Novinger: SC Water-use requirements must be based on sound science

In South Carolina, we are known for our sweet peaches, savory greens, towering pines and exquisite palettes of flowering azaleas. We are blessed with an abundance of products that sustain us and enrich our lives thanks to the farmers who call our state home. This rich growing environment is due to our precious resources — our soil, our air, our water.

Much attention lately has focused on our water and how we use it and how we protect it. Water resources are an important piece of South Carolina’s economic development future, and that is why we must develop a comprehensive framework that will improve the state’s long-term water-management prospects, before any changes are made to laws regulating surface-water withdrawal. Decisions made for future water use must be based on sound science and historical data.

An assessment of the state’s water resources, approved by the General Assembly, is being conducted by the Department of Health and Environmental Control and the Department of Natural Resources in coordination with Clemson University. The study includes a stakeholder process that will result in a plan for water use and conservation. This is good news for all water users, especially South Carolina’s largest industry: agribusiness.

Measuring water resources is critical in an industry dependent upon availability and access. Farmers understand that in order to conserve this valuable resource, they must use environmentally friendly practices to produce crops. With today’s advanced irrigation systems, farmers are able to use only the water that is needed for production. Agriculture is one of the smallest users of surface water in the state. In fact, agriculture uses only 3 percent of the total surface water drawn in South Carolina. Most of the surface water that agriculture uses comes from private farm ponds. Unlike other water users, farmers do not use irrigation during periods of wet weather and seldom use the as much as they are registered to utilize. The vast majority of water used for irrigation comes from groundwater wells, for which a permitting process is in place.

Forestry and agriculture are an economic powerhouse to the state, providing $41.7 billion annually to the economy and 212,000 jobs. Sustaining and expanding this critical contributor to the state’s economic well-being is essential. As the S.C. Department of Agriculture develops strategies to increase the economic contribution to $50 billion by the year 2020, we must look not only at opportunities, but also at obstacles that hinder the industry’s ability to remain in business.

In 2010, after years of water research and collaboration and consensus with business leaders, conservationists and farmers, the General Assembly passed the Surface Water Withdrawal Permitting Act. This law represents cooperation and teamwork. Sufficient time needs to be allowed for the agencies to collect the requisite data under the current system to see if adjustments are warranted. Our conservation colleagues support of a beachfront-management bill they referred to as science-based. We would hope they would also want science-based laws for water resources.

The Surface Water Law is one part of a multi-layered water-resource protection plan. It is important to understand that agricultural users are not exempt from our current laws. They are subject to a responsible registration process before any water is drawn, which holds them accountable for their water usage. In times of drought, the Drought Response Act kicks in to protect our water resources, and the governor can declare an emergency to curtail water use, including agricultural water use.

Farmers are our environmental stewards of the land and producers of our food supply. They must have a stable regulatory environment to continue to protect our quality of life.

This story was originally published April 13, 2015 at 2:00 AM with the headline "Novinger: SC Water-use requirements must be based on sound science."