$500 thousand toward cleaning up Cane Creek

Danny Edwards, Walhalla mayor, is heralding the news.  The board of the state Infrastructure Authority has granted Walhalla $500 thousand to be applied toward the cost to help clean up the Cane Creek basin to minimize infiltration into the sewer collection system.  That infiltration shows up in the bills Walhalla must pay to treat its wastewater.  The problem has festered for years.  As late as last year, “FOLKS” — Friends of Lake Keowee–described the situation this way:  “Cane and Little Cane Creeks have failed to meet water quality standards for nearly two decades due to excessive amounts of bacteria pollution at sites monitored by SC DHEC.”  The creeks are tributaries to Lake Keowee, a body of water that is the source for municipal drinking water, as well as a lake that offers a variety of swimming and boating recreation.