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Outreach, Partnerships, and Implementation Improve Rabon Creek
Waterbody mproved NonPoint source pollution is a major contributor to elevated
bacteria levels in Rabon Creek and its main tributaries. Rabon Creek
failed to attain its primary recreation designated use, prompting South Carolina to add the creek to
its 2000 Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) list for fecal coliform (FC) bacteria impairment. After
the 2000 listing, a water quality improvement plan was implemented, educating citizens in the area
and encouraging landowners to install best management practices (BMPs) to decrease bacteria
loading to the waterbodies. As a result, water quality improved, allowing South Carolina to report
that South Rabon Creek (a tributary to Rabon Creek) fully supported its recreational use when data
from 2010-2014 was evaluated during the 2016 CWA section 303(d) assessment cycle.
Problem
The 127.3-square mile Rabon Creek watershed is in
the Saluda River Basin, a priority watershed (Figure 1).
North Rabon Creek and South Rabon Creek join to
form the Rabon Creek watershed, ultimately discharg-
ing into Lake Greenwood. Rabon Creek is in Greenville
and Laurens counties, and includes portions of the
towns of Laurens, Simpsonville, Fountain Inn, and Gray
Court. Primary land uses include forest (67 percent),
pastureland (15 percent) and cropland (14 percent).
Through monitoring efforts at several stations in the
watershed, the South Carolina Department of Health
and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) assessed FC bac-
teria for recreational use. Until 2013, state criteria for
FC impairment required that no more than 10 percent
of the total samples during any 30-day period exceed
400 colony-forming units (CFU) per 100 milliliters (100
mL). Upon review of data collected from 1996 to 2000,
SCDHEC found that 58 percent of samples violated
the standard. As a result, SCDHEC placed South Rabon
Creek (Station S-322) on the CWA section 303(d) list of
impaired waters in 2000. A total maximum daily load
(TMDL) for FC bacteria was developed in 2004.

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Rabon Creek Watershed
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Project Highlights
Partners implemented a muitifaceted TMDL imple-
mentation effort to improve water quality throughout
the Rabon Creek watershed from November 2007 to
November 2010. Main objectives of the implementa-
tion project included offering cost-share assistance
to landowners for direct implementation of BMPs,
Figure 1. Rabon Creek is in the Saluda River Basin in
northwest South Carolina.
and providing information to residents. Assistance
and information was offered to homeowners for
septic repair, stormwater management and pet waste
management. Farmers were encouraged to implement
practices to exclude livestock from streams.
The project began with a survey on the Laurens
County Water and Sewer Commission website and
publicity to the community through local newspapers
to gauge resident interest. Along with these early
outreach efforts, pet waste stations and informational
kiosks were installed at Lake Rabon Park. In addi-
tion. over 4,000 informational letters were sent to
watershed residents, geared toward homeowners and
farmers. The Upper Savannah Council of Governments
published several articles to coincide with the mail-
ing. These efforts were effective with homeowners,

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Figure 2. Surfacing of effluent from a failing septic system
(repaired in 2009) is visible at the ground surface.
Figure 3. A landowner installed fencing alongside a pasture to
prevent goats and cattle from accessing the waterway.
resulting In more than 50 septic tank evaluation visits
and 23 septic tank repairs In 2009 alone (Figure 2).
Work on septic systems continued in 2010, when an
additional 21 septic tanks were repaired. A total of 97
septic site visits were made during the project,, and 44
failing septic tanks were repaired.
Agricultural implementation included personal farm
visits and a Farm Field Day. The field day was held at
a farm that had been a participant in a previous CWA
section 319 project. At the field day, farmers became
familiar with BMP and their benefits. The field day led
to several news articles and several farms developed
implementation plans. Cost-share assistance was
offered for a variety of practices, including buffers,
exclusion fencing, watering facilities, heavy use area
protection, and wells (Figure 3). Participating farmers
installed a total of 14 watering facilities, two watering
gaps, 10,918 square feet of heavy use area protec-
tion, 22,215 linear feet of fencing, and 1.5 acres of
vegetative plantings. At the end of the project, these
measures helped provide a safe drinking water supply
for livestock and eliminated or restricted access by 320
head of livestock to waterways.
Fecal Coliform Bacteria Percent
Exceedance1: South Rabon Creek
o
2016
2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014
Assessment Cycle Year
¦"•Fecal coliform bacteria water quality standard required that no more
than 10 percent of the total samples during any 30-day period may
exceed 400 CFU/100 mL.
Figure 4. Percent exceedance fecal coliform
bacteria found at station S-322 during water quality
assessments for listing cycles 2004-2016.
Results
Monitoring in the watershed is ongoing. In total,
implementation efforts reduced loadings of nitrogen
by 4,611 pounds, phosphorous by 1,343 pounds,
sediment by 645 tons, and FC bacteria by 3.87E+13
CFU. Results show that monitoring site S-322 steadily
improved as the percent of samples with exceedances
declined during every assessment cycle. Based on
2010 and 2011 monitoring results, S-322 met water
quality standards and achieved full support for the
designated recreational use in the 2016 CWA section
303(d) assessment (Figure 4).
Partners and Funding
The Rabon Creek TMDL implementation project was
made possible by the dedication and collaboration
of several partners. The lead organization, Upper
Savannah Council of Governments, cooperated with
Clemson University Extension, Laurens County Water
and Sewer Commission, Laurens Natural Resources
Conservation Service, Laurens Cattlemen's Association
and local landowners. Funding sources included
$194,525 in CWA section 319 funding from SCDHEC.
Partners and landowners provided $177,980 in cash
and in-kind services for BMP cost-share.
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©
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA 841-F-17-001CC
December 2017
For additional information contact:
Shakhlan Garane
S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control
803-898-4401 • garanesi@dhec.sc.gov

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