Since 2006, the Waccamaw Watershed Academy’s Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Program has been keeping an eye on the health of surface water in Horry and Georgetown counties. Now, the Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Program has grown to include four monitoring programs: Waccamaw River, Surfside Beach, Murrells Inlet, and Briarcliffe Acres. Additionally, students at Coastal Carolina University can join the Campus Monitoring program and help monitor CCU's stormwater ponds that eventually flow to the Waccamaw River.
Volunteer monitoring is conducted twice a month year-round by local, trained volunteers using environmental testing equipment to sample selected sites within the watershed of interest. Each program was designed to meet the specific water quality goals of each municipality.