Retail in 2022

John Searby • December 27, 2022

2022 Retail Recap

2022 has been an exciting year in so many ways for Catawba Riverkeeper! We’ve collected more samples than any previous year, educated more young people than ever before, and engaged thousands through our on-the-water and volunteer programs. One of the more interesting, challenging, and beneficial changes this year has been the addition of our retail spaces at Catawba Riverkeeper. This year we added 3 unique retail spaces, each with its own slate of programs and offerings that allow the public to engage with our mission and our staff in fun, interesting, and informational ways. Here’s a snapshot of our new spaces and what to expect when you visit:

The River Room is the front of house portion of our new headquarters in downtown McAdenville. Located at 102 Main St, Suite 100, McAdenville, NC, The River Room is the anchor tenant of the Dynamo 31 building, an adaptive reuse project that converted a 1940’s era mill building to modern Class A office space with a retro vibe. The River Room is a taproom that serves 12 beers on tap (all from breweries who take their water from the Catawba) and a selection of canned beer, wine and craft cocktails as well. We operate the River Room as a private club with ALL members of Catawba Riverkeeper included at no additional membership fee. Guests who choose not to become full members of Catawba Riverkeeper can purchase a limited membership to enjoy the River Room the day of their visit. In addition to the taproom, The River Room also offers a multi-purpose space that is available for rental by members and a patio to enjoy the lovely McAdenville Lake and surrounding area. The River Room is open Wed-Fri, 4-9p and Sat/Sun, 2-9p.

Confluence is an Arts, Music, and Recreation Center on the banks of the river in Cramerton, NC. Catawba Riverkeeper operates the space Thur/Fri, 4-9p, Sat, 2-9p, and Sun, 12-6p (Hours subject to change seasonally with the weather). Confluence is funded through the generous support of the Town of Cramerton and all of the proceeds of the programs, merchandise, and beverage sales go to fund the South Fork Collective, a project led by Catawba Riverkeeper that includes all of the municipalities, non-profits, utilities, and several for profit businesses in Gaston County who rely on the South Fork for the health and vibrancy of their communities. Confluence is unique in that it promotes not only the health of the river itself, but also the life in riverfront communities. Through partnership with local artists, musicians, and recreation organizations we offer residents and visitors alike the opportunity to engage with local art and music or rent a kayak, bike, fishing equipment, or other outdoor recreation items to get out and play! The bar at Confluence offers a wide variety of beer, wine, and cider as well as soft drinks and water. Our robust retail space features merchandise from the Town of Cramerton, Catawba Riverkeeper, and several other partners. And our art gallery includes dozens of pieces of art by local artists for sale in a variety of mediums. Once a week we feature local musicians in both free and ticketed concerts and you can participate in the music and art through classes for adults and children alike.

The Boathouse, our first foray into retail, opened in spring 2022 as a kayak outfitter and trailhead store at the South Fork Trail parking area in McAdenville, NC. For much of 2022, The Boathouse also served as our temporary offices. The Boathouse features seasonal public recreational offerings Saturdays and Sundays, May-September and supports private events year round. The Boathouse provides kayak rentals during the paddling season and also is the gathering place for many of our guided kayak programs throughout the year. Guests can grab any last minute items they might have forgotten for their trip like water, dry bags, sunscreen, or apparel as well as enjoying a cold beer, seltzer, or soft drink after their hike, bike, or paddle on the South Fork Trail or South Fork Blueway. There are public bathrooms accessible to all during normal business hours and the property also includes all-important storage for our boats, kayaks, canoes, trailers, trucks, and many other program supplies.


We are proud of all three of our retail spaces and we’re confident that no matter what you’re looking for you can find it at one of these spots. It has been amazing to see the increased level of awareness for Catawba Riverkeeper and our important work to preserve, protect, and restore the Catawba-Wateree River basin because of our public facing spaces. We anticipate that in 2023 approximately 15% of our revenue will be generated from our retail spaces and we invite you to come out to any and all of them to not only have fun with friends and family, but also to support our work. If you are interested in booking a private event at any of our spaces, please email vanessa.c@catawbariverkeeper.org for rates, availability, and space details. We hope to see you on and near the river in 2023!

Comments on the Charlotte Data Center Moratorium

May 27, 2026
On the evening of May 26th, 2026, Catawba Riverkeeper Brandon Jones attended the Charlotte City Council Public Meeting. At this meeting, he shared our organization's comments on the proposed 150-day data center moratorium. These comments can be read below. "The Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation is a member-funded environmental nonprofit that educates, advocates, and protects the Catawba-Wateree River and all its tributaries. Our organization represents over 8,000 active members and nearly 3 million citizens who rely on the watershed for drinking water, recreation, and electricity. We are concerned that the growth of local data centers may overallocate our limited resources and decrease our ability to respond to drought. We appreciate the opportunity to comment on the proposed 150-day moratorium and strongly support the staff's recommendation to adopt it. Additionally, if adopted, we recommend that the study consider a tiered approach, transparency, and net water consumption. For our water resources, the most important data center metric is net water use. A 400 MW facility—like the one now under construction on Moores Chapel Road—may actually evaporate more water indirectly than directly for cooling. The nearby Catawba Nuclear Station uses approximately 30 MGD to produce 2,300 MW or 5.2 MGD from Lake Wylie per 400 MW. However, without transparency and reporting, it is difficult to know the current impact of these data centers and almost impossible to accurately forecast the industry's future. The most accurate forecast of our region's water resources is the Catawba Wateree Water Management Group’s 2026 Integrated Water Resources Plan. Unfortunately, this plan explicitly does not include increases in water use from data centers due to limited reliable information. It is absolutely critical that our community has accurate information. We need full transparency on the planned electrical and water use of large data centers. A ban of nondisclosure agreements between elected officials and developers could help alleviate suspicion and allow communities to make informed decisions about tradeoffs. The potential direct and indirect impact s of a project should be modeled by the CWWMG to determine its actual impacts. Those impacts could be mitigated by funding water conservation projects, as some data centers have already proposed. Once operating, we need reporting on the actual water and energy use. The cumulative impact must be understood to ensure capacity and resiliency. Water withdrawers from the Catawba utilize a Low Inflow Protocol during drought to help stretch the available supply. Large data centers need conservation plans that comply with this plan. It is hypocritical to ask residents and some businesses to restrict water use while permitting facilities that cannot or will not do the same. Most years, there is plenty of water for drinking, irrigation, ecological flows, and industry in the Catawba. However, droughts such as 2001, 2007, and today expose our vulnerabilities. These droughts are more likely in a warming climate, and we are becoming less resilient with a growing population and industrial demands. Sustainable water management requires careful planning and robust coordination between users, including data centers."

Helene Cleanups Continue 18 Months Later

By Susannah Bryant • March 19, 2026
Greg Nance has had his boots on the ground since the storm subsided.

All About Live Stakes

February 19, 2026
Live staking is a streambank restoration approach that reduces erosion and sediment pollution. This is the practice of planting dormant branch cuttings of native plants along streambanks (also known as riparian zones) to help hold soil in place along the waters' edge. Live stakes are planted along with native plant seeds and shrubs to create riparian buffers, which help prevent sediment from becoming a stream pollutant by securing the soil in place with good root systems. Riparian buffers also filter out other pollutants, such as chemicals, oils, fertilizers, and trash, before they enter our waterways.