The small city of Denmark is in an uproar over the quality of its drinking water. The recent discovery that Denmark used an unapproved chemical in the water is at the center of renewed concerns.
Some South Carolina towns have developed regional water systems. Others still rely on their own utilities to bring in revenue, even with pollution safety concerns, rising repair costs and less customers.
Small South Carolina water systems struggle to decrease the amount of lead in locally piped tap water. More than 40 small water systems have exceeded the lead standard since 2011.
Many South Carolina utility companies don’t add fluoride to the tap water people drink. Dentists say this increases tooth decay patient numbers, and that the poorest residents suffer with high dental work bills.
The Jenkinsville Water System company failed to inform customers drinking water was contaminated with bacteria. Other small water systems have had troubles with chemicals, nitrates and heavy metals.
South Carolina water systems often are not penalized heavily for safe drinking water violations, despite government health department citations for an array of problems. Many systems don’t have money to pay fines.
Dillon dentist Kent Bracey pulls a lot of teeth at his rural practice. He says lots of sugary soda intake and rural water systems that do not provide fluoride are part of the reason.
SC sex trafficking survivors are being charged with crimes while they were victimized. And people rescued from the streets have few options available to keep them safe, leading to re-victimization.
S.C. criminalized human trafficking in 2012. But many victims have been brainwashed and manipulated, making it difficult for police to execute an arrest and prosecutors to secure a conviction under the new law.
Beth Messick searches the darkest corners of Greenville, SC for human trafficking victims. Inspired by her love for the community, she founded Jasmine Road, a housing program that helps victims heal and create a new life.
Horry County police have arrested numerous prostitution suspects in SC massage parlors. Victim advocates say cops arrest women instead of solving the issue of human trafficking rings in the US.
Beth Messick, executive director of Jasmine Road in Greenville, SC, searches through hundreds of advertisements for sex and meets women in jail, all in an effort to identify victims of sex trafficking.
Labor trafficking happens at South Carolina massage businesses when women in debt come to the US under false promises. Here’s how the organized crime network works and possible solutions to forced prostitution.
Familial Trafficking, people recruiting and trafficking their own family members for sex in exchange for money or drugs, is a growing problem and is happening in every corner of South Carolina.
Parents in South Carolina who need day care for children face waiting lists, costly fees, lotteries & a tuition price that can exceed college & mortgage payments due to high demand, The State found in a survey.
S.C. law enforcement and the Department of Social Services sometimes don’t communicate when home day care providers are arrested or investigated. And DSS isn’t sharing information within its own department.
Regulators from the SC Department of Social Services found roach infestations, overcrowded homes and other threats to children in some home day cares, open to annual, unannounced inspections since a 2014 law.
