The Edisto River was named the fifth out of 10 most endangered rivers in the United States for 2015, a ranking by American Rivers that stems from excessive water withdrawals.
The national nonprofit conservation organization issued a press release of its top 10 list last month, but put an embargo on the information until today.
The Edisto River's main threat is excessive water use, which puts water supply and quality, the fish and wildlife habitat and recreation at risk, according to American Rivers.
"The Edisto River is one of South Carolina's most popular rivers for paddling, fishing and outdoor fun. It's also the state's most heavily used river for irrigation, and excessive agricultural water withdrawals are threatening water quality and the water supplies of other users," according to the press release.
Exactly one year ago, the South Fork of the Edisto River was ranked sixth out of the 10 most endangered American rivers in 2014; however, this year, the entire river is ranked due to the excessive water use and also the understanding that the Department of Agriculture and the South Carolina Farm Bureau are marketing South Carolina's rivers for out-of-state industrial use, according to Gerrit Jobsis, the Southeast Regional director of American Rivers.
"They are interested in getting more out-of-state business for water use; it's a real concern," Jobsis said.
"We're definitely in favor of agriculture, but we have no sustainable way (to market all of the water) in South Carolina right now and to bring in those large industrial-scale agriculture (businesses)," Jobsis said.
Just recently, South Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers said he's recruiting more "agribusiness" to permanently locate in South Carolina. That fact is one that concerns Tim Rogers, the president of the grassroots group Friends of the Edisto.
"The Midwest and the Western part of the country are obviously undergoing changes in their environmental circumstances, and to try to take advantage of that by recruiting big agricultural operations and inviting them to come to South Carolina based upon the proposition that ... we're blessed with an abundance of water resources and our representation that our laws and regulations, which govern the management of those resources, are among the most lax in the country - that's just absurd on its face," Rogers said. "Water is our most important natural resource, and to treat it so irresponsibly not only invites catastrophe, but is just bad, bad policy."
Wagener businessman Doug Busbee, who has been at the forefront at fighting what he calls South Carolina's "loose" water-surface laws, said he was disappointed the Edisto River moved from a sixth to fifth place, but said the bigger disappointment "was to be listed at all."
"South Carolina's water-surface laws are like having a highway with no speed limit; it's not a question of if there's going to be a wreck, but when," Busbee said.
Rogers said the ranking was both positive and negative - positive being the attention brought to the issue, but the negative being that this isn't the first time the Edisto has made this list and litigation to improve this issue is moving slowly.
A handful of Aiken County residents, including Busbee, gathered at the Statehouse in February to help introduce a bipartisan bill aiming to address what critics call a legal loophole allowing large-scale farming operations to be able to draw large amounts of water for irrigation without acknowledging the river and smaller farms.
The bill, co-sponsored by S.C. Rep. Bill Taylor, R-Aiken, if passed through the General Assembly, would require agricultural withdrawal requests of more than 3 million gallons per month to go through a permitting process, rather than just being registered.
Consulting with the Department of Natural Resources to assess the proposed changes would also be required, as would a longer public-notice period to allow more time for the public at large to study the request.
In addition, a minimum in-stream flow also would be required, eliminating the possibility of absolute drainage. A large-scale operation also would be required to have a backup water source to eliminate complete dependence on a river.
Two years ago, Michigan-based agribusiness Walther Farms drew criticism over its proposal to draw billions of gallons of water per year from the river to irrigate a potato farm on top of thousands of acres. A compromise in January 2014, however, cut the irrigation level.
Jason Walther, the business' president, told the Aiken Standard the original plan was for up to 6.4 billion gallons in the course of a year. The final agreement was for up to 3.2 billion, and the final amount used (in "a rather dry summer") was less than one billion, he said.
"I was assured today (in February) that the legislation we filed to require permitting of new water withdrawals will be taken very seriously by the House Agriculture Committee," Taylor wrote to the Aiken Standard. "Committee Chairman David Hiott, R-Pickens, considers the bill the first major proposed amendment to the 2010 Water Act, and he told me he will give the bill a fair hearing and listen to all sides of the issues. One of his first steps will be to bring his subcommittee to Aiken County and have them view first-hand the mega potato farm operated by Walther Farms on the Edisto River."
But Busbee said he'd like to see this action move at a greater speed.
"The Legislature and Farm Bureau has fought us tooth and nail against any protection on the surface water," Busbee said. "The DNR (Department of Natural Resources) spoke two years ago and said the law is a bad law with a loophole to allow these giant farms to come in. I am disappointed they (the Legislature) have not acted yet."
Maayan Schechter is the local government reporter with Aiken Standard. Follow her on Twitter @MaayanSchechter.