S.C. Department of Environmental Services (SCDES) Begins Seasonal Water Quality Monitoring at S.C. Beaches on May 1

Sampling at 122 sites helps SCDES provide public updates on ocean water quality during busy beach season 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 
April 24, 2025 

COLUMBIA, S.C. — To help keep South Carolina beaches a favorite destination during the summer months, the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services (SCDES) is beginning its seasonal monitoring of water quality along the coast. Every state with ocean-facing beaches performs beach water monitoring to help detect instances of elevated bacteria levels that have the potential to impact people’s health.  

From May 1-Oct. 30, SCDES collects either weekly or bi-weekly water samples at 122 locations along South Carolina's beaches, from Cherry Grove Beach near the South Carolina-North Carolina border to the southern end of Hilton Head Island. SCDES staff test these water samples for Enterococci bacteria. If elevated levels of the bacteria are detected, the agency issues public notices at that beach location and on SCDES’s Beach Monitoring webpage and the S.C. Beach Access Guide web app because high levels of Enterococci bacteria could negatively impact some people’s health.  

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Makayla Strichek, Recreational Waters Inspector with SCDES's Myrtle Beach Regional Office, collects an ocean water sample for routine testing at a monitoring site in Myrtle Beach. SCDES performs regular sampling at 122 monitoring sites along the South Carolina coast to monitor ocean water quality during the busy summer months.
 

“If levels of Enterococci bacteria exceed the standard limit, we quickly issue a short-term swimming advisory for that portion of the beach to help alert beachgoers,” said Courtney Kemmer, Manager of SCDES’s Aquatic Resource Monitoring.  “A swimming advisory doesn’t mean a beach is closed, it just means that particular area of ocean water should be avoided until the bacteria levels return to normal. Most short-term swimming advisories last just a single day.” 
  
SCDES tests ocean water for Enterococci bacteria, which are naturally found in warm-blooded animals, including humans. However, high levels of Enterococci in water indicate the potential risk for other organisms that may cause disease in humans, such as gastrointestinal illness or skin infections.  

The current advisory status for all 122 sampling sites is available on the online S.C. Beach Access Guide. SCDES issues two types of swimming advisories, short-term (or “temporary”) and long-term: 

• Short-term swimming advisories typically last one to two days and are issued when two consecutive water samples exceed the state water quality standard of 104 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters (104 CFU/100mL). Often, short-term swim advisories due to elevated bacteria levels are issued after heavy rains when rainwater washes pollutants into the ocean. 
   
• Long-term swimming advisories are issued year-round for areas that have an increased possibility of high bacteria levels, typically where stormwater from pipes or small creeks flows across the beach and into the ocean. Signs posted at these locations provide information about the potential of high bacteria levels. Locations with long-term advisories are reevaluated at the beginning of each year. 

“We don’t always know the cause of the increase in bacteria in a certain area because there could be various contributing factors, however, it’s our job as South Carolina’s environmental agency to keep the public informed of current bacterial counts within ocean water,” Kemmer said. “It’s important to remember that ocean water isn’t chemically controlled like swimming pool water, and swimming in any natural water body presents the risk of coming into contact with potentially harmful bacteria and viruses.” 

SCDES partners with the City of Myrtle Beach, the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, the Town of Edisto, and other organizations on the Check My Beach program, which is designed to provide quick access to water quality information as well as general beach safety tips. In addition to being a one-stop-shop for online information about participating partner beaches, local businesses, governments, and tourism groups offer brochures and signage that promote Check My Beach. SCDES is working to expand the Check My Beach initiative to include other coastal communities. 

Visit des.sc.gov/beachmonitoring to learn more. 

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