scholarly journals A Case Study in Watershed-Based Plan Development and Implementation for the May River Watershed in Bluffton, South Carolina

Author(s):  
Kimberly W. Jones ◽  
Ronald Bullman

The Town of Bluffton, South Carolina was a one square mile coastal village until it experienced exponential growth in the early 2000s, and today is approximately 54 square miles. Until this recent growth, few sources of possible impairments to water quality were recognized within the watershed, and even fewer within close proximity to the river itself. In 2007, the Town was told by the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) that fecal coliform levels in the May River headwaters were increasing and in 2009 the river received a shellfish harvesting classification down-grade. In response to this down-grade, the Town of Bluffton, with Beaufort County and stakeholders, committed to take action to restore shellfish harvesting in the river and to prevent further degradation to the river. Following the U.S. EPA (EPA) guidelines for developing watershed plans, Town staff worked for nearly a year with consultants, Beaufort County, topic experts and local residents to develop the May River Watershed Action Plan which was adopted by Town Council in November 2011.

1993 ◽  
Vol 110 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. P. Luby ◽  
J. L. Jones ◽  
J. M. Horan

SUMMARYBetween January and June 1990, Restaurant A in Greenville, South Carolina repeatedly failed local health department inspection and was repeatedly sanctioned. In September 1990, two persons, hospitalized with salmonellosis after attending a convention catered by Restaurant A, contacted the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. We inspected Restaurant A, interviewed food handlers, and surveyed by telephone persons from every sixth business attending the convention. Of 398 persons interviewed, 135 (34%) reported gastroenteritis. Nine had culture-confirmed salmonella infection. People who ate turkey were 4.6 times more likely to become ill than those who did not eat turkey (95% confidence interval 2.0, 10.6). We estimate that of 2430 attendees, 824 became ill. Sanitarians judged Restaurant A's kitchen too small to prepare over 500 meals safely. The cooked turkey was unrefrigerated for several hours, incompletely rewarmed, and rinsed with water to reduce its offensive odour prior to serving. Stronger sanctions may be needed against restaurants that repeatedly fail local health department inspection.


1992 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muzaffer Uysal ◽  
Robert S. Pomeroy ◽  
Thomas D. Potts

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Steven McMahan ◽  
Stella Self ◽  
Lior Rennert ◽  
Corey Kalbaugh ◽  
David Kriebel ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTBACKGROUNDWastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) provides an opportunity for near real-time, cost-effective monitoring of community level transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater can identify the presence of COVID-19 in the community, but methods are lacking for estimating the numbers of infected individuals based on wastewater RNA concentrations.METHODSComposite wastewater samples were collected from three sewersheds and tested for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. A Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious-Removed (SEIR) model based on mass rate of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the wastewater was developed to predict the number of infected individuals. Predictions were compared to confirmed cases identified by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control for the same time period and geographic area.RESULTSModel predictions for the relationship between mass rate of virus release to the sewersheds and numbers of infected individuals were validated based on estimated prevalence from individual testing. A simplified equation to estimate the number of infected individuals fell within the 95% confidence limits of the model. The unreported rate for COVID-19 estimated by the model was approximately 12 times that of confirmed cases. This aligned well with an independent estimate for the state of South Carolina.CONCLUSIONSThe SEIR model provides a robust method to estimate the total number of infected individuals in a sewershed based on the mass rate of RNA copies released per day. This overcomes some of the limitations associated with individual testing campaigns and thereby provides an additional tool that can be used to better inform policy decisions.


Author(s):  
Scott V. Harder ◽  
Joseph A. Gellici ◽  
Andrew Wachob

Groundwater levels are examined to document and evaluate short- and long-term trends observed in each of the major aquifers in the State. Data are compiled from groundwater-monitoring networks maintained by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The data are used in the support of groundwater management and allocation, assessment of droughts, groundwater-flow modeling, and resource assessment. Hydrographs from approximately 170 wells are reviewed with periods of record ranging from 1 to 56 years.


Author(s):  
Hongjuan Zhang ◽  
Qian Pang ◽  
Huan Long ◽  
Haochen Zhu ◽  
Xin Gao ◽  
...  

To make environmental management decisions more executive and targeted, it is essential for decision-making to include local residents’ perceptions and preferences for ecosystem services (ES) and biodiversity (BD). This study conducted a questionnaire survey with 386 local residents to explore social perceptions for ES and BD in the Fenghe River watershed. ES contain food from agriculture (AGR), food from livestock (LIV), fresh water (FW), air purification (AP), water purification (WP), water retention (WR), soil retention (SR), aesthetics (AES), recreation (RE), and spirit (SP) in this study. Ranking and Likert scales are combined to identify residents’ preferences for ES and BD. The hypothetical market method is used to identify the willingness to pay for BD and ES. Independent sample T-test, one-way ANOVA, and Spearman correlation are used to analyze preference heterogeneity. The results show that: (1) residents prefer WP, AP, AGR, and FW; (2) 51.3% of respondents are willing to pay a fee for improving ES while 48.7% of respondents are unwilling to pay; (3) residents’ personal and residential factors affect preference heterogeneity. Last, we put forward three management suggestions on controlling environmental pollution, improving residents’ awareness of ES, and establishing a multi-channel fund based on government financial resources for improving ES in the Fenghe River watershed. Integrating stakeholders’ perceptions for ES into decision-making can promote the sustainable development in Fenghe River watershed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 417-428
Author(s):  
Özgün Ünver ◽  
Ides Nicaise

This article tackles the relationship between Turkish-Belgian families with the Flemish society, within the specific context of their experiences with early childhood education and care (ECEC) system in Flanders. Our findings are based on a focus group with mothers in the town of Beringen. The intercultural dimension of the relationships between these families and ECEC services is discussed using the Interactive Acculturation Model (IAM). The acculturation patterns are discussed under three main headlines: language acquisition, social interaction and maternal employment. Within the context of IAM, our findings point to some degree of separationism of Turkish-Belgian families, while they perceive the Flemish majority to have an assimilationist attitude. This combination suggests a conflictual type of interaction. However, both parties also display some traits of integrationism, which points to the domain-specificity of interactive acculturation.


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