Mark Bruce has been named Santee riverkeeper by the Waterkeeper Alliance. Bruce, 41, is a Clarendon County resident and USC graduate, who grew up around Lake Marion, one of the reservoirs along the Santee River. Bruce said he will work to protect the water quality of the river and its lakes. The river extends from just south of Congaree National Park to a delta between Georgetown and Charleston.
“I believe Mr. Bruce will be a progressive leader for conservation and water quality preservation in the region,” said Robert F. Kennedy Jr., chairman of the Waterkeeper Alliance.
The Santee was once one of the state’s most powerful rivers, but the construction of lakes Marion and Moultrie in the 1940s has reduced its flow. The conservation group American Rivers named the Santee one of the country’s most endangered rivers in a report four years ago.