GREENVILLE, SC - Schedule for Immediate Release. April 21, 2016.

Residents of Greenville County are known for being responsible for their environment. And at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and dotted with small and large lakes, the upstate of South Carolina has a lot to be responsible for.

A local resident is taking the responsibility to care for the Saluda-Reedy watershed on his shoulders. Benjamin Buck, of Greer, spoke with a civil engineer from Greenville's Engineering Division in the fall of 2015. They discussed the issues that Greenville faces through growth. The casual conversation reminded Buck of something his dad told him years ago. "Stormwater system management was a small business idea my dad came up with 20 years," Buck said. "Dad thought that as ponds go through the engineering and developement processes then eventually handed over to land owners the best management practices would fade into a distant memory as the land owner focused on his business and forgot about the pond."

Taking his father's vision, Buck now helps property owners and HOAs forget about the ponds. By managing the ponds for land owners, Buck keeps the ponds in working order and up to code. Landowners see a return because they do not have to bear the burden of the pond, keep good relationships with neighbors by having a cared for stormwater system and don't have to worry about the bad press of violations and costly future repairs.

Buck says that having a stormwater specialist improves the efficiency of the system as well as extend the life of the detention and retention ponds. In the past some property managers have asked landscapers to care for the stormwater system area. However, Buck is looking at ponds now that are clogged with debris and had changes done to them not permitted by the original permit. "These land owners are in trouble and don't even know it," Buck said. 

Buck Outdoors Stormwater Specialists officially launched in April of this year. Within days, word spread and Buck immediately had work. "This is not a fad," Buck predicts, "Municipalities take protecting their watersheds seriously and that wont change as they tighten down on codes." Living in a community built around of the beauty of Reedy River helps Buck's chances at being right. The upstate of South Carolina has much to be proud of and now they have help keeping South Carolina beautiful.