Good Runoff, Bad Runoff

I got word this afternoon that the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) will be conducting water testing today and tomorrow to determine when the shellfish beds will open back up.  They are concerned with the water quality as a result of the eight inches of rain we received Friday night.  We are very hopeful everything will be open again by Wednesday.

In areas that are heavily populated, runoff can be a bad thing.  Oil and rubber from roads, pesticides from gardens, and trash have no place in our food (thanks DHEC!).  Not all runoff is bad, though.  The area around Bull’s Bay in the Cape Romain Wildlife Refuge is very sparsly populated.  When we have a bunch of rain, the storm-water is flushed out into the ocean, bringing with it the naturally occurring algae and detritus that oysters need to survive and grow.

During the summer months this year, we had very little rain, and the oysters didn’t grow much.  With the rain we’ve had since August, we have noticed a substantial growth in the oysters on our lease off of Bull’s Bay.  The deluge last Friday should be just what our oysters need for a last growth spurt before winter.  Now we just need DHEC to complete their testing and give us permission to start harvesting again!