Denmark is one of many rural South Carolina cities with little access to safe and clean drinking water. For the people of Denmark, their polluted water is the result of the Department of Health and Environmental Control's use of HaloSan, a chemical that was not approved by the EPA, to treat iron bacteria in a city well.

Denmark's story is not unique. Many rural towns across the state have polluted water that has rendered their populations sick and their resources compromised. Additionally, unsafe water resources disproportionately impact South Carolina's Black population, making this not just a problem of inaccessibility to a basic right but a problem of systemic racism, as well. The state must take urgent action to rectify this injustice that has been allowed to fester for far too long.

Democratic representatives have introduced H.4718, the Safe Drinking Water Act, that makes it DHEC's duty to limit harmful chemicals in local water resources and protect our residents. The bill currently sits in the House Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Environmental Affairs, but action could be taken today by Governor Henry McMaster to order DHEC's compliance in ensuring the health of South Carolinians.

Please show your support and sign the petition for Governor McMaster to protect his constituents and order DHEC to immediately adopt the regulations outlined in the proposed Safe Drinking Water Act.