Environmental experts with Rock Hill and York County sought shade under Greene Funeral Home tents at Hargett Park on Saturday and thought of ways to interest people in keeping water clean.
Crowds were sparse for the first-ever Clean Creek Carnival, a fun event officials devised to comply with the EPA's National Pollution Discharge Elimination System mandate. Densely-populated urban areas across the nation, including Rock Hill, Fort Mill, and Tega Cay, are required to involve the community in learning about water pollution, said Chris Costner, a Rock Hill stormwater supervisor. This was its kickoff.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control has also given local officials a grant to clean up an unnamed creek that runs from the old Rock Hill Mall to Celanese Road behind Office Depot, Costner said. They are ordered to reduce bacteria in the stream by 20 percent within three years.
Those who did attend had a chance to devise a name for the stream. The winner will get a $50 gift certificate from the Rock Hill Galleria.
"It's left to us to do more advertising," said a glum Heather Broome, stormwater technician for the city.
Still, her dog Zowie, a chocolate Lab, won the Best Dressed Canine Award for the actual dress she wore to the event. She padded home with a gourmet basket containing such goodies as peanut butter breath mints, carob-drizzled bowzer bits, a dog biscuit, and tail-waggin' Barbara-que ribs from Barbara's Canine Catering in Pineville, N.C.
Coby and Shadow, both mixed-breed dogs who arrived garbed in hat and bandana, took second and third place, winning a $25 grooming and a pooper scooper, respectively.
Leslie Hatchell, an educator with the county's recycling department, stood by a table loaded with free leftover fans emblazoned with a frog that craved clean water and funnels that reminded motorists to recycle their used auto oil.
"One thing we don't want is for people to pour oil down storm drains, because they all lead to fresh water," she said. "One gallon of motor oil can potentially destroy one million gallons of drinking water."
Costner waited for folks to come by so he could use a large plastic table model with tributaries leading from farms, homes, industries and dogs to a fresh water supply. Costner put clean water in the pond, then added dye to water originating at pollution sources to demonstrate how pollution traveled to the clean water.
Officials said they plan to get more community groups involved to interest the public in upcoming events.
In the fall, they will seek volunteers to help clean the polluted creek, which hopefully will have a name by then.
And they want everyone to know that the next Hazardous Materials Collection Day for household materials such as used motor oil, cleaners and other chemicals, automobile batteries, etc., will be from 8 a.m. to noon at York County Public Works off Highway 5 in York.
Karen Bair • 329-4080
kbair@heraldonline.com
