We have a habit of making it to the top (or bottom) of national lists from time to time here in South Carolina, and it looks like we’ve done it again.

The Wateree River, which is downstream of North Carolina’s Catawba River, gets us to the top of the list this time.

Requirements for getting on the ‘Most Endangered River’ list include: energy development, sewage pollution, over-development, and the effects they have on a river for a given year.

We can only hope that our state government does the right thing and steps up for it’s citizens, remembering that water is such an important part of our lifestyle here in South Carolina, whether upstate with the lakes and rivers, or here on the coast with our creeks and beaches.

Wired has an article out today on the worldwide impact the climate is having on Earth’s most abundant resource: water.

Without even reading their seven page article though, this infograph makes it apparent where this post is headed. I should, of course, point out the obvious up front: while individuals can’t really have all that big of an impact on Earth’s climate, we can curb our spending habits. So sorry GAP and all the other dungaree outfitters out there, I won’t be buying anymore jeans after seeing this image; I bet Levi Strauss & Co didn’t see this coming!

On the subject of saving water, we should all take a hint from the good people of Goat Island, that wonderful little nook of a paradise island right here off IOP: save your rain water. I haven’t gone and checked every house, but I have been to several for one reason or another over the years , and I can’t remember one that didn’t have a giant rainwater catching cistern under the house.

True, they don’t have water piped to the house (and from the owners I know, that’s a good thing), so it’s really more of a matter of necessity than being ‘green’ or frugal, but the point is, for every well that is dug here on the mainland for landscape usage, all that money and energy could be saved by tapping into the rainwater that falls from the sky for free.

Just the other day, the Today show had a segment about the Bush’s post-White House residence and their desire to go ‘green’. They will be saving their rainwater by not using any gutters, and instead, letting the water fall straight down into a pebble bed that filters it into an underground cistern for use later.

Coincidentally, I read How to Build a Rainwater Collection System a few weeks ago, something you may want to check out yourself.

With all the talk of drugs in our drinking water, it is no wonder that experts are now calling for increased testing. As this map shows, at least one pharmaceutical has been found in the water supply of 24 major metropolitan areas right here in the USA. In the bigger picture, 100+ different pharmaceuticals have been detected in surface waters around the world.

Unfortunately, this problem not only affects humans at the top of the food chain. Drugs in the water are causing problems for fish, wildlife too. From deformities in fish, to whole bird populations disappearing, it is a pandemic that needs serious attention immediately. Here is another map, this one showing clean drinking water usage for all the countries around the world.

It was discovered as recently as last summer that Coca-Cola Co’s Dasani & Pepsi’s Aquafina are not from the fresh springs many think they are. Consumers are buying, and drinking, the same drug-infected tap water that can be poured for free right from their faucet at home. That bottled water is costing the planet 314,000 barrels of oil a year, some food for thought the next time you’re at the local grocery store. The subject of water always reminds me of a tip a co-worker gave me about 10 years ago while programming at Cameron & Barkley: He mentioned how his daughter invests in nothing but water and water technology-related industries; I bet her portfolio is doing great nowadays. Another person doing some forecasting is Britain’s international development minister, Gareth Thomas. As if he timed it perfectly for World Water Day, he is urging countries to act quickly to help ensure world water supplies and prevent the coming ‘water wars‘.

“At the end of the day, that’s what we’re talking about, how much of the river are we leaving for the public and the ecosystem. You can’t simply dry up a river” - Sen. Chip Campsen, R-Isle of Palms, a Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee member.

For the rest of us here in the U.S., we’ve all heard about the problems with water out West, but SC has a few problems of its own. With industries flocking to SC for its low taxes and cheap payroll, several of them are intent on sucking SC’s streams dry. Recently, I stayed at a vacation house on Lake Hartwell. Little did I know until I got there, but the lake has lost so much water recently that you could literally walk across the lake bed. To illustrate the point, pictured is a decent sized clam somebody jokingly threw into the middle of the lake which I retrieved on my imagine-that walk-on-water walkabout. The funny thing was, a few weeks later, the Bassmaster Championships were held on this lake! If only the viewing public knew. While this particular circumstance is a climate / drought issue prime for another article, it foretells how our waterways will look in the future if corporations get their way.

As far as South Carolina Senator Chip Campsen is concerned, recent legislation to potentially allow future industry’s (existing ones are conveniently grand-fathered in already) to literally siphon our rivers down to dried up streams, may also affect our way of life here in South Carolina. “It’s about whether when we drop a boat in a river, is it going to hit the sand?” Judging from the image above, that’s happening already Upstate.

*UPDATE: Here is a response I just received from him on the matter:

Thank you for your correspondence regarding the Surface Water Bill (S.428). This is a very important bill that will allocate our finite water resources among competing interests for years to come.

Teddy Roosevelt is one of my heroes. A principle he expressed during his 1912 acceptance speech as the Bull Moose Party’s presidential candidate reflects my sentiments upon this current matter. Roosevelt said, “I do not intend that our natural resources should be exploited by the few against the interests of the many.”

While I am well aware it is appropriate to utilize water resources for industrial purposes, the integrity of river ecosystems - and the public’s use and enjoyment of those ecosystems - should always be our top concern.

I have been working hard to assure that enough water is reserved in our rivers to sustain a vibrant river ecosystem. Our stewardship responsibility over these resources dictates that preservation and sustainability of the resource must be our first priority. This is appropriate because our rivers are a public resource. If we falter in exercising prudent stewardship over our natural resources, we will lose the unparalleled quality of life we all enjoy in South Carolina.

Roosevelt possessed a deep sense that this stewardship responsibility was multi-generational. He said, “The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased, and not impaired, in value.” We should follow Roosevelt’s lead, and make sure we conserve our resources for generations to come.

It’s good to know somebody is looking out for us and our waterways. How coincidental though! Surely he didn’t know I was stationed on Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) during it’s commissioning…