COLUMBIA, S.C. — When it rains, you often see water running down the side of the streets. Well, where does it go? The answer is into a watershed. A watershed is an area of land that drains into a larger common body of water.
Columbia is made up of many watersheds including the Saluda, Broad, Catawba, and Edisto.
The Savannah, Santee, Pee Dee, and Edisto are the four major watersheds across South Carolina.
The Pee Dee watershed flows into the Pee Dee River and enters the Atlantic Ocean. The Santee watershed flows into the Santee River before reaching the coast. Rain that falls to the west of the Savannah watershed can eventually drain to the Gulf of Mexico, but along the eastern side will enter the Atlantic Ocean. The Edisto watershed contains the Edisto River and many smaller rivers that will flow directly into the Atlantic Ocean.
Columbia Water makes note that the water is not treated before it reaches our waterways. Any water that enters a storm drain flows directly into our creeks, streams, rivers, and other waterways.
We can all do our part to not pollute our waterways. A few simple ways to prevent water pollution are picking up litter, sweeping fertilizer back onto the grass so the chemicals don’t wash into storm drains and compost your yard waste instead of blowing leaves into the street. This clogs storm drains.