Planning to get in the river? Be sure to check the latest water quality results first.

This week the Midlands Rivers Coalition began its tenth season of recreational water quality monitoring of the major rivers in the Columbia area. The monitoring includes 11 sample locations on the Lower Saluda, Broad, and Congaree Rivers. The testing is conducted weekly and published from May through September. Samples are collected on Wednesdays, and the results are posted to HowsMySCRiver.org each Thursday. If a sample does not meet the state standard for contact recreation a swimming advisory is issued and a follow-up sample is collected and those results are published the next day. 

The Midlands Rivers Coalition is made up of stakeholders from environmental organizations, local and state governments, academia, recreation providers, and businesses, all working to make water quality information more frequently and readily available to river users so they can make informed decisions, and to educate river users on water quality issues.

The Lower Saluda, Broad, and Congaree Rivers are recreational destinations for public fishing, canoeing, kayaking, tubing, swimming and wading; and these activities involve contact with natural waters. As with most natural bodies of water, these rivers can be negatively impacted periodically by short-term events such as runoff from heavy rains, sewer overflows and other events. The program aims to enhance public awareness of these issues.