News About the Upper Catawba River Basin
Catawba River One of Top 10 Endangered Places in the South
On January 26, 2012, the Southern Environmental Law Center announced its annual list of the Top 10 Endangered Places in the Solutheastern U.S. The Catawba-Wateree River was back on the list as the 3rd most endangered place in the Southeast because of the threats from coal ash, power plant water use and unnecessary reservoirs.
Report Documents Stress to Catawba River from Power Plants
According to a report by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), water used to cool power plants that generate electicity are stressing freshwater resources around the country, and particularly the Catawba River basin. The staff of Catawba Riverkeeper and the scientists involved in researching the report have been meeting with public officials about the implications of the report in the Catawba River basin.
Hickory Covekeepers Cleanup
Each year, the Lake Hickory Covekeepers organize a cleanup in conjunction with Big Sweep on the first Saturday in October. In 2011, the cleanup was held on October 2.
Volunteers Begin Water Quality Tests
You can help with the tests of water quality and clarity. Info below on how to get a “Secchi Disk” test kit
Sprawl on high: Losing N.C. mountain wilderness
Mary Newsom on sprawl in the N.C. Mountains (including the headwaters of the Catawba River).
Foothills Conservancy protects large tract of land on Catawba Headwaters
The Foothills Conservancy has added two large tracts to the protected land in McDowell County, thanks in large part to two grants from the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund. Article by Britt Combs, The McDowell News.
Draft 2010 Catawba Basin Plan Released
The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources recently presented a draft version of the 2010 Catawba Basin Plan to the North Carolina Environmental Managment Commission.
Southeast Water Efficiency Policies
Water efficiency is our best source of affordable water and must be the backbone of water supply planning.
Voice of the Rivers Program
Students from Brevard College begin their journey down the mighty Catawba, from its headwaters to the Atlantic Ocean, on May 16.
EPA ousts Lower Dissolved oxygen Variance for trout waters in the catawba river
View our recent press release
Water Quality Facts
The Catawba-Wateree River is under increasing stress from the growing population in the basin, outdated development practices, and inadequate regulatory protection for the River. In 2008, American Rivers, a river advocacy group, named the Catawba River as the most endangered river in the United States. In 2009, the U.S. EPA announced that four of the 44 highest hazard coal ash ponds in the United States are located on the Catawba River and all of these high hazard ash ponds are located on reservoirs used as a source of drinking water.
