Waccamaw Riverkeeper

serving the rivers in the Winyah Bay Watershed

Welcome to the Waccamaw RIVERKEEPER® Program
of the Winyah Rivers Foundation

The mission of the Winyah Rivers Foundation is to protect, preserve, monitor, and revitalize the health of the lands and waters of the greater Winyah Bay watershed.

Christine Ellis, Waccamaw RiverkeeperWe are a grassroots organization whose members support the mission of protecting the rivers in the great watershed that empties into Winyah Bay at Georgetown, South Carolina, including the Waccamaw River, the Pee Dee and Little Pee Dee Rivers, the Black River, the Lynches River and the Sampit River.

The Waccamaw RIVERKEEPER® Program was established in 2002 to educate and advocate for the protection of the Waccamaw River watershed in North and South Carolina. The Waccamaw Riverkeeper, Christine Ellis, is a paid advocate. She works to mobilize citizens to protect the river and its traditional beneficial uses.

Please support our education and advocacy programs to protect our local rivers by volunteering, donating and becoming a member today. Together we can make a difference!

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What's New in the Winyah Bay Watershed

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Help Protect the Clean Water Act

The recently introduced Chesapeake Clean Water and Ecosystem Restoration Act of 2009 ("Cardin Bill") proposes to amend the Clean Water Act. The Bill purports to address the continuing decline of the Chesapeake Bay watershed by introducing some very fundamental changes to the way the Act has functioned for almost 40 years. In addition, this bill is being touted as a national model for amending the Clean Water Act in years to come. Despite allocating $2.5 billion into Bay restoration, the proposed Amendment contains some very troubling provisions. Some of these proposed fundamental changes to the Act include:
  • Requiring states to create CWA point source permitting exemptions which could apply to developers, wastewater utilities, agricultural producers and other industrial polluters that are required to have permits under current law;
  • Providing safe harbor from Clean Water Act enforcement for agricultural operations, often among the biggest watershed polluters;
  • Mandating a pollutant trading scheme whereby polluters can claim nutrient and sediment discharge reductions without any required verifications and then sell the rights to these unverified pollutant reductions to another polluter.
    • The Cardin Bill is a step backwards in the protection of our waterways, weakening the existing provisions of the Clean Water Act and threatening the beneficial services, drinking water, recreation, habitat and economic prosperity, that our lakes, rivers and streams provide. Write Your Senators and Representative Now! and say NO to weakening the Clean Water Act.

    Waccamaw RIVERKEEPER®, Christine Ellis | Center for Marine and Wetland Studies | Coastal Carolina University
    P.O. Box 261954 | Conway, SC 29528-6054 | (843) 349-4007 | Riverkeeper@winyahrivers.org
    Winyah Rivers Foundation is a U.S. registered 501(c)(3) tax-deductible nonprofit charity.


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    The Foundation would like to thank Courtney Burge for the design of our website. We're delighted with her work and recommend her to you.