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Research tells us what we must do for our rivers

Published Sunday, August 23, 2009
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The math and the message are simple:

Once you pave or build over 10 percent of a watershed's area, water quality starts to degrade.

If 10 percent of the land is covered by houses, roads, parking lots and other hard surfaces, oystering in the headwaters of tidal creeks is likely to be prohibited. If 30 percent or more of the land is covered, it brings the kinds of changes that can't be turned back completely.

That was the message delivered by ecologist Fred Holland, the former head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration marine lab in Charleston, to Bluffton officialsand more than 100 people who crowded Town Hall's auditorium Tuesday.

Holland's assessment is not guesswork; it is based on decades of detailed research. We ignore it at the peril of our waterways and our quality of life.

"You can't create the habitat once it's gone," Holland warned. "You can bring it back to something different ... but you can't get back what you lose."

Bluffton and Beaufort County officials must heed this message and pay more than lip service to it. Holland has delivered it 10 times since 1995, the year the county was working on its first comprehensive plan.

Officials in northern Beaufort County must heed it, too. Development there will affect waterways in the same way. It's guaranteed.

In many ways, the certainty makes their work easier. They must decide what level of development they want to live with -- 10 percent, 20 percent, 30 percent or more -- and understand the consequences of that choice.

Then they must do what it takes to get there. They must stop deluding themselves -- and the rest of us --with such abstract goals as "protect the river" and start dealing with the hard realities of what it takes to do that -- the short-term sacrifices that must be made for the long-term goal.

Every land use decision, every road project, every building permit should be seen through the prism of that stated goal.

Bluffton officials have long said they don't want to see oystering closed anywhere in the May River. If that's true, then hard surfaces should be limited to 10 percent or less of the river's watershed.

How do we measure up today? What can we expect if all approved development is completed?

Unfortunately, we're already seeing restrictions on shellfish harvesting in the upper reaches of the May River. Will we someday see the river closed to swimming?

The impact of altering stormwater flow can be tremendous. In a forested tidal creek area, Holland said, a heavy rainfall results in 16 percent runoff. In an urban tidal creek setting, the percentage of stormwater that reaches the creek goes to 63 percent.

That stormwater carries with it pollutants. But just as important to a saltwater estuary's tidal creeks and the creatures that live in them is the volume of freshwater. Freshwater affects the chemistry of the creeks, which are the nurseries of many creatures.

Holland also points out that local government officials hold the key. They control land use, population density, the amount of hard surfaces covering the land. They determine the scale and placement of new roads and buildings.

The strategy should be to minimize the alterations to freshwater flow to the waterways, he said, controlling rate, and most importantly, volume. Land use should be ecosystem based, and we should remember humans are part of the ecosystem.

He also warned that there's a monetary impact to allowing the wrong kind of development. Polluted waters affect property values. Higher income levels and higher property values can be linked to water quality. It's not hard to figure out: People with a lot of money move to beautiful places.

Longtime Bluffton resident Laura Floyd also spoke at Tuesday's Town Council meeting.

"We have the information," Floyd said. "We know what to do."

It is that simple. We know what to do, but do we have the will to do it? And if we don't, let's be honest about it.

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Your Elected Officials

U.S. Congress
State Government
  • Gov. Mark Sanford (R)
    Governor’s Office, State House, P.O. Box 12267, Columbia, S.C. 29211
    Office: (803) 734-2100 Fax: (803) 734-5167
  • Senator Tom Davis(R-District 46)
    P.O. Drawer 1107, Beaufort, 29901-1107
    (843) 252-8583
    602 Gressette Bldg., Columbia, 29201
    Bus. (803) 212-6008
  • Rep. Curtis Brantley (D-District 122)
    194 Bees Creek Rd., Ridgeland, 29936
    (843) 726-5998
    314D Blatt Bldg., Columbia, 29201
    (803) 734-2965
  • Rep. Richard Chalk (R-District 123)
    326C Blatt Building, Columbia, S.C. 29211-1867
    Office: (803) 734-3067; Home: (843) 842-5985
    15 Goldfinch Lane, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 29928
  • Rep. Shannon S. Erickson (R-District 124)
    (843) 986-1090
    306A Blatt Bldg., Columbia, 29201
    (803) 734-3261
  • Rep. Bill Herbkersman (R-District 118)
    P.O. Box 11867, Columbia, S.C. 29211
    Office: (803) 734-3063; Home: (843) 757-5424
    151 Gascoigne Bluff, Bluffton, S.C. 29910
  • Rep. Kenneth F. Hodges (D-District 121)
    PO Drawer 355, Green Pond, 29446
    (843) 525-9006 Home (843) 844-8756
    434B Blatt Bldg., Columbia, 29201
    (803) 734-3062
Beaufort County
  • Rick Caporale (R-District 1)
    17 Salt Wind Way, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 29926
    Office: 680-9999; fax: 681-6700
  • Steven Baer (R-District 2)
    10 Heather Lane, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 29926
    Office: 689-3570; fax: 689-3569
  • Stu Rodman (R-District 3)
    27 Baynard Park, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 29928
    Office: 363-470; fax: 363-6472
  • Weston J. Newton chairman (R-District 4)
    P.O. Drawer 7049, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 29938
    Office: 842-6111; fax: 706-9981
  • William McBride (D-District 5)
    P.O. Box 77, St. Helena Island, SC 29920
    Fax:(843)838-8303
    Home:(843)838-2264
  • Gerald Dawson (D-District 6)
    64-A Horace Dawsone Drive, Seabrook, SC 29940
    Fax:(843)846-4738
    Office:(843)846-4830
  • Paul Sommerville vice chairman (R-District 7)
    1509 Pigeon Point Road, Beaufort, SC 29902
    Fax:(843)379-7115
    Office:(843)379-7114
  • Herbert N. Glaze (D-District 8)
    P.O. Box 4053, Burton, SC 29903
    Fax:(843)846-3601
    Home:(843)846-2845
  • Brian Flewelling (R- District 9)
    25 Petigru Drive, Beaufort, SC 29902
    Fax:(843)379-9806
    Office:(843)379-9805
  • Jerry Stewart (R-District 10)
    11 Teaberry Lane, Bluffton, S.C. 29909
    Office: 705-4753; fax: 705-4723
  • Laura Von Harten (D-District 11)
    166 Fuller Parkway, Beaufort, SC 29902
    Fax:(843)379-1380
    Office:(843)379-1367
Beaufort County School District
  • District Office: 1300 King St., P.O. Drawer 309, Beaufort, SC 29902
    Office: 322-2300; fax: 322-2371
    Hilton Head Island office, 689-4635; fax: 689-4617
    • Beaufort County Board of Education members:
    • Fred S. Washington chairman (District 11)
      PO 325, 804 West Street, Beaufort, SC 29901
      (C) 843-524-8404
    • Bob Arundell vice chairman (District 2)
      198 Woodlake Villas, Hilton Head, S.C. 29926
      Home: 681-8502; work: 7855-8040; fax: 785-3056;
    • Joan Deery (District 1)
      5 old Fort Drive, Hilton Head, S.C. 29926
      Home: 681-8968
    • Wayne Carbiener (District 3)
      Home: 843-363-2113
    • Laura Bush (District 4)
      P.O. Box 172, Bluffton, S.C. 29910
      Home: 757-2638; fax: 757-2638
    • Michael F. Rivers, Sr. (District 5)
      734 Seaside Road, St. Helena, SC 29920
      (H) 843-838-2277
      FAX 843-838-1192
    • Earl Campbell (District 6)
      93 Bruce Smalls, Grays Hill, P.O. Box 768, Lobeco, SC 29931
      (H) 843-846-4531
      (C) 843-476-7512
      FAX 843-846-1373
    • Jim Bequette (District 7)
      4 Broomfield Lane 2532, Beaufort, SC 29907
      (H/C) 843-263-8327
    • Herbert Burnes (District 8)
      95 Pine Grove Road, Beaufort, SC 29906
      (H) 843-846-445
      (C) 843-263-2776
    • Ronald Speaks (District 9)
      3121 Palomino Dr., Burton, SC 29906
      (H) 843-525-1163
      (W) 843-525-8277
      FAX 843-525-1163
    • George Wilson (District 10)
      20 Osprey Circle, Callawassie Island, S.C. 29909
      Home: 987-1234; cell: 812-9870
City of Beaufort
Town of Hilton Head Island
  • Town Hall: One Town Center Court, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928; 341-4600
    • Town Council
    • Mayor Thomas D. Peeples
      4 Hartford Place, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928-3922
      Home: 686-4138; office: 681-2600; fax: 689-3229
    • Bill Ferguson (Ward 1)
      634 William Hilton Parkway, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
      Home: 686-2863
    • William Harkins (Ward 2)
      3 Old Fort Lane Hilton Head Island, SC 29926
      263-3261 - cell
    • Drew A. Laughlin (Ward 3)
      5 McIntosh Road, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
      Home: 689-5723; work 689-5700; fax 689-9300
    • John Safay (Ward 4)
      19 Starboard Tack, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
      Home: 785-4489; work: 785-4696; fax: 785-4696
    • George Williams (Ward 5)
      8 Braddock Cove, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
      Home: 363-6601; fax: 363-6604
    • Ken S. Heitzke (Ward 6)
      3 Audubon Place, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
      Home: 681-8182; fax: 681-9864
Town of Bluffton
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