The Saluda River is formed about 10 mi (15 km) northwest of the city of Greenville, on the common boundary of Greenville and Pickens Counties, by the confluence of its north and south forks, each of which rises in the Blue Ridge Mountains very near the border of North Carolina at Saluda, North Carolina: From this confluence the Saluda River flows generally southeastwardly through the Piedmont region, through or along the boundaries of Pickens, Greenville, Anderson, Abbeville, Laurens, Greenwood, Newberry, Saluda, Lexington and Richland Counties, past the towns of Piedmont, West Pelzer, Pelzer, Ware Shoals and West Columbia.

(Note: this list may at times be incomplete) According to the Geographic Names Information System, the Saluda River has also been known as: The river is named after an Indian tribe that once lived along its banks near the community of Chappells, South Carolina.

Their mission is to "(protect) and (preserve) the headwaters of the Saluda watershed through concerned citizens action".

The article, posted on CNN on April 7, 2009 stated "Excess levels of sewage waste threaten the drinking water of more than 500,000 South Carolina residents, conservationists say.

Sewage in the river increases phosphorus and algae levels, depletes oxygen, and kills fish and other aquatic life.