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Okatie River to be studied for pollution to protect shellfish beds

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The Okatie River is in trouble and a state agency has made it a top priority to restore it for shellfish harvesting.

The river is one of 970 impaired waterways in the state. The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control is taking steps to change that.

Currently, shellfish harvesting is restricted along the Okatie except at the river's confluence with the Colleton River, said Mike Monday, DHEC's shellfish manager and water quality coordinator for Beaufort County.

Mihir Mehta of the state's Bureau of Water said the Okatie is a priority because the pollution is affecting the local economy.

To improve the river's water quality, DHEC is developing a program specific to shellfish harvesting waters, called "TMDL" -- Total Maximum Daily Load. Those letters represent the maximum amount of a specific pollutant a body of water can take in and still meet state water quality standards.

In the case of the Okatie, state officials are targeting fecal coliform -- a pollutant that restricts shellfish harvesting. In 1995, about 500 acres of shellfish waters in southern Beaufort County were closed to harvesting because of high fecal coliform levels.

Since then, the Okatie's water quality hasn't improved, Monday said.

A TMDL study would identify the pollution sources, which could be domestic or farm animals, failing septic tanks, or stormwater drainage systems.

Once water quality experts determine the maximum amount of pollutants that can flow into the water without causing damage, they will identify ways to control pollutants. Water quality monitoring would continue daily.

The program must be approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which is still processing the state's request.

Mehta said the state is also considering ways to protect waterways not yet impaired, such as the May River. The EPA will not pay for a TMDL program in an uncontaminated waterway, he said.

Instead, the state is considering developing a watershed base plan with the town of Bluffton, Mehta said, that would analyze the river and determine how to protect it.

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