On March 11, the South Carolina State Library announced its selection of the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services (SCDES) as the recipient of its 2025 Notable State Documents Award for its 2025 South Carolina State Water Plan published in December. The award recognizes outstanding state government publications that “demonstrate excellence in content, research and public value.”
The plan, last updated in 2004, is designed to ensure water will be reliable, safe, and sustainable through 2070. Governor Henry McMaster’s Executive Order 2024-22 established WaterSC to provide recommendations on the issuance of an updated State Water Plan – a living document – by the end of 2025.
The document compiles input from representatives of agriculture, energy, industry, conservation, academia, watershed organizations, and conservation groups. To keep the plan responsive, it notes, SCDES will continue to work closely with WaterSC, the state’s eight River Basin Councils (RBCs), legislators, and all South Carolinians. Myra Reece serves as WaterSC Chair by virtue of her office.
Among other recommendations, the plan recommends review of water permitting to consider where the state may utilize its judgment authority and to modernize permitting systems to ensure responsible water use. The plan notes that much of South Carolina’s water law was written more than 50 years ago and encourages more formal collaboration with Georgia and North Carolina through shared data, regular meetings, and policy-level discussions for cross-boundary planning to protect shared water systems for the long term. For more information, see a November ECOS article on South Carolina’s release of the draft 2025 State Water Plan. See the plan here. A complementary plan entitled Our Water Future: The Leadership Guide to South Carolina’s Water Plan is also available.
For more information, see a November ECOS article on South Carolina’s release of the draft 2025 State Water Plan. See the plan here. A complementary plan entitled Our Water Future: The Leadership Guide to South Carolina’s Water Plan is also available.
