Tree Service in Daniel Island, SC

DANIEL ISLAND, S.C. (WCBD) – Usually at Smythe Park Lake on Daniel Island, you’ll find plenty of fish swimming in the pond.

But what washed ashore just a few days ago left some members of the community in complete disbelief.

“Monday morning particularly, this whole area was just filled with thousands of dead fish.” Said Stephen Goodwin, a longtime Daniel Island resident.

Goodwin says he’s seen fish kills before, but not of this extent.

“I’ve lived here 16 years and never seen anything like this before.” Said Goodwin.

In a statement, the Daniel Island Property Association says the South Carolina Department of Environmental Resources inspected the lake after the event. They determined the cause was a low dissolved oxygen event due to heavy rainfall over the past week.

While there are still some remains left of the incident, today saw a major difference days later with most of the fish now cleared. That’s because members of the Property Association say they’ve been cleaning up the lake since Sunday.

Goodwin says while he’s glad to see the lake back to how it was, he and other residents Count on 2 with hope there are solutions to avoid this from happening again.

“Aerators are about $2,000. And so this lake looks like it needs maybe two or three.” Suggested Pam Roberts, another Daniel Island resident.

“I think we just got to figure out what the best management practices for keeping this a healthy lake stocked with healthy fish.” Said Goodwin.

The Daniel Island Property Association says they are working with their pawn contractor to explore opportunities to not only lower the chance of this happening again, but lessen the impact if it does.

DANIEL ISLAND, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - More than a thousand dead fish were found floating in Smythe Lake on Daniel Island and the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services says a low dissolved oxygen event is to blame.

SCDES investigators responded to the fish kill and determined there was not enough oxygen dissolved in the water for fish to breathe normally.

Fish kills can occur for a variety of reasons. Low dissolved oxygen is one of the most common causes and can result from warm water temperatures, changes in weather, excessive aquatic vegetation or algae or the decomposition of organic material, according to SCDES. Other potential causes include disease, changes in water chemistry or the introduction of pollutants.

Steven Goodwin, a Daniel Island resident, said he and his neighbors noticed gas bubbling up from the lake about a week before the fish began dying.

“By Saturday, we saw fish surface breathing,” Goodwin said. “Just one or two, which is a little odd. And then by Sunday, when we came out at 7:30 in the morning, the entire population of fish were up at the surface. Because I’ve got video of it. It’s quite amazing to see how many fish there were in the lake and every single one of them coming up to try to breathe.”

By Monday, Goodwin said, roughly 1,000 fish were dead.

“I’ve lived here 16 years,” Goodwin said. “People on the island lived here 25, 26 years. We’ve never seen anything of this magnitude. We’ll see 4 or 5, you know, 10 or 12 occasionally in the far corner where obviously they didn’t get enough oxygen. This is a mass event.”

Goodwin said he called the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources immediately.

“Shocked,” Goodwin said. “That’s why we called DNR immediately because I’ve lived here 16 years and that doesn’t happen.”

Goodwin said SDNR told him Smythe Lake is a retention pond and that responsibility falls to the Property Owners Association.

He said he then contacted the POA, which told him it would collect the dead fish once the event was over.

Steve Meyer, a SCDNR regional freshwater fisheries biologist, said a low dissolved oxygen event means there wasn’t enough oxygen in the water for fish to survive, and it typically affects larger fish worse.

Meyer said heavy weekend rain likely caused the lake to mix, combining an oxygen-rich top layer with a low-oxygen layer below.

“During periods of warm weather, like in the summer and late fall, the ponds stratify into, like a warm, oxygen-rich layer at the top, and then a cooler oxygen poor layer down below,” Meyer said. “That oxygen poor lower layer is filled with decomposing organic material and sediment and just muck. And so, when you get a heavy, cool rain, that can turn up the system and those sediments on the bottom, causing there to be mixing throughout the lake, and that oxygenated top layer mixes with the low oxygen lower layer. That decomposing organic material is then spread throughout the whole system and you get an oxygen crash throughout the whole system.”

Meyer said the event was most likely caused by the weather and that fish kills of this kind aren’t uncommon this time of year in Lowcountry ponds.

“It’s unfortunate, but it’s not super uncommon that we see these types of fish kills this time of year, in the Lowcountry, in ponds,” Meyer said.

Meyer said Smythe Lake is a 22-acre pond, and a kill of this size is not uncommon for a pond that size.

“It’s pretty common for fish kills like this to happen, and when they happen in a pond this size, 22 acres, I mean, you kind of magnify out the numbers to where, yeah, thousands could occur,” Meyer said.

Meyer said aquatic herbicides applied to duckweed or other plants can sometimes cause fish kills, though he said he is not aware of any herbicide application at Smythe Lake.

“That is a possible reason if they did apply aquatic herbicides to duckweed or whatever plants,” Meyer said. “As far as I know, they didn’t. But that is a cause of fish kill sometimes.”

Meyer said the dead fish do not pose a risk to reptiles or amphibians in the lake.

“If it’s a low oxygen kill, there’s no risk to those amphibians, those reptiles, like turtles and alligators, because they breathe atmospheric oxygen,” Meyer said. “And then the birds and alligators and turtles and stuff are all happily feasting on dead fish, so they’re okay. Those fish aren’t toxic or anything; they suffocated; they aren’t poisoned.”

Meyer said aerators or fountains are sometimes used in ponds to keep water mixed and prevent stratification.

“Sprinklers, like aerators and oxygenators, are sometimes implemented in ponds like these, and they can be used to keep the water mixed so that it doesn’t stratify,” Meyer said. “It can help keep the water well oxygenated, either subsurface aerators, like pumping oxygen into the lake, or those sprinklers, those fountains that sort of spray water up in the air, and that water mixes back down in with oxygen in it.”

Meyer said avoiding nutrient overload and overstocking fish are also ways to prevent low oxygen fish kills, and that a pond the size of Smythe Lake would need more than one fountain to make a difference.

“You want to avoid overloading ponds with nutrients, either from runoff or fertilization, and you want to avoid overstocking them with too many fish,” Meyer said. “Those are the main ways you avoid these types of low oxygen fish kills. I think it’s a 22-acre pond. So I don’t think it would be like, oh, one fountain out there would fix it, like you’d have to do a little more than that.”

Meyer said any decisions are ultimately up to the POA.

“It’s totally up to that property owners association, but my recommendations would be to avoid nutrient loading from runoff and fertilization and to consider aeration of the pond through either subsurface aerators or surface fountains,” Meyer said.

The POA is now collecting the dead fish from the lake.

Goodwin said he wants to know what the lake’s weed management program involves, since removing vegetation like alligator weed and duck weed without proper disposal can deplete oxygen in the water.

“We want to know what the weed management program is,” Goodwin said. “The lake gets a lot of alligator weed and duckweed. They kill that. But if you don’t remove it, it depletes oxygen. And so it could be a combination of factors. We just want to get to the bottom of that.”

Goodwin said he also wants to discuss a long-term aeration strategy and restocking the lake with fish.

“We’d also like to talk about longer-term plans. What is the aeration strategy?” Goodwin said. “Not just when something like this happens, but on an ongoing basis. They need these giant carp to eat the grass. They’ve got to restock this now.”

Goodwin said the lake supports a wider ecosystem, including alligators, osprey, eagles, kites and hawks.

“There’s always people fishing along the banks here and over on the far side,” Goodwin said. “We’ve got a healthy alligator population. There’s at least two in there right now. And ospreys, wild eagles, kites, hawks, they all live around here. Many fish that feed off of all the grasses that we’re trying to keep under control. I think we want to talk about a strategy where everything blossoms. And fish.”

Goodwin said the POA sent residents an email saying it plans to talk with its landscaping company.

“POA put out an email saying that they’re going to talk to the landscape company in Clemson,” Goodwin said. “And I hope that conversation includes some aeration strategies. A lot of people coming up to me just while we’re sitting here this morning saying, I can’t believe there’s no fountain in the lake. I don’t know what the aeration strategy has been, but a lake of this size, if we want it to be healthy, we have to talk about aeration.”

Goodwin said residents are not looking to assign blame.

“Shock,” Goodwin said. “You can still see it. People walking around. They look at the lake and they’re just shaking their head. You know, this is 2026. How is this happening? We know better. I don’t think anyone’s looking to blame anybody here. I think we just all assume this is part of our nature, everyday existence on Daniel Island. We love living here. We love the birds. We love the fish. Let’s work together to make sure that everything thrives.”

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DANIEL ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) — Berkeley County is moving forward with plans to develop a public park on 114 acres of land along the west bank of Daniel Island, with the design process now underway.

The county purchased the property in 2024 from the South Carolina Ports Authority.

“The Port had property on Daniel Island’s west bank of about 114 acres, and it was looking to sell,” Berkeley County Council member Jarrod Brooks said.

The county paid more than $1 million to acquire the land. Funding came through the Berkeley County Greenbelt Program, which draws from 10% of a one-penny sales tax.

The county approved the start of the design process as part of its 2027 budget, allocating approximately $50,000 for this phase. Residents will have the opportunity to provide input on the park’s design, officials said.

Officials envision the space as a passive park rather than one with active programming.

“What you may think of as a passive park — rather than active programming, it would be things such as trails, perhaps a dock,” Brooks said.

The county also intends to preserve the site’s historical significance. Brooks said a number of artifacts have been found on the property and that it was once a launching point during the Revolutionary War era.

Some residents said they want the park to reflect the natural character of the Lowcountry.

“We’d love to see it kind of celebrate what’s already here. You can see the trees around us, there’s osprey, there’s a ton of natural life,” Daniel Island resident Torrence Sullivan said.

Sullivan also noted the broader value of the Cooper River location.

“Cooper River is historic, and so anything along the Cooper River is, I think, a win,” Sullivan said.

With new development continuing in the area, residents said access to open green space is a priority.

“Something that’s wide open, not only for the people who live directly adjacent, but the rest of us, would be fantastic,” Sullivan said.

A timeline for the park’s completion has not been set.

Fans can get an early look at the 2026-27 South Carolina women’s basketball team this weekend.

Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks are facing off against College of Charleston in the LinkU Invitational, an outdoor exhibition triple-header event, on Daniel Island in Charleston.

South Carolina has been officially practicing for just a week but will get an early look at how things translate to a game environment when it tips off against the Cougars on Sunday at 4 p.m.

“We’re super excited,” USC guard Jordan Lee said. “Any time I think an event like that has happened in college athletics, it’s always been something that’s elevated, whether it’s been volleyball, basketball. So to be a part of it, having an outdoor environment, something that’s new, something that’s different, and to be able to represent the brand of South Carolina, we’re stoked.”

Here’s everything you need to know about the Gamecocks’ first exhibition of the season:

South Carolina vs College of Charleston exhibition details

About the LinkU Invitational

The LinkU Invitational includes three college basketball exhibition games played in Credit One Stadium on Daniel Island in Charleston.

The event was initially slated to be a men’s double-header when it was announced back in July. Virginia and Vanderbilt will play at noon, and The Citadel and College of Charleston will play at approximately 2 p.m.

A third exhibition between the South Carolina and College of Charleston women’s basketball teams was announced Aug. 20.

Credit One Stadium generally hosts tennis events and concerts. Its capacity was expanded to 11,000 seats (about 7,000 fewer than Colonial Life Arena) in 2022 after extensive renovations.

A basketball court will be built on top of the stadium’s usual tennis courts for the games.

There are several ticket packages available. South Carolina will host a Chalk Talk event on Friday. Fans can watch the Gamecocks practice on Saturday before Charleston’s Uptown Social hosts a watch party for USC’s football game vs. Alabama that night.

How South Carolina got involved

It’s no surprise Staley would jump at the chance to play in such an innovative event.

After all, South Carolina was part of the first Oui Play event in Paris a few years ago and will be returning to France for its season opener in November.

The opportunity for South Carolina to play in the LinkU Invitational specifically was brought to USC’s director of operations, Ariana Moore.

“Ari does our schedule. People actually bring her opportunities for us to [be] innovative,” Staley said. “We like innovative. We like doing new things and experiencing new things.”

Staley, in a press release in August, said that participating in the event was a good way to also give back to Charleston-area Gamecock fans.

Are there concerns with playing outdoors?

The LinkU Invitational isn’t the first time an indoor sporting event has been played outdoors, and it won’t be the last.

But any event like this comes with concern about playing conditions.

The greater Charleston area is expected to see temperatures as high as 82 degrees and as low as 63. The “real feel” will peak at about 88 degrees, per AccuWeather. And even though it’s late September, humidity will still be something to factor in, especially in Charleston.

The court condition will be something to keep an eye on as game time gets closer. In 2012, condensation on the court aboard the USS Yorktown in the Carrier Classic (also in Charleston) forced a men’s basketball exhibition between Ohio State and Marquette to be canceled.

Earlier this month, the second game of the women’s volleyball SEC-Big Ten Challenge, which was held outdoors at Wrigley Field in Chicago, was suspended due to condensation on the court.

Staley said player safety is her top priority and admitted that court conditions are a concern. A decision will reportedly be made by Friday at 9 a.m. if the games need to be moved indoors.

“Yes, we are real concerned about the court conditions, but we’ve got two games before ours to make a good decision,” Staley said. “I think we’re supposed to have good weather too, so we’ll see. We’ll call it — we’re not gonna put anybody in harm’s way. I think bottom line is player safety, and for us, we don’t have a 12 o’clock game, so we’ll be looking out for it.”

A look at South Carolina’s roster

Here’s a quick breakdown of South Carolina’s roster entering the season

Staley is carrying a full 15-woman roster this season, bucking her own norm of leaving a few roster spots open.

The Gamecocks return two starters from last season in Tessa Johnson and Joyce Edwards. Johnson set new career-highs last year in points (12.8 avg), rebounds (3.4 avg), assists (2.5 avg) and led the SEC with a 44.8% clip from 3-point range. Edwards was named an All-American after leading the team with 19.2 points per game and was second on the team with 6.8 rebounds per game.

South Carolina is getting two key forwards from ACL injuries this year as well. Chloe Kitts (tore ACL in October 2025) and Ashlyn Watkins (tore ACL in January 2025) both appear to be healthy and ready to play in the 2026-27 season. Both are All-SEC players are their best and will be crucial to the Gamecocks’ success in the paint this year.

Staley also managed to keep together her young core of talented sophomores in Ayla McDowell, Agot Makeer and Alicia Tournebize. The trio has been joined by five talented freshmen who were ranked the No. 2 recruiting class in the country by ESPN.

South Carolina also added two transfers to the rotation in Jordan Lee (Texas) and Brooke Quarles-Daniels (Michigan by way of Oakland). Both players will eat up plenty of minutes at guard for the Gamecocks are skilled on both sides of the basketball.

CHARLESTON — A “critical” flash flood warning is in effect for Berkeley and Charleston counties the night of Oct. 4.

The National Weather Service extended the warning until at least 1 a.m., after earlier extending it from 11 p.m. to midnight.

“This is a dangerous and life-threatening situation,” the NSW warning stated. “Do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing an area subject to flooding or under an evacuation order.”

More than a dozen downtown streets are closed in certain places, according to the city’s TideEye website. There are two high-water vehicles deployed to help motorists, and the Charleston Fire Department had responded to nine submerged vehicles by 10:30 p.m., city spokeswoman Deja Knight McMillan said in a release.

“Do not drive downtown unless it is an emergency,” McMillan said.

Around 11 p.m., streets south of downtown Charleston's medical district were covered after upward of 3 inches of rain fell, according to local weather monitors. Streets around Ashley Avenue were knee-deep in stormwater that flowed like a river near Cannon Park. A handful of stranded vehicles could be seen around low spots, and a few motorists in SUVs plowed through deep water on Calhoun Street.

An alert just before 9 p.m., which pinged cell phones across the area, came as rain pounded parts of the Lowcountry, including West Ashley, Mount Pleasant and downtown Charleston.

“Doppler radar indicated thunderstorms producing heavy rain across the warned area,” the warning read. “Between 2 and 4.5 inches of rain have fallen. Additional rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches are possible in the warned area. Flash flooding is ongoing or expected to begin shortly.”

The agency’s Charleston forecast for Oct. 4 showed showers all day, resulting in a proactive cancellation of two major local events.

North Charleston, Mount Pleasant, downtown Charleston, Daniel Island, James Island, West Ashley, Johns Island, Hollywood, Charleston Naval Complex and Charles Towne Landing might have experienced flash flooding, according to the warning.

When encountering flooded roads, the weather service is warning drivers to turn around, as most flood deaths occur in vehicles.

Streets reported flooded and closed include:

Check the city’s TideEye website for exact locations and further updates.

Tony Bartelme, Teri Errico Griffis and Jason Cato contributed to this report.