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River Basin
Initiative represents university’s largest ever research project
If you’ve happened by Plyer Hall this summer, you’ve probably seen them. Furman students – and even some professors – clad in shorts, boots and T-shirts, carrying strange equipment. Most of the time they are either, wet, dirty or both. On most mornings the group gathers in front of Townes Auditorium before driving their trucks and sports utility vehicles off in separate directions. They return hours later with water samples and data collected from Upstate streams, creeks and rivers. The project – Furman’s River Basin Research Initiative – is a comprehensive study that will gauge the impact of the Upstate’s rapid development on the region’s water quality. In its second year, the initiative represents the university’s largest ever research project, involving 40 students and professors this year alone. That number includes 10 from colleges and universities other than Furman and a research team representing six academic disciplines (earth and environmental sciences, chemistry, biology, economics and business administration, political science and sociology). The study is being funded with grants from The Rockefellers Brothers Fund of New York City, The National Science Foundation and the Environmental Protection Agency. Furman has also provided some matching funds. Research, which began last summer and will take another year to complete, will contrast water quality with land-use patterns in portions of five Upstate counties. The results of the project will be turned over to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. DHEC will eventually pass the data along to state, county and municipal governments and other bodies that develop land-use laws. "The project is unique in the sense that few studies have looked at the social, economic and governance issues that contribute to the water quality of a region," says Ken Sargent, earth and environmental sciences professor. "Science can only delineate the water quality problem. A social science perspective is also needed to convert the information into a sound management policy."
New industry and residential construction can have a profound impact on water quality. Some industries may discharge treated waste into streams and rivers while housing subdivisions, roads and parking lots decrease the amount of filters such as grass, brush and trees that can help to naturally clean water. Also, the clearing of water-absorbing pastures, farmland and woodlands create conditions for flooding, which can have an adverse effect on water quality.
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