About Us

The Reedy River Water Quality Group has one mission. We want to protect, preserve, and improve water quality in the Reedy River. To do this, we’ve gathered local city and county agencies, homeowners groups, conservation groups, and area citizens to work together toward reducing the amount of nutrients flowing into the river.

A kick-off meeting was held in March 2015, and 75 people attended to learn about the project, ask questions, discuss ideas, and join one of the committees that had their first meetings that day. These committees will develop the plans for taking care of the river.

The Group will monitor water quality, model the river system, teach the public about pollution prevention, review successful practices, and analyze economic impact. We will choose programs that will have the highest benefit to the community and the environment in the most cost friendly way.

What does 5(r) mean?

A lot of folks want to know what the 5 “R”s are when we talk about a 5(r) group. The first two must be Reedy and River, right? Nope! We’re not talking about five words starting with the letter “R”. Instead, 5(r) stands for a section number in the EPA Clean Water Act (CWA). This is the section of the CWA that makes a new process that uses a “bottom-up” approach to clean our rivers and lakes. Instead of the Government creating a regulatory plan, this process encourages local involvement and citizen action to reduce pollutants in water. The 5(r) approach means that pollution reduction in the Reedy River watershed is not being driven by a State-created plan. Just the opposite: the watershed stakeholders are creating the water quality improvement plan for the watershed.

Following this new process established by EPA and DHEC, the Reedy River Water Quality Group has become a national leader in water quality restoration by working with the public to reduce the amount of pollutants flowing into the river.

Come join us!

Do It On Your Lawn

Do what on your lawn? Wash your car!

This summer, don’t worry about what your neighbors will say. Just get outside and do it on your lawn.

Wash your car, that is…

All innuendoes aside, the health of the Reedy River is no joke. Like most great cities, Greenville owes much of its success to the natural resources that have drawn people here for centuries. The banks of the Reedy River have seen a transformation that is hard to imagine. As the landscape has changed, so have the sources of pollution. Historically, mills, textile plants, and other industries had a lot to do with the health of the Reedy. Today, however, it’s often down to the accumulation of our individual actions. Something as simple as washing your car on lawn or gravel can stop pollution from flowing into the Reedy.

Most soap contains phosphorus, which in abundance, can impair waterways and lead to nutrient pollution. According to the EPA, too many nutrients cause algae to grow faster than ecosystems can handle, harming water quality, habitats, food resources, and decreasing the oxygen that aquatic life needs to survive. These nutrients, together with the dirt and oil washed from cars, can flow into nearby ditches or storm drains that run directly into local rivers, lakes, and streams.

We need a clean Reedy to ensure that the Upstate has a healthy environment, economy, and community! Do it on your lawn for the Reedy.

Washing your car on grass or gravel helps stop pollution from flowing into our waterways.

Most car washing supplies contain chemicals that harm fish and water quality.
These chemicals, together with the dirt and oil washed from your car, flow into nearby storm drains which run directly into our waterways.
Washing your car on the lawn or on gravel will allow the soil to filter out pollutants.

Your Carolina – Clearing up common misconceptions about the Reedy River

A news article shared on Facebook a few weeks back generated a lot of comments about the Reedy River and its current state. Lynn and Shelby are here to clear up some common misconceptions and to tell us about a group that’s working to improve the Reedy.

RRWQG 3rd “Big Tent” Meeting

Officials from more than 25 local governments, conservation groups and public utilities will be meeting on November 15, 2017 to discuss the future of the Reedy River at the third “Big Tent” event. [Read More…]