New water laws may boost economies
Improvements in management of water in the Catawba River as a result of new and proposed legislation should help local economies.
Nations Ford. Photo by Nancy Pierce.
LAKE WYLIE --
North and South Carolina water experts worked their way toward a common middle ground in a years-long legislative effort both states say should start paying off soon for the Catawba River.
At the quarterly meeting of the Catawba-Wateree River Basin Advisory Commission Aug. 27 in Rock Hill, representatives from both states talked about new legislation to monitor and permit the amount of water in river systems like the Catawba.
South Carolina approved a surface water permitting bill in its most recent legislative session, while North Carolina ratified five water supply bills. The new legislation, they say, should give both states a better grip on how much water they have, how much they can allocate to business and what safeguards need to be in place in case of drought.
What differs in the two states is the approach toward putting their plans into action.
“The endpoint will be withdrawal permitting,” said N.C. Sen. Dan Clodfelter, a commission member and sponsor of the major water bill impacting North Carolina. “We’re both going to the same place, we’re just coming at it from a different direction.”
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