Mount Pleasant Magazine March/April 2018

67 www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.MountPleasant.Pet | www.MountPleasantBuilders.com feature S tudents of late 18th century English literature will recognize this quote from “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” though if Samuel Taylor Coleridge were alive today, he might be saying the same thing about Mount Pleasant’s most beloved waterway. After a good rain, Shem Creek isn’t safe for paddleboarding, much less drinking, according to Andrew Wunderley of Charleston Waterkeeper, a 10-year-old organization whose mission is “to protect, promote and restore the quality of Charleston’s waterways while ensuring the public’s right to swimmable, drinkable, fishable water.” “Shem Creek is risky for recreational activity,” Wunderley warned. That’s the bad news. The good news is that through the efforts of the town of Mount Pleasant, Waterkeeper and Mount Pleasant Waterworks, Shem Creek’s future looks brighter than its past. At its March meeting, the Town Council was scheduled to consider an ordinance banning single-use plastic bags and foam containers, and the town By Brian Sherman Water Under the Bridge Making Shem Creek Great Again “Water, water, everywhere, And all the boards did shrink; Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.” – Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”