The conflict over stream buffers in the Gills Creek Watershed continues. Excess sand, waste from construction sites, pet waste, and chemical fertilizers pollute many waterways in Richland County. But vegetation buffers along rivers and streams can filter out many of these pollutants and act as a habitat for wildlife, says interim chairman for the Gills Creek Watershed Association, Elliott Powell.

Progress on the buffer issue has lagged because of a lack of consensus, says Powell. But partners of the association will reconvene this month to try again to reach an agreement on buffers. The association's management plan aims to protect nature, become a national leader for watershed management and protect property rights within the watershed.

Watersheds drain into rivers, river systems and other bodies of water. The Gills Creek Watershed flows into the Congaree River from above Sesquicentennial State Park. And the watershed runs through sections of Columbia, Cayce, Forest Acres, Arcadia Lakes and Fort Jackson.

The pollution of the watershed affects approximately 140,000 constituents in the area, says Powell. "We need the community to understand how everybody in the watershed is affected by this."

For area residents, the pollution means polluted water sources and the threat of flooding when waterways become clogged. But for lake- lot owners, pollution means declining property values if the view they paid for becomes polluted.

But some S.C. residents are critical of buffers and how they would affect property rights. The S. C. Landowners Association sent a flyer this year publishing threats the buffers posed to property rights. Powell says the response was based on an extreme interpretation of a rough draft for the buffer plan. The plan has been revised.

Director for the landowners association, Tom Roe of Myrtle Beach, says the aim was to get County Council to slow the process and to include other stakeholders. "What we wanted was more consideration for property owners," Roe says. "History proves that landowners are probably the best stewards of the land."

Powell, too, is pressing for more involvement from property owners. "Unless we speak with one voice, it's easy for the government to do what they want," he says. Powell encourages area residents to become members of the association, thereby increasing their say in final decisions. The greater the membership, the stronger the voice landowners will have, he says.

Powell says most of the community's important players are coming together to resolve the issue. The City of Columbia is in the process of receiving a stormwater permit, which will facilitate better enforcement of sediment and erosion control, says city engineer, Joey Jaco. Better enforcement is needed because of problems with contaminated stormwater entering storm drains.

The city is also updating maps of waterways and stormwater outfalls, which are locations where rivers, drains, or sewers empty into larger waters.

And funding for the buffers will come from city and county governments, grants, community support, and other private sponsorships.

The Richland County Republican Party at a July meeting voted unanimously in favor of supporting the watershed project both strategically and financially.

Chairman Eric Davis said supporting the issue gives the party a chance to apply Republican values to affect a solution. As a sponsor of the project, the party is donating 1,000 dollars in privately raised funds. Included in the party's strategic plan is a three- member action team of precinct officers who live in the watershed area and a campaign among team members for association membership.

www.gillscreekwatershed.com