CAMDEN, S.C. (WIS) - Residents are raising concerns about a harmful algae bloom they say is overgrowing in coves around Lake Wateree. They said they're fearful is will grow to levels of toxicity that will impact water intakes in the area.
"It's like an outdoor toilet, to be honest with you," said Diane Robinson, A Lake Wateree homeowner.
Lyngbya is a type of bacteria that has the potential to produce a toxin. Exposure to the toxin can cause fever, headache, vomiting, or diarrhea. It develops over time, for a variety of reasons.
"It keeps growing, it doesn't go away," Robinson said.
Duke Energy owns Lake Wateree, but the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services (SCDES) oversees the algal bloom. Officials told WIS their testing shows relatively low concentrations of Lyngbya, well below the recreational standards. But residents have been doing voluntary testing. They say a 2025 Lyngbya survey results chart shows a huge difference compared to Duke Energy's 2021 Lyngbya survey results.
Duke Energy officials said they helped train residents and supported coordination, but did not independently validate the 2025 survey.
SCDES said they haven't received any recent complaints, but know Lyngbya is commonly found at Lake Wateree, especially this time of year.
"This has been our slice of heaven. It's very important to our economies, our tourism, our public recreation," said Thomas Ford, Chair of the Lake Wateree Association. "I think we've kind of been asleep at the wheel here for many years. We've known for many years now that the algae are here, but I don't think we've taken it seriously enough as far as acknowledging it is spreading on the lake."
That's why residents are pushing for county leaders to allocate some money towards a $160,000 EPA-verified treatment that would eradicate the algae over time.
"We just need to get something done about it," Robinson said.
One county leader said they're investigating these concerns. Residents plan to take the concerns to a May 27 council meeting.
Anyone who may observe an algal bloom can report it to the agency by calling 803-898-8374. Officials say Algae blooms can be very fast-growing and become an issue before SCDES has been made aware of them.