‘At our expense’: Would a Charlotte plan threaten the Catawba River?

Added: 2026-05-15

[00:00:00]Anything else? Alfred, [music] thank you.

[00:00:01]>> Yes, but the good news is no one was hurt. Only on WBTV is the future of the Catawba River in jeopardy. As North Carolina claws its way out of severe drought, people in the western part of the state are looking at Charlotte and raising the alarm. The city's exploring a long-term plan that would divert more water from the Catawba River.

[00:00:20]>> Opponents believe that raises questions about who gets control of the state's water resources.

[00:00:24]>> Investigative reporter Ann W. Coles traveled to where it all begins.

[00:00:30]We're deep in the forest of western North Carolina where the water source for all of Charlotte gets its start.

[00:00:40]Industrial uses, hydroelectric power, cooling for the nuclear power plant, recreational uses, yeah.

[00:00:49]It all starts here. Yeah. Yeah, this is it.

[00:00:53]These stairs, the equivalent of a 30-story building, take Andrew Kota and I to the top of the falls where the Catawba River begins.

[00:01:02]From here, the river flows east and then south to Charlotte.

[00:01:07]We're 100 miles away from Charlotte, but uh we are connected to Charlotte by this this river right here. So Kota is the executive director for the Foothills Conservancy, the nonprofit land trust that protects tens of thousands of acres across the three river basins, including the Catawba. The Yadkin, Catawba, and the Broad all flow to the Atlantic Ocean, right?

[00:01:29]>> protecting this watershed is what protects you when you turn on a faucet for a glass of water in communities downstream.

[00:01:38]Cuz it's an interconnected system, we all need to be concerned about the health of the entire watershed, not just look or focus locally.

[00:01:51]Rural communities along the Catawba who depend on the river feel that concern is what's lacking from Charlotte.

[00:01:58]We're not against Charlotte growing. We just don't want Charlotte to grow at our expense. Here's what Hickory Mayor Hank Guess is talking about. Since 2002, the state has allowed the city of Charlotte to transfer up to 33 million gallons of water a day away from the Catawba River.

[00:02:19]That water never goes back. But rather it gets treated and released into the neighboring Rocky River basin.

[00:02:25]Most days, Charlotte gets a bit over halfway to its daily max. But over the years, as well over 100 people move to Charlotte each day, this recent report shows Charlotte Water's peak usage days are getting closer and closer to that limit. The city has filed a notice with the state saying they want to increase their daily transfer allowance to up to 63 million gallons a day, nearly double the current arrangement. It's called an interbasin transfer or IBT, and modifying one is a years-long process that will ultimately require state approval.

[00:02:57]But the net result, more water diverted from the Catawba, is what has communities northwest of Charlotte concerned. So, once that water is taken from from the Catawba River here, it's gone forever.

[00:03:09]Communities like Hickory. We don't think that it's right that they should be able to take water that we need to to to to to grow our economy and to grow our region.

[00:03:21]>> You you could fill up Bank of America Stadium three times each day every day for the amount of water that they want to transfer out of the river basin.

[00:03:29]>> Hickory is a regional water provider, meaning this treatment plant services not just the city, And so, the water gets clearer as we go that way.

[00:03:37]>> but 120,000 customers and 12 jurisdictions across a multi-county region. From a drought management standpoint, we're really concerned about the impact this will have on our communities during a severe and extreme drought.

[00:03:51]We're about 10 to 12 inches below normal. It's not going to be made up with one shower.

[00:03:56]>> Amy Douglas is a fifth generation farmer and UNC Charlotte engineering graduate in Alexander County. The strawberry crop this year is a little different than what we would like to see. We've been dry since these things were planted last September.

[00:04:11]For strawberry farm, the farmers daughter is partially dependent on Hickory City water.

[00:04:16]She's one of the many regional customers I mentioned earlier.

[00:04:20]And while that city fueled irrigation has helped through the drought this spring, this plant field is showing signs of a growing season cut short and therefore a shortfall in revenue. That makes me nervous. That's what she doesn't want to see made worse by a plan like Charlotte's.

[00:04:36]She fears long-term impacts to the watershed and the surrounding groundwater throughout the river basin.

[00:04:43]If you're pulling out of the Catawba, I'm close enough to the river that it's going to affect my water table and my water supply.

[00:04:52]It's an all-encompassing concern. One that brings us back here, the waterfalls, the start of the river that feeds the region that we all depend on for our jobs, homes, our livelihoods.

[00:05:03]It's essential to protect the lands upstream.

[00:05:09]Incredible reporting there from our Naomi Coles who joins us now in studio with more. So, what does Charlotte Water have to say about all this? Yeah, so I they didn't provide an interview for the story, but they did talk to me and said this process is still early on. They are currently exploring both the environmental impact and any other alternatives to this proposal and they also pointed to a new study that they believe shows this IBT would have only minimal long-term impacts on water availability downstream in an extreme drought and they believe it wouldn't impact water upstream at all. I got to say here, I'm not sure everyone would agree with that, but that is how they interpret this new model.

[00:05:44]>> So, are there any alternatives here that that opponents to this plan want instead? Yeah, there's a couple things.

[00:05:50]The first thing is to make this temporary instead of permanent. And the second thing, more permanently, they would prefer Charlotte treat that water and send it back to the Catawba River.

[00:05:59]That would require the city to spend more money on infrastructure, and I do think it's important to point out here, a lot of the water that Charlotte uses, it does go back to the Catawba. It gets treated, it's gets sent back, but that water isn't what we're talking about.

[00:06:11]We're talking about a specific percentage, the portion that does not get sent back. They want to increase that portion, and that's what has so many communities up in arms. Yeah. Well, I just I just don't think a lot of people realize where our water comes from. We turn on the tap and we're not thinking, "Hey, it's starting." Exactly.

[00:06:27]So, it's something it's something important to think about.

[00:06:29]>> It's definitely new perspective on the cost of growth for all of our municipalities. I'm sure it's something you'll stay on top of. Naomi, thank you.

[00:06:35]And speaking of drought conditions, let's get the latest from meteorologist Lisa Viegas. Lisa, we're still dry out there. Yeah.