My Nonprofit Reviews

True supporters see the impact and quality of people working tirelessly behind the scene and on the water to attain the mission of protecting and promoting the public's right to swimmable, fishable, and drinkable water. The organization was filing all donations under the national Waterkeeper Alliance section 501(c)(3). They corrected the organizations filing in early 2014 and retro dated their tax exempt status back to 2011. Below are the 4 functioning programs they have put in place and operate successfully to protect the public's right clean water. Without passionate, water enthusiasts and loyal supporters they would not be able to protect Charleston waterways.

1-The Recreational Water Quality Monitoring Program regularly tests the “swimmability” of several local tidal creeks and hotspots for activities like swimming, SUPing, and sailing. From May through October, samples are collected weekly and analyzed for the amount of Enterococcus bacteria present. Testing results are published as soon as they are available, so you can make an informed decision about when and where you swim, SUP, kayak, and sail. Follow them on facebook, instagram or twitter to get same day results.

All data is collected and generated under a DHEC approved Quality Assurance Project Plan. Samples are analyzed at the College of Charleston’s Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences’s Hydrochemistry Research Laboratory which is certified by DHEC to test for Enterococcus bacteria.

2-Charleston Waterkeeper just had the 1yr anniversary of their Pumpout Program. To offer a mobile pumpout service in the lower Charleston Harbor. The pumpout boat, the Number 2, will come to your slip or location at anchorage and pump out your onboard sanitary waste holding tank. The Mobile Pumpout Program provides boaters with a free, convenient, and legal way to dispose of sewage from sanitary waste tanks. As of January 1, 2015 the Number 2 has pumped 12,500 gallons of waste water from private boats.

3-Charleston Waterkeeper’s Patrol Program is the on-the-water eyes and ears of the Ashley/Cooper River Basin. Once per month the Lady C and program staff patrol an “area of interest” in the watershed and conduct a visual survey of water quality and habitat conditions. Areas of interest are identified through local knowledge, research, satellite photography, and our Recreational Water Quality Monitoring, Permit Watchdog, and Mobile Pumpout Programs. To alert Charleston Waterkeeper to a potential area of interest please contact them via email or call (843) 670-3390.

Any problems encountered during a patrol are documented and reported to the appropriate authority such as the United States Coast Guard, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, or the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. After each patrol they publish a blog post with photos of what they found in the field.

4-Permit Watchdog Program monitors the issuance permits and the compliance history of permit holders in the Charleston Harbor Watershed. Twice per year the program selects a group of permit holders and conducts and in-depth examination of their permit and monitoring data. When issues are discovered they reach out to the permit holder. Then they work to ensure the problem has been identified and fixed and that a plan exists to prevent reoccurrence. If the permit holder, DHEC, and EPA won’t act to ensure compliance with permit limits, the Clean Water Act authorizes Charleston Waterkeeper to enforce the permit in court.

The Permit Watchdog Program also regularly researches, drafts, and submits public comment letters to DHEC and the Army Corps of Engineers during the permit development and drafting process. By participating in the public comment process Charleston Waterkeeper works to improve the quality of the permits issued in our watershed.