Santee-Lynches Area | South Carolina Department of Environmental Services

The Department is permitting the Santee-Lynches Capacity Use Area applications can be found below.

The Santee-Lynches Capacity Use Area

On July 15, 2021, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control Board, as established in Section 49-5-60, approved the designation of all of Chesterfield, Clarendon, Kershaw, Lee, Richland, and Sumter Counties as the Santee-Lynches Capacity Use Area. In August of 2022 the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control Board approved the Santee-Lynches Groundwater Management Plan.

The Groundwater Use and Reporting Program issues Groundwater Use Withdrawal Permits to all groundwater systems located in a designated Capacity Use Area. Groundwater users who are in designated capacity use areas of the Coastal Plain are required to request a permit to construct and/or operate any well which will use over 3 million gallons in any one month. Permits for usage are subject to review and renewal every 5 years.

D-2504 Groundwater Withdrawal Application

The Groundwater Management Plan

The Groundwater Use and Reporting Act requires that a Groundwater Management Plan be developed for each designated Capacity Use Area to achieve the goals and objectives of conserving and protecting the resources, preventing waste, and providing and maintaining conditions that are conducive to the development and use of water resources.

DHEC convened the first in a series of Groundwater Management Plan Stakeholder Workgroup meetings on October 6, 2021. The Stakeholder Workgroup is comprised of members across the six-county area and state, and they represent various groundwater users from water supply, industry, agri-business, and golf courses to academia, government agencies, professional associations, and non-profit organizations. The workgroup is charged with providing input in developing a Groundwater Management Plan for the Santee-Lynches Capacity Use Area. Information, minutes, and presentations from those meetings are included at the bottom of this page under the "Community Engagement" section.

In March of 2022, the Bureau of Water hosted an Open House in the Santee-Lynches six-county region and presented the draft Groundwater Management Plan to the public with an opportunity for comments and questions. The draft was written collaboratively with the Stakeholder Workgroup over the course of several months and approved in August of 2022 by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control Board.

Santee-Lynches Groundwater Management Plan

Santee-Lynches Capacity Use Area Timeline of Events

The Santee-Lynches Area Groundwater Assessment

The Department of Health and Environmental Control has completed a preliminary assessment of groundwater conditions in the following six (6) counties: Chesterfield, Clarendon, Kershaw, Lee, Richland, and Sumter counties. The initial assessment and findings can be found at the following link:

Santee-Lynches Initial Groundwater Assessment

Community Engagement

DHEC held two virtual public meetings to discuss the process of formally designating the Santee-Lynches Capacity Use Area. DHEC staff shared information about the proposed designation and answered questions from attendees. DHEC conducted a series of Stakeholder meetings to form the draft Groundwater Management Plan. On March 28th, 2022 at 6 PM, the Bureau of Water at DHEC will hold an open house information session where the draft Groundwater Management Plan will be presented to the public with an opportunity for comments and questions.