COLUMBIA, S.C. — As temperatures remain high in the Midlands, many are looking for ways to stay cool outside. Some people plan to go swimming in a river or head out to the nearest lake.
Some residents near the Town of Lexington weren't able to enjoy Lake Murray when they woke up on Thursday morning. One area received a letter on their doors that asked them to "refrain from any recreational use of Lake Murray until further notice."
The town's communications director, Laurin Barnes, said an independent contractor was working on a bridge near 3340 highway 378, Wednesday afternoon, and accidentally broke the line.
"When we got word that our sewer line was broken, our utilities department went out there immediately, fixed the brake also cleaned up the area, and took samples," Barnes said. "We notified DHEC and we also hand-delivered a letter to each person who could possibly be affected in that area."
In Columbia, a swim advisory was put in place Thursday afternoon by Columbia Water after numerous areas surrounding the Saluda River contained high levels of bacteria in the water.
Bill Stangler is the Congaree River Keeper and said with high levels of bacteria and advisories are put in place, it's best not to get in the water.
"The problem is, when you have raw sewage and high bacteria levels, you have potential for public health issues," Stangler said. "So, people could get rashes, infections, stomach bugs. They can be exposed to other pathogens or viruses or things like that."
Stangler advised people to check the water status before they head out to the river by checking HowsMySCRiver.org.
The site allows anyone to see if there are any advisories in place, as well as where it's safe to be in the water. The site highlights the regions with orange and green swimming icons.
There is also a tab on the website for anyone to search a location to see if it's safe to get in the river as well.
For anyone planning on going to the lake, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control also tracks water quality, advisories, assessments, and other hazards to the community with their SC Watershed Atlas.