Could more money for testing mean a cleaner May River?
Just how polluted are waterways like the May River?
For state regulators, it can often be hard to tell.
But S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control officials believe an extra nearly $1 million will help make determining that a little easier.
The agency is asking state lawmakers for an additional $945,000 this year to hire 16 new employees and buy more laboratory equipment to test the water quality of state's rivers and streams more frequently.
"Strengthening the program and beefing up water testing is definitely one of our big priorities," DHEC spokesman Jim Beasley said Friday.
Larry Toomer said earlier this week that he has "been asking for more frequent tests for the past 20 years."
Toomer is Bluffton city council member and owner of Bluffton Oyster Company, a May River shellfishing operation.
In recent years, DHEC has had to reduce the frequency of sampling and the number of sampling stations around the state "due to budget cuts," according to agency documents.
Because of the infrequent sampling, DHEC's data "may not be fully representative of actual water quality ... (and) water quality may appear worse than actual conditions." the documents say.
Last October, DHEC water testing found increased levels of fecal coliform, a bacteria found in stormwater runoff, in a portion of the May.
As a result, a roughly mile-long section of the river near Palmetto Bluff was shut down for shellfish harvesting.
Toomer said more frequent testing could help pinpoint sources of contamination, allow town officials to develop more effective river cleanup policies, and ultimately reopen portions of the river for shellfishing.
"If you have (a pollutant) degrading the quality of the water ... it will be a lot easier to find the source of the problem when you test more frequently," he said. "And if we have a better idea of where contamination is coming from, then we know what kind of gun to take to the hunt when we're looking for ways to cut down (water pollution)."
Kim Jones, Bluffton's director of engineering and former head of the town's stormwater division, said she can't speculate as to what impact additional DHEC money could have on May River water testing.
But, "in most cases, more data gives you a better representation of water quality," Jones said Friday.
Andrew Wunderley, who leads Charleston Waterkeeper, agrees.
Charleston Waterkeeper is one of several nonprofit groups around the state that pick up some of water testing slack left by DHEC budget cuts.
"The more data you have, the less skewed it is and the more reliable it is likely going to be," Wunderley said earlier this week.
His group tests water from portions of Shem Creek around Charleston as often once a week.
Samples from DHEC's May River facility in Bluffton are tested six times a year, Beasley said.
While the Bluffton area has organizations such as Neighbors for Clean Water that promote healthy waterways, Jones said she was not aware of any local groups that perform their own testing.
That makes frequent DHEC tests even more critical, Toomer said.
"It should definitely be a priority. Our rivers are one of our most important resources," he said.
Follow reporter Lucas High on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Lucas.
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This story was originally published January 18, 2016 at 4:54 PM with the headline "Could more money for testing mean a cleaner May River?."