Posted on Aug 27, 2021 in News

Lake Rabon Advisory

Today, August 27, 2021, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) informed LCWSC that the results from sampling in Lake Rabon from Wednesday, August 25 showing no exceedances of the Recreation Standard of 8 ug/L for microcystin.  In fact all results were <1 ug/L for this second consecutive round of sampling.  Therefore, the  current Recreational Advisory is being rescinded and recreational activities can resume.  DHEC will continue to monitor Lake Rabon but at this time there are no recreational restrictions.  As a precaution, you should avoid contact with any visible algae.  

We greatly appreciate everyone’s cooperation with complying with the Recreational Advisory. 

For more information, please contact LCWSC at (864) 682-3250 or DHEC’s Bureau of Water at 803-898-8374 or DHEC e-mail at WTR_ASP_HAB@dhec.sc.gov


August 13, 2021, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) informed LCWSC that the results from sampling in Lake Rabon from Wednesday, August 11 show all results were results were <1 ug/L.

This is well below the Recreation Standard of 8 ug/L for microcystin. The current Recreational Advisory will stay in place until two consecutive rounds of samples are reported with all results below the Standard. Additional samples will be collected by DHEC in two weeks.

Please remember that swimming, wading, or coming into contact with the water, scum, foam, and/or algae is not advised. Pets should not contact or drink lake water. Fishing in or near algae is not recommended; any fish taken from the lake should be thoroughly rinsed before consumption. Laurens County Water and Sewer Commission continues to work closely with DHEC to monitor Lake Rabon. Continued elevated results may require more stringent protection measures in the future, such as preventing access to Lake Rabon.

For more information, please contact LCWSC at (864) 682-3250 or DHEC’s Bureau of Water at 803-898-8374 or DHEC e-mail at WTR_ASP_HAB@dhec.sc.gov


July 27, 2021, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) submitted additional results from sampling in Lake Rabon from Monday, July 26 showing exceedances of the Recreation Standard of 8 ug/L for microcystin. The current Recreational Advisory will stay in place until two consecutive rounds of samples are reported with all results below the Standard. This Recreational Advisory cannot be lifted until two (2) consecutive weeks of sampling indicate all samples have low levels of microcystin. Additional samples will be collected by DHEC next week.

Please remember that swimming, wading, or coming into contact with the water, scum, foam, and/or algae is not advised. Pets should not contact or drink lake water. Fishing in or near algae is not recommended; any fish taken from the lake should be thoroughly rinsed before consumption. Laurens County Water and Sewer Commission continues to work closely with DHEC to monitor Lake Rabon. Continued elevated results may require more stringent protection measures in the future, such as preventing access to Lake Rabon.

LCWSC will continue to provide updates as necessary, to allow the public to make informed decisions.

For more information, please contact LCWSC at (864) 682-3250 or DHEC’s Bureau of Water at 803-898-8374 or DHEC e-mail at WTR_ASP_HAB@dhec.sc.gov


July 22, 2021, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) submitted results to LCWSC from follow-up sampling in Lake Rabon from Monday, July 19. All six (6) mycrocystin samples were less than 1 ug/L, well below the Recreation Standard of 8 ug/L. The current Recreational Advisory will stay in place until a second round of samples are reported below the Standard. Additional samples will be collected by DHEC next week.


Swimming, wading, or coming into contact with the water, scum, foam, and/or algae is not advised. Pets should not contact or drink lake water. Fishing in or near algae is not recommended; any fish taken from the lake should be thoroughly rinsed before consumption. Laurens County Water and Sewer Commission continues to work closely with DHEC to monitor Lake Rabon. Samples collected by LCWSC and analyzed by a Florida Laboratory specializing in harmful algae testing indicate the presence of the algae that produce mycrocystin, further results are pending. Updated information will be posted by Laurens County Water and Sewer Commission when available.

For more information, please contact LCWSC at (864) 682-3250 or DHEC’s Bureau of Water at 803-898-8374 or DHEC e-mail at WTR_ASP_HAB@dhec.sc.gov


Today, July 16, 2021, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) submitted results to LCWSC from routine monitoring in Lake Rabon indicating the presence of a harmful algal bloom (HAB). In an abundance of caution LCWSC is issuing a recreational water advisory for Lake Rabon in Laurens County based on DHEC’s results.

Microcystins, which are toxins produced by cyanobacteria, were detected in Lake Rabon at low levels, with one sample greater than 15 micrograms per liter (ug/L), which is greater than the South Carolina recreational water quality standard of 8 ug/L. Swimming, wading, or coming into contact with the water, scum, foam, and/or algae is not advised. Fishing in or near algae is not recommended; any fish taken from the lake should be thoroughly rinsed before consumption. Laurens County Water and Sewer Commission is working closely with DHEC to monitor Lake Rabon with additional sampling scheduled for Monday, July 19. Updated information will be posted by Laurens County Water and Sewer Commission when available.

For more information, please contact LCWSC at (864) 682-3250 or DHEC’s Bureau of Water at 803-898-8374 or DHEC e-mail at WTR_ASP_HAB@dhec.sc.gov or at this link scdhec.gov/harmful-algal-blooms