Private group raising money to test Florence creek

FLORENCE, S.C. (AP) — A private group is raising money to do its own water testing on a creek near Florence.

Jay James of the Black Creek Land Trust told the Morning News of Florence that (http://bit.ly/MQD65q ) testing of Black Creek has been done so sporadically by state environmental officials that it isn’t clear if the creek is polluted or how bad the problem might be.

James says the private group has started raising the $22,000 needed to collect and test water at 18 stations along the creek over the next two years.

The Department of Health and Environmental Control released a report in January that showed some pollution problems on the creek, but the trust says budget cuts kept the agency from monitoring the entire creek and from testing the water frequently.

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Information from: Morning News, http://www.scnow.com