The health of the Reedy River continues to improve but challenges remain, according to the 2022 Reedy River Report Card released May 3 by the Reedy River Water Quality Group.
The report card comes out every three years, and among the findings in the most recent version, the report notes phosphorus levels in the river have dropped by 90% since 1990. On the other hand, elevated nitrogen levels — mainly from nutrient pollution from things like fertilizer — have been noted in Boyd’s Mill Pond near Ware Shoals and Lake Greenwood along the river’s lower reaches in Laurens County.
According to ReWa watershed biologist Sharon Appell, water pollution from nutrient runoff is an ongoing concern along the Reedy. But, she points out, it is a preventable problem where area residents, and not just those along the river, can have a direct impact on improving water quality.
“The main driver [of the report card] is for people to realize they don’t have to live on the river to make a difference,” Appell says. “We want people to celebrate the positive things … but we don’t want them to become complacent.”
Among the successes to improving the health of the river and the public’s enjoyment of it are stream-bank-stabilization efforts and increased river access. The ongoing expansion of the Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail and the development of Unity Park have helped raise awareness of the vital role the Reedy River plays in the overall health and wellness of the community.
This will be increasingly important as the Greenville area continues to grow, according to Lake Conestee Nature Preserve executive director Michael Corley.
“If the urban Reedy River watershed is a sink, Conestee Nature Preserve is the drain,” Corley says. “What that means from a practical standpoint is that whatever washes into the Reedy from the city and its suburbs ends up concentrating in the waters of the preserve.”
He says that while individual residents can make a difference, large-scale, policy-based action is necessary to preserve the long-term health of the river.
“No river can be healthy when its very banks are lined with development,” Corley says. “One of the most important things we can do for water quality is to give the Reedy room to function as a river.”
While that is precisely the function of Lake Conestee Nature Preserve, Corley says both leaders and residents must be proactive in expanding that natural river function beyond the preserve’s boundaries.
To get involved or to learn more about efforts to protect the Reedy River, visit friendsofthereedyriver.org.
