S.C. Code Ann. § 49-4-140

The department may issue a temporary surface water withdrawal permit to a new applicant while his application is pending, if the temporary permit is necessary to address an imminent hazard to public health or the applicant demonstrates that without a temporary permit he will suffer physical or financial damage. A temporary permit must contain an expiration date, which must not be more than one hundred eighty days after it was issued. The issuance of a temporary permit does not guarantee that the department will issue a permanent permit to the applicant.