UF's Clean Water Team at Anderson Regional Joint Water System

The Water Log: Winter 2025

Season's greetings from the Clean Water team!

This year has proven to be yet another successful year for clean water at Upstate Forever. We hope that this year has brought you gratitude, peace, and time to appreciate the Upstate's remarkable natural resources.

We are so grateful to all of you for your interest in advancing clean water protections in the Upstate. Please enjoy this winter issue of The Water Log as we reflect on our progress this year and where we are headed in 2026!

Wishing you a happy holiday season!

Rebecca Wade

Clean Water Specialist

Upstate Forever

Policy win in Anderson County: riparian buffer ordinance

This past May, Anderson County officially passed a riparian buffer ordinance, an exciting victory for water resource protection in Upstate SC. This ordinance requires a minimum 50-foot undisturbed vegetated buffer along all Waters of the State in Anderson County.

The adoption of this ordinance marks a major milestone in Anderson County’s commitment to water quality, flood mitigation, and climate resilience amid rapid development.

Upstate Forever is proud to have collaborated with fellow conservation organizations and community members to help move this policy forward. We hope this momentum inspires neighboring counties to take similar action to protect the waterways in their communities.

For more information about this issue, please see our Summer 2025 edition of The Water Log.

Protected riparian buffers at Rocky River Nature Park in Anderson County

State water planning: WaterSC

UF staff remain engaged in SC's water planning through the WaterSC working group. For a recap about WaterSC and how UF has been involved, click here. Throughout this process, UF’s Executive Director Aldon Knight, UF's founder Brad Wyche, and Bill Stangler of Congaree Riverkeeper have been representing the Upstate's conservation community alongside stakeholders from public water supply, energy, industry, agriculture/forest, and tourism and hospitality.

WaterSC’s core mission is to provide the General Assembly’s Water Study Committee with an updated assessment of South Carolina’s surface and groundwater resources, along with recommendations for improving laws and policies that ensure the reliability, resiliency, sustainability, and sufficiency of the state’s water resources for all existing and future uses.

Beyond this reporting duty, WaterSC will also advise the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services (SCDES) in developing a comprehensive statewide water policy, culminating in the release of an updated State Water Plan by December 31, 2025.

SCDES is accepting comments on the draft State Water Plan until December 7. Visit WaterSC's website to review the draft plan and find out how to submit comments.

WaterSC Working Group

We presented at the Land Trust Alliance 2025 Conference

In September, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invited us to co-present at the Land Trust Alliance National Conference, Rally 2025, in Cleveland, OH!

We shared our work in the Three & Twenty Creek Watershed and how we utilize land protection as a method for safeguarding drinking water resources. In addition to the EPA, we presented alongside the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy and the Open Space Institute.

We are so proud that the work we do here in the Upstate is being recognized at the national level!

Clean Water Specialist Rebecca Wade (left) & Clean Water & GIS Manager Katie Hottel (right)

Tugaloo Watershed-Based Plan

You heard it here first! Another watershed-based plan (WBP) is now in the works!

Our team is proud to announce that we were awarded funds from SCDES to create a WBP for the Tugaloo River and Choestoea Creek watersheds. Located in Oconee County, the Tugaloo River and Choestoea Creek watersheds contain approximately 73,000 acres of land and 275 miles of rivers and streams that feed into Lake Hartwell.

If you'd like a quick refresher on WBPs and how they protect water quality, check out this resource on our website.

We are looking forward to diving into this important work in Oconee County!

The Tugaloo River and Choestoea Creek WBP project area

Three & Twenty Phase 3

We are thrilled to announce that SCDES has awarded UF another Section 319(h) implementation grant for the Three & Twenty Phase 3 Watershed in Anderson and Pickens Counties.

Since 2020, our team has been working in this watershed to administer funding for septic repairs/replacements, agricultural improvements, and land protection projects.

Due to the success and community support we have seen in this watershed, we have been approved for an additional $500,000+ — a combination of local and state funding — to administer 30 septic repair projects, 7+ agricultural projects, and 4+ land protection projects.

We could not do this work without the support of project partners, including Lake Hartwell Partners for Clean Water, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Anderson Regional Joint Water System, and the Anderson Watershed Council.

An agricultural site in the Three & Twenty Creek Watershed

Redefining Waters of the United States (WOTUS)

On November 17, 2025, the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) released the draft of their proposed rule to revise the definition for Waters of the United States (also commonly known as "WOTUS"). This new definition dictates which water bodies are protected under the Clean Water Act. Unfortunately, this proposal would implement the Supreme Court's Decision in Sackett v. EPA and would inevitably decrease federal protections for many streams and wetlands across the country.

UF and other environmental partners encourage you to review this ruling and consider submitting comments regarding this potentially catastrophic redefinition. The EPA and the USACE will be accepting comments online through January 5th, 2026.

For a refresher on the Sackett v. EPA ruling from 2023, see our previous issue of The Water Log.

Until next time!

Thank you for signing up to receive The Water Log, UF’s digital newsletter dedicated to clean water news, issues, and information. We appreciate your interest and dedication in safeguarding the Upstate’s water resources.

If you have any questions about this topic or would like to learn about another clean water issue in a future edition, please contact Rebecca at rwade@upstateforever.org.

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Upstate Forever is a nonprofit conservation organization that protects critical lands, waters, and the unique character of Upstate South Carolina.  Over the past two decades, we have worked to protect the natural assets that make the Upstate so special — our farmlands, forests, natural areas, rivers, and clean air. We are committed to ensuring that our communities are vibrant and retain their green spaces, outdoor heritage, and unique identities in the face of rapid development and significant sprawl. Our vision is an environmentally healthy, economically prosperous Upstate that offers a high quality of life now and for future generations.

Funding for watershed improvement projects provided wholly or in part by the US EPA under Section 319 Grants through the SC Department of Environmental Services (SCDES).

Funding for WBPs provided wholly or in part by the US EPA under a Capitalization Grants for Drinking Water State Revolving Funds Grant through the SC Department of Environmental Services (SCDES).

For more information, visit our website at upstateforever.org or send us an email.