Catawba River Keepers would like to give a big thanks to all the volunteers and friends at Lake Wateree State Park for their help in our live staking project!  Native species have been planted in key shorelines to prevent further erosion.  The first two events were at Lake Wateree State Park where 35 volunteers participated in this pilot program.  In addition to shoreline stabilization work, volunteers were also able to collect 50 tires and 1,767 pounds of trash.

One more live staking opportunity is available at Lake Wateree on Saturday, March 16 at the Liberty Hill Wildlife Access Area.  If you are interested, please contact kaity.d@catawbariverkeeper.org.

Thanks to funding from Palmetto Pride, CRK has an opportunity to get more tires out of Lake Wateree before water levels rise again!  We need lots of help on Saturday, March 30 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.  Location is Molly Creek Landing, 604 Island Road, Ridgeway. Lunch will be provided but please bring water to drink throughout the cleanup.  If you are willing to work hard to remove old tires, please contact kaity.d@catawbariverkeeper.org.

Bill 999, currently in the S. C. Legislature, would require signage to be posted on wastewater pipes stating who the pipes belong to.  If you would like to encourage your representatives to vote in favor of this bill, they may be reached at 1) mikefanning@scsenate.gov and 2) anniemcdaniel@schouse.gov.

Water Watcher Network brings together individuals committed to safeguarding our Basin's water quality and its surrounding ecosystem.  Water Watch Network Forums will be held in different locations around North and South Carolina.  Here is information on forums being held in our area:

1.  March 14 at the War Memorial Building in Great Falls on policy and advocacy, 2.  June 4 at Fort Lawn Community Center on restoration and water quality, 3. September 10 at St Mary Anglican Church, Camden on trash and pollution.  All meetings will be held from 6 - 7:30 pm.

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster signed into law the bill passed by the South Carolina Legislature that requires anyone born after July 1, 2007, to have completed a boating safety course to operate a boat or personal watercraft (PWC). This new law is effective August 6, 2023. Existing South Carolina law requires any boat operator under the age of 16 who is unaccompanied and operating a boat or PWC of 15 hp to pass a boater safety course and to carry a boater education card.

  In North Carolina, residents born after January 1, 1988, must have completed a boating safety course before they can operate a boat. Additionally, for PWCs, no person under 14 can operate a PWC. Teenagers between 14 and 16 can operate a PWC if:

·  Accompanied by a person 18 years of age or older; OR

·  The teenager has his boating safety course completion card and proof of age onboard.

   Boating safety course are available on many websites but here are a couple you may consider:

DNR Boater Education

Boat-ed

Thank you,

Ray Garcia

First Vice-Chair

If the links on the newsletter above do not work, they are listed below.

Our website

https://lakewatereeassociation.org

https://lwa.wildapricot.org

Helpful links

https://www.register-ed.com/programs/43?

https://www.boatus.org/southcarolina/

https://www.boat-ed.com/southcarolina/

Catawba River Clean

https://lakewatereeassociation.org/event-5159122

Boat Safety South Carolina.pdf

Mailing-Renewals.jpg

Molly Creek Clean Up.jpg

Ray Garcia help organized the river clean up and had an excellent turnout and collected 49 bags of trash, 2 tires, a fold up chair, grill, old wooden board, large piece of metal and hub cap. Good day out.  Ray would like to thank following people who lead the efforts of the various sites, Stacy Albowicz, Jim Lotruglio, Milton Marle, George Harkins, and Christine Denis. They had support from other members, but without their help this cleanup would not have taken place.