Duke Energy provides $1.04M to support Water Quality Initiative

Duke Energy presented a check on Tuesday, Oct. 31, for $1.04 million to the Lake Keowee Source Water Protection Team, a new non-profit corporation that will lead long-term protection of water quality in Lake Jocassee and Lake Keowee. The event was held at South Cove Park in Seneca and attended by representatives of Seneca Light and Water, Greenville Water, and Duke Energy. Duke Energy included funding in the Keowee-Toxaway Relicensing Agreement, signed by 17 parties in 2013. The Jocassee and Keowee reservoirs were created in the 1970s to provide clean, renewable hydro power to Duke Energy’s customers. The source water protection program was established during the federal relicensing process for the Keowee-Toxaway Hydroelectric Project. Although water quality in Lake Jocassee and Lake Keowee has been excellent from the beginning, the stakeholders engaged in the relicensing process wanted to ensure it would remain that way for generations to come. To address this shared interest, Duke Energy included funding, approximately $1.04 million, in the Keowee-Toxaway Relicensing Agreement to form a new non-profit corporation to lead efforts to protect water quality in these lakes. The Lake Keowee Source Water Protection Team (LKSWPT), a newly-created nonprofit corporation, will oversee the program and decide how the funds will be invested, consistent with language in the Relicensing Agreement. Officers of the LKSWPT are members of the Friends of Lake Keowee Society, Seneca Light and Water, and Greenville Water. Other signatories to the Relicensing Agreement will comprise the remaining board members. Duke Energy is not eligible for board membership.