Dwindling groundwater and mega farms highlight meeting in Lexington

State regulators will meet with the public Tuesday in Lexington to discuss tightening control over the amount of groundwater that industrial scale agricultural operations and other businesses use each year.

The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control meeting will be at 6 p.m. in Lexington Town Hall, the department said.

DHEC is proposing to require permits for those withdrawing large amounts of groundwater in a seven county area, including Lexington, Aiken and Orangeburg.

Groundwater levels have declined in many parts of the area, likely because of withdrawals from large farms and public water systems, the agency said in a report last spring. Studies dating to 2004 have called for regulation of groundwater withdrawals in the state’s inner coastal plain.

“As the development of the groundwater resource continues, further water level declines will be expected and the potential for adverse impacts to current and future groundwater users will become more frequent and serious over time,” DHEC’s 2017 report said.

DHEC plans another meeting in Aiken County at a later date. The agency’s board would have to sign off on groundwater restrictions for the area.

Many residents of Aiken County, as well as local government officials, want the groundwater rules to help protect water supplies. But farmers have expressed concern about the plan, saying they are responsible users of water.

Groundwater is one of two main irrigation issues facing the region. Big farms also have been criticized for using billions of gallons of river water. Environmentalists and Aiken County residents have called for tighter controls over river withdrawals.

This story was originally published January 15, 2018 at 3:27 PM with the headline "Dwindling groundwater and mega farms highlight meeting in Lexington."