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The River Basins Research Initiative, begun in 1997, has become a national model for interdisciplinary watershed studies. Faculty and students from the departments of biology, chemistry, and earth and environmental sciences work year round on studies of the inorganic fluvial geochemistry and biological diversity of aquatic macrofauna and microfauna in the Enoree (1878 km2) and Saluda River (6325 km2) basins. The long-term goal of this research program is the systematic characterization of both pristine and urban watersheds to develop an understanding of the extent of human impact on river systems in the Lower Broad River Basin in the upstate region of South Carolina.

The research staff currently includes two environmental chemists, a microbiologist, a fish ecologist, a biochemist/ecologist, a hydrologist, a biogeochemist, and a GIS/remote sensing specialist with three other biologists collaborating part time on specific projects. For the next few years, the research will focus on Lake Conestee in the Reedy River subwatershed of the Saluda River Basin. This man-made impoundment has been collecting residential and industrial wastes and sediments from the growing Greenville urban area for more than 100 years and thus is a record of industrial growth for the area. The sediments contain every metal and organic compound used by the industrial complex and every pharmaceutical and household chemical used by Greenville residents. The lake has been infilled by sediments and subsequently reduced almost completely to a wetland. The complex chemical, ecological, and hydrological problems associated with Lake Conestee will provide many interesting projects for the next several years.

In 2001, the River Basins Research Initiative entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Universidad Metropolitano (UMET) in San Juan, Puerto Rico to include six of their students in our summer research program each year. During the summer 2003, the six UMET students were
joined by a faculty member from their biology department. This has been a very rewarding association and we are currently exploring several prospects for further collaboration.