Greenville County, SC, September 29, 2015 – Reedy River Water Quality Group (“RRWQG”) has been formed by community and conservation groups; City, County, and University partners; and State, Regional, and Federal partners to protect, preserve, and improve water quality in the Reedy River. The Group’s mission is to develop water quality improvement plans using water quality monitoring, river system modeling, public education on pollution prevention, successful practice review, and economic impact analysis.
A kickoff meeting was held in March 2015 with 75 attendees representing 29 various entities including local city and county agencies, homeowner groups, conservation groups, and area citizen that have come together and committed to developing and supporting the most efficient, equitable, and effective Watershed-Based Plans. RRWQG is composed of nine committees, which will develop the plans for taking care of the river. Committees include: Executive Committee, Best Management Practices, Economic Impact, Modeling, Monitoring, Public Outreach, Technical Steering, Allocations, and Stakeholder Advisory Group.
They key focus of the water quality improvement campaign is nutrient overload in the Reedy River. The EPA has recognized the negative impacts of nutrient overloads on river and therefore has offered their support of the RRWQG. RRWQG will base their efforts on 5R Watershed-Based Plans for Total Nitrogen and Total Phosphorus. Water quality plans are holistic and based on data, sound science, a review of proven water sector practices, and economic analysis. RRWQG will choose programs that have the highest benefit to the community and environment in the most cost effective way.
The data collected will be shared with partnering organizations as well as the general public in an effort to increase awareness of the water quality of the Reedy River and to engage citizens and groups to take part in protecting the Reedy River.
Information about RRWQG, its partners, and its programs can be found at http://cleanreedy.org. Resources about non-RRWQG programs and information concerning the Reedy River can also be found here.
For more information regarding RRWQG or to become a partner, contact Kirsten Robertson at 864-467-2755 x110 or visit http://cleanreedy.org.
