Blog

Though the direct impacts from Hurricane Helene were not as severe throughout the Lower Catawba and Wateree watersheds within our basin, there was still significant flooding and ensuing damage. When our Southern Basin Watershed Manager, Rachael Rosenstein, visited our Outdoor Classroom property in Fort Lawn, SC a few days after the Hurricane passed through, it was evident that the property had essentially become a part of the Catawba River as the water flowed through the fields. The local mallard population was thankful to have somewhere to shelter, but the storm left us with some downed trees and carried benches, picnic tables, and other loose items to different spots on the property. Since then, we have been able to collect all those items and return them to where they belong. Prior to Hurricane Helene, a different storm caused a tree to fall on top of the building at the property. Thanks to the help of Catawba Nation and Metcon, a general contracting company, we were able to get the house debris cleared out before the end of September. After the Hurricane, these partners were also were able to repair the damage the tree caused. Thanks to their help, the building is now sealed up, and we can use it as-needed. We have more fun projects in the works, as well! We are excited to share that we were able to put up one bat box in November (pictured above), and we will be installing another one soon. We are still working hard on the prairie restoration which we received a Duke HEP grant for in 2023 and hope to be making more progress on that this fall. Thanks to funding from the Catawba Nation Foundation and the Arras Foundation, we will be installing a park-style restroom on the property within the next year. This will allow for increased programming at the property. We also received a grant from Athletic Brewing’s Two for the Trails program that will help partially fund a boardwalk trail! We are grateful to be making headway on this project, but we are still working to raise the remain funds needed to move forward with building the boardwalk. All-in-all, we have a lot to be thankful for and a lot to look forward to at the Outdoor Classroom!

What is an IBT? If you follow us online, you’ve probably seen the letters “IBT” tossed around over the last few months. But what is an IBT and why do we keep mentioning it? IBT stands for “Interbasin Transfer,” or a process in which surface water is taken from a “donor” or “source” river basin and transferred to a “receiving” basin. Typically, IBTs are created because of a public water system’s need to increase the amount of water available to meet demand, or because a water system lies within two different river basins and draws water from one and discharges into the other. In 1993, North Carolina passed an “Act to Regulate Interbasin Transfers” that required a certificate from the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission (EMC) to permit any surface water transfers between river basins that were greater than 2 million gallons per day (MGD). How many IBTs exist in North Carolina? Currently, there are nine IBT certificates effectively regulating 11 water systems throughout the state. Additionally, 10 water systems are permitted to transfer more than two MGD through grandfathered allowances. Smaller surface water transfers between basins also exist, with six systems transferring between 1 and 2 MGD, and 106 systems transferring less than 1 MGD. What's happening in Charlotte? Charlotte Water draws water for the region from intakes on Lake Norman and Mountain Island Lake, both of which are in the Catawba-Wateree River Basin. However, with the city of Charlotte being situated partially in the Catawba-Wateree River Basin and partially in the Yadkin-Pee Dee River Basin, Charlotte Water currently uses an interbasin transfer certificate to discharge a portion of the region’s wastewater into the Yadkin-Pee Dee River Basin. As Charlotte regions located in the Yadkin-Pee Dee River Basin continue to grow (areas such as Mint Hill and Huntersville), Charlotte Water is predicting that the current IBT certificate that allows the transfer of 33 MGD will not be sufficient in the coming years. Because of this, they are requesting an increase to the certificate as they look towards the future. Click here to learn more about Charlotte Water’s IBT request. Looking back and looking ahead. In North Carolina, IBT requests must include water demand projections in 10-year increments for at least 30-years. Requests in this state must also meet the most extensive requirements in the Southeast, and the process can take anywhere from 3-5 years. Though this might seem like long-term planning, we don’t think this planning is long-term enough. Catawba Riverkeeper has been raising concerns about overallocation ever since Charlotte requested to expand its legacy IBT of 16.9 MGD to the current 33 MGD 23 years ago. We spoke out again in 2006 during the 2006 IBT request of Concord & Kannapolis, again in 2010 during the SC vs. NC Supreme Court case, and once again in 2013 on Charlotte’s permit to include the Goose Creek Watershed. The population is continuing to grow, correlating with the increased demand for water, and continuing to increase IBT certificates for decades to come has the possibility to adversely affect the receiving basin, donor basin, and downstream communities. We believe that it is critical to focus on long-term conservation and mitigation solutions instead of continuing to request these increases as short-term fixes. What’s Catawba Riverkeeper doing? Since Charlotte announced their increase request, we have been following developments and attending the public scoping meetings. Catawba Riverkeeper Brandon Jones shared preliminary comments at the final meeting in Rock Hill, SC, and on August 30, our official comments and recommendations for this interbasin transfer request were submitted to Charlotte’s IBT Project. In these comments, Jones stated that “We are advocating that Charlotte take this opportunity to lead the region into the next phase of water conservation and mitigation. We need a new system that better captures the value of our surface waters for current and future generations. There are many ways to decrease the demand for transfers per capita and increase the available supply, all of which should be fully vetted.” Click here to read the rest of our comments and recommendations. What’s next? Now that the public scoping meetings have concluded and comments from stakeholders have been submitted, NC DEQ will create an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). This statement will examine potential impacts to both the source and receiving basins, including drought and conservation impacts. The EIS will also evaluate the possible alternatives to the proposed transfer as well as methods to mitigate negative impacts of it. Once drafted, the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission (EMC) will hold a public hearing and open another comment period to evaluate the draft. If approved, Charlotte Water will then be able to submit the IBT modification request to NC DEQ. The EMC will issue a draft decision of whether to grant the request, and another public hearing and comment period will commence. A final decision will then be made by the Environmental Management Commission. We will be following every step of this process, so stay tuned for more updates in the months and years to come. Sources Charlotte Water Interbasin Transfer . Charlotte Water. (n.d.). https://www.charlottenc.gov/water/DevelopmentBusiness/Charlotte-Water-IBT NC DEQ. (2022, March 10). Regulatory Impact Analysis: Interbasin Surface Water Transfers. https://www.deq.nc.gov/emc-attach-10mar22-6/open River Network. (2019). Protecting and Restoring Flows in Our Southeastern Rivers: A Synthesis of State Policies for Water Security and Sustainability. http://www.rivernetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/River-Network-Protecting-Restoring-Flows-in-SE-Rivers-2019.pdf

Every summer, the arrival of interns brings a flurry of activity and excitement to the Catawba Riverkeeper office. This year, we were fortunate enough to have 6 summer interns contribute their own unique skills to furthering the work of preserving, protecting, and restoring the Catawba-Wateree River Basin. Read on to learn more about our interns’ experiences! Will Garrett | South Fork Watershed Intern | Tufts University As the South Fork Watershed Intern, Will was able to work on a variety of projects, including the Swim Guide program, environmental justice mapping, fish cataloging, and permit reviewing. At the end of the summer, Will shared that “this internship enabled me to explore the scientific aspects of environmental and conservation work, helping me develop a new skill set that I can apply to future endeavors.” Click here to watch Will’s final presentation on Lithium! Greta Hopf | Southern Watershed Intern | University of Alabama in Huntsville During her internship, Greta gained experience in all aspects of the Swim Guide program, from collecting water samples in the Southern watershed, transporting water samples to the Riverkeeper Lab, and testing the samples for E. Coli. When she wasn’t working on Swim Guide, Greta conducted research on culturing algae samples and using microscopy to identify algae blooms. You can view the slides for her final presentation here. Greta also spent some of her summer researching diversity, equity, and inclusion in the conservation sphere and researching the Carolina creekshell mussel. Katie Brockland | Northern Watershed Intern | University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Based in our Morganton office, Katie also worked hard all summer to ensure that Swim Guide samples were collected, transported, and tested in the Northern Watershed. Katie's keen interest in exploring the intricate relationships between environmental dynamics, local communities, and human behavior led her to this internship, and she was glad for the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in water-quality monitoring along the waters of Burke County, NC. Her final project shared her research on 6PPD-quinone, a chemical used to strengthen tires that, according to emerging research, is negatively impacting steelhead, rainbow, and brook trout populations. Mercedes Carrillo | Marketing Intern | University of North Carolina at Charlotte Marketing Intern Mercedes also contributed greatly to the success of our Swim Guide Program. Every Friday, she took the data collected for Swim Guide and made it easily accessible for the public in the form of social media posts. During her internship, she focused on a variety of design, content creation, and event planning tasks, including creating flyers, social media posts, and promotional materials for various events like Jam at the Dam, Pig Pickin’ and Politicin,’ and RiverFest. Mercedes shared that ”the opportunity to work on a variety of projects has helped me develop a versatile skill set, and the experience of working within a non-profit organization has given me a deeper understanding of how design and communication can support important conservation causes.” Parker Kabel | Outdoor Recreation Intern | University of Kentucky Though perhaps a bit obvious to say, Parker, our Outdoor Recreation Intern, spent much of his time outside and on the water this summer. Supporting Eco-Tours, Full Moon Paddles, private paddles, and CREEK Program paddles gave Parker the opportunity to work with a wide range of people with a variety of backgrounds and paddling skills. When he wasn’t slinging kayaks or paddling with groups, Parker contributed greatly to the planning and preparation of numerous summer events, such as Jam at the Dam and RiverFest. Nathan Young | Community Outreach Intern | University of North Carolina at Charlotte Participating in the Catawba Riversweep last fall led Nathan to apply for the Community Outreach Intern position in the spring. In this role, Nathan met people from all over the river basin as he supported numerous public and private volunteer cleanups. While he was working with us this summer, Nathan also collected and organized data from our Trash Traps, and he completed the North Carolina fishing line recycling project. With his help, 8 new bins have been installed around the Central Basin! Nathan also spent time researching volunteer retention, primarily in an environmental conservation setting.

Today the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) filed a petition with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to remove North Carolina’s authority to enforce the Clean Water Act (CWA). SELC filed the petition on behalf of Cape Fear River Watch, Environmental Justice Community Action Network, Haw River Assembly, and MountainTrue. The petition argues that North Carolina’s General Assembly has systematically undermined the State’s ability to adequately enforce the CWA. They document the underfunding of agencies tasked with enforcement and the creation of new bureaucratic hurdles to block protective standards for toxins including PFAS. If successful, the petition would either require the General Assembly to correct the deficiencies or cede regulatory authority back to the federal government. The EPA has 90 days to respond. Find the full press release and petition here .

Sustainable Solutions: Water Conservation, Mitigation, & Assessing Impacts on Endangered Species