Stay out of river running through Columbia due to high bacteria levels, officials say
A wastewater treatment plant has warned people to stop swimming in the lower Saluda River after high levels of bacteria were discovered in the water near Columbia.
A test showed a high amount of E. coli was found in the river near Palmetto Wastewater Reclamation’s Stoop Creek treatment plant, officials said Tuesday in a news release. The plant discharges into Stoop Creek, which then flows into the Saluda River between Interstates 20 and 26, northwest of Columbia in the St. Andrews-Irmo area, above Riverbanks Zoo & Garden.
Because the dangerous level of bacteria was found, Palmetto Wastewater Reclamation said all recreational activity in that section of the river should be stopped. That includes activities like swimming, kayaking, wading, tubing and paddling.
The Congaree Riverkeeper — the environmental organization dedicated to protecting the Congaree, Saluda and Broad rivers — also issued a water quality alert for the area of the river downstream from I-20 because of the discharge of wastewater with elevated bacteria levels.
A Facebook page dedicated to the Saluda Riverwalk also shared news about “sewage incoming from upstream.”
The ban on swimming and other recreation activities will be lifted once daily testing shows E. coli levels are “back within the normal range,” Palmetto Wastewater Reclamation officials said.
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control has been notified about the situation, according to the release.
In July, DHEC took an enforcement action against Palmetto Wastewater Reclamation because it did not comply with E. coli discharge limits, documents show.
That violation was the only enforcement issued against the wastewater company in the past five years, according to DHEC. While Palmetto Wastewater Reclamation could have faced a $10,000 fine for every day of the violation, it was ordered to pay a $2,800 penalty, documents show.
In August, swimming and recreation activities were also stopped in the Saluda and Congaree rivers, days after a significant sewage spill at the Stoop Creek sewage plant. At that time, DHEC said the amount of sewage that leaked into the rivers was not known, but confirmed that the facility is permitted for processing 2 million gallons of sewage per day.
Sewer spills have been a threat to the Saluda River and other area rivers for years because of aging utility lines and, in some cases, poorly run treatment plants or flooding.
The plant at Stoop Creek has had its share of those troubles. Under former owners, the plant had an array of problems, including one in 2008 that allowed up to 1 million gallons of sewage to spill into the Saluda River, The State has previously reported. Regulators warned against swimming in the river for several days during the summer’s prime recreation season that year.
Stoop Creek also suffered from a major pipe break in 2016. The broken pipe allowed poorly treated sewage to leak possibly for weeks.
Staff writer Sammy Fretwell contributed to this report.
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