S.C. Sea Grant Consortium

News Story

Investigating Water Quality in the Edisto Island Watershed

Jan 30, 2025

Researcher collecting water samples. Photo credit: Hailey Murphy/ S.C. Sea Grant Consortium.

Brynne Sumner, graduate research assistant at the Clemson University Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science, fills bottles with water samples along the South Edisto River equipped with a YSI multimeter for temperature, dissolved oxygen, and salinity data. Photo credit: Hailey Murphy/S.C. Sea Grant Consortium.

What impact can clean water and public awareness of contaminants have on a coastal community? For Edisto Island and the Town of Edisto Beach, a clean watershed could mean increasing opportunities for wild shellfish harvesting—and the economic and cultural boon that represents.

The Consortium’s current funded research project, “Determining Bacteria and Turbidity Sources to Inform Management and Outreach across the Edisto Island Watershed” led by Principal Investigator Amy E. Scaroni, Ph.D., of Clemson University’s Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science, aims to identify key pollution sources and support local decision-makers and researchers as they navigate towards cleaner waters.

Co-investigators include:

  • Stefanie Whitmire, Ph.D., Clemson University, Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science.
  • Tye Pettay, Ph.D., University of South Carolina Beaufort.

Water samples in bottles. Photo credit: Hailey Murphy/ S.C. Sea Grant Consortium.

Water samples from the Edisto Island watershed ready for laboratory analysis. Photo credit: Hailey Murphy/S.C. Sea Grant Consortium.

This project is supported by partnerships with Clemson University’s Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science, Clemson Extension, University of South Carolina Beaufort, S.C. Department of Natural Resources, ACE Basin National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR), Edisto Island Open Land Trust, Town of Edisto Beach, and Charleston County.

Throughout the two-year project timeline (2024-2026), researchers will use microbial source tracking to determine whether septic systems are the primary source of bacteria, and if wildlife, birds, livestock, and pets may be contributing sources. They also hope to identify whether sediment or algae is the primary cause of turbidity (suspended particles in the water contributing to lower clarity).

Map of Edisto Island water sampling sites. Image courtesy of Amy E. Scaroni, Ph.D.

Map of Edisto Island with blue indicators identifying 18 water sampling locations. Image courtesy of Brynne Sumner. 

So far, the project team has collected nearly 800 water samples on eight sampling trips since June 2024, covering 19 sites across the Edisto Island watershed. Sampling is planned to continue once a month until the summer of 2025.

The results of this research will be shared with the Edisto Island and Town of Edisto Beach communities and used to inform coastal water management practices. The results will also guide public outreach on septic system maintenance, and the connection between water quality, shellfish health, and food safety.

Water quality project team collecting data. Photo credit: Hailey Murphy/ S.C. Sea Grant Consortium.

Brynne Sumner, Co-Principal Investigator Tye Pettay, Ph.D., and Anna Roberts collect data at Dawhoo Landing. Photo credit: Hailey Murphy/S.C. Sea Grant Consortium.

For more information, contact Brooke Saari, S.C. Sea Grant Consortium’s Coastal Environmental Quality and Extension Services Specialist, or Amy E. Scaroni, Assistant Professor of Watershed Management at Clemson University’s Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science.