Organization takes state to court over allegations of appalling inaction with waterway protection: 'The harms will only get worse'

As droughts and rising temperatures continue to plague different parts of the country, one organization is suing the state of South Carolina for failing to protect its waterways.

What's happening?

The Southern Environmental Law Center filed a lawsuit in July against South Carolina's Department of Environmental Services, claiming the agency is failing to control how much water is being pulled from rivers in the state by industrial farms. 

The suit alleges the department is misinterpreting a 2010 law meant to regulate the quantity of water taken by large-scale operations but is leaving large farms, or "mega farms," exempt from permitting requirements.

"DES's lax water protections draw interstate agriculture operations to South Carolina, where they can drain our rivers for free to the detriment of people, wildlife, and the shape and functioning of our rivers," according to a statement from Sara Green, executive director of the South Carolina Wildlife Federation, published in the State, a South Carolina newspaper. 

"The harms will only get worse as population growth and drier, hotter summers further strain our water resources in the coming years."

Why is water withdrawal important?

South Carolina, like many states across the country and around the world, is facing drought conditions. The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources declared areas around the Pee Dee and Grand Stand Rivers, two of the waterways impacted by the agricultural water withdrawals, as having severe drought status as of July. State climatologist Hope Mizzell told WMBF News that the jump is unprecedented. 

Environmentalists also report concerns that out-of-state agricultural businesses could swoop into South Carolina's waterways and take even more water due to lack of oversight, the State reported.

Drought conditions can drive up prices for farmers and consumers and are a larger symptom of continued global heating, resulting in extreme temperatures and wildfires.

What's being done about water withdrawal?

The Southern Environmental Law Center's lawsuit seeks to rein in large-scale farms and close the loopholes allowing for essentially unregulated water withdrawal. Meanwhile, farmers can continue efforts to make the land and crops more drought-resistant or resilient, similar to what's being done in West Virginia, which also recently declared a state of emergency due to extreme drought conditions.

On a smaller scale, everyone can work to waste less water and conserve energy, so we're spending fewer resources on dirty fuel sources and contributing less to the production of planet-heating gases. 

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