Lake Murray Tragedy: The Public Health Failure That Killed Jaysen Carr
- CUBNSC
- Jul 29
- 4 min read
By Javar Juarez
Editor-in-Chief, Columbia Urban Broadcast Network (CUBNSC)
When 12-year-old Jaysen Carr went swimming in Lake Murray earlier this month, no one could have imagined it would be the last joyful summer memory he’d share with his family. Days later, Jaysen died from a rare but deadly infection caused by Naegleria fowleri, a brain-eating amoeba that thrives in warm freshwater.
His death has shaken our community—and it should shake our institutions too.
At a press conference today, Attorney Tyler Bailey, flanked by Jaysen’s grieving parents, demanded accountability from the South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) and Dominion Energy, the utility that manages Lake Murray’s water levels and tracks temperatures.
“This was a public health failure,” Bailey said. “The Department of Public Health should have immediately investigated, sealed off affected areas, and issued advisories. Instead, they’ve said nothing—leaving families blind to the dangers.”
Jaysen Carr: The Family’s Pain
Through heavy emotion, Jaysen’s parents painted a portrait of a remarkable young man: a multi-sport athlete, a musician who made the first chair flute, and a compassionate soul who spent his time helping special needs students.
“Jason never judged,” his father said. “He saw the world as a sunset—full of hope and love. He called everyone his friend.”
In heartbreaking detail, they described how Jaysen complained of a sharp headache, later enduring sedation, intubation, and even lifting his own arm to help nurses place an IV.
“I have never witnessed anyone with the will to fight like my son,” his father said.
Their message was clear: no other family should suffer this fate.
A Political and Public Health Failure
The South Carolina Department of Public Health, formed just last year after the dismantling of DHEC, has no mandate to test for Naegleria fowleri. There are no advisories when the organism is detected, no seasonal monitoring of lakes, and no requirement to report infections to the public. Officials instead tell families to “assume it’s everywhere.”
Representative Robert Reese, who sits on the House Agriculture and Environmental Services Committee, warned that this approach is both negligent and unsustainable:
“First of all, I want to pay homage to Jason Carr’s family and his legacy, because I think this is really—it’s a tragedy, and I do think that there is a great deal that we can not only learn from this situation, but I think there’s a great deal that we can do.”
“We’ve got to acknowledge climate change and the bacterial growth it fuels,” Reese said. “Our water systems are heating up, and without investment in testing and research, tragedies like Jaysen’s will only become more common.”
Reese, working with the University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health, stressed the urgent need for research funding and systemic testing in freshwater systems.
Tyler Bailey, noted that while Dominion Energy issues heat advisories to protect infrastructure and profits, there’s no parallel warning system for deadly pathogens in public waters.
The Climate Factor
Attorney Bailey underscored that climate change is worsening the threat:
“Historically, these cases were confined to the South,” Bailey explained. “Now we’re seeing them in Maryland and beyond because water stays hotter, longer. We know the risk spikes when water exceeds 80 degrees. Dominion tracks temperatures daily for its own operations—why can’t they share that data to protect our families?”
A Haunting Continuity
Lake Murray itself sits atop the flooded remains of historic Black communities like Lorick, displaced in the Jim Crow era. Once again, the people who sacrificed the most for “progress” are often the last to receive warnings, protections, or investments in public health.
There is a haunting continuity between the erasure of Black land and the silence surrounding Black loss.
What Must Be Done
This cannot stand. South Carolina lawmakers must act to:
Mandate water quality testing for Naegleria fowleri during high-risk summer months.
Fund signage and public advisories at high-traffic recreational sites.
Require Dominion Energy and DPH to share real-time water temperature and safety data.
Empower DPH to coordinate with environmental agencies for ongoing surveillance and community education.
As Bailey put it, “Even a short advisory could save lives.”
A Call to Conscience
Jaysen Carr’s memory must not fade into the background of a sweltering South Carolina summer. His death is a warning, a demand for change, and a call to conscience.
If South Carolina’s public health system refuses to protect its people proactively, then it falls to us—the people—to demand that it does.
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