, putting public health and aquatic life at risk.

The problem is severe enough that at least one environmental group this summer said the Catawba River Basin has "the most concentrated" water pollution in the state.

The Catawba River Basin in South Carolina begins at Lake Wylie on the state line in northern York County and runs downstream along the Catawba River to Lake Wateree, south of Great Falls in Kershaw County. The basin includes dozens of streams and creeks that feed the river along the way.

Of the 127 sites along these waters DHEC monitors regularly, 78 failed to meet federal standards for supporting recreation or aquatic life between 2000 and 2004, according to the most recent DHEC data. Most sites were contaminated by fecal bacteria, copper, phosphorous and various chemicals, according to DHEC reports.

The 78 sites are scattered throughout the entire basin.

Earl Meyer, chairman of the S.C. Sierra Club's water committee, and a team of eight retired engineers and scientists have been studying the data for the past year. They've compared the eight major basins in the state, and concluded the Catawba, Lake Marion and the Greenville-Spartanburg areas are home to the three most polluted waters in South Carolina, Meyer said.
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