33 Million Gallons per Day: first public meeting held on Charlotte Water IBT modification request

May 10—CALDWELL COUNTY — On Wednesday, May 8, at Ridgeview Branch Public Library in Hickory, the first public meeting was held regarding Charlotte Water's Interbasin Transfer modification request, for which Charlotte filed a letter of intent in February. The controversial change, if allowed, could allow Charlotte Water to transfer an additional 30 million gallons per day (MGD) from the Catawba river basin, bringing their total limit of transferable water to 63 MGD—nearly double the previous limit.

The meeting was scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m., held in a small, overcrowded presentation room containing residents and elected officials from Lenoir, Hudson, Cajah's Mountain, Granite Falls and Hickory, and across Caldwell, Catawba, Avery, and Burke Counties, among others. The meeting had standing room only, with some attendees unable to get in.

A presentation was given by Angela Charles, Director of Charlotte Water, Harold Brady, Director of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Division of Water Resources, and Ron Hargrove, Deputy Director of Charlotte Water.

The presentation contained information on IBTs, the request process, and what community members could expect moving forward.

An Interbasin Transfer (IBT) is a withdrawal of water from one river basin to another.

The water is treated and distributed to customers. A portion of that water is moved to a wastewater treatment facility, where it is treated and returned to the original basin. The rest is lost to uses like agriculture irrigation, where it cannot be collected for return. What is included in the transfer amount is not the total water moved, it is only the water that Charlotte is not required to return after wastewater treatment. Although IBTs are exceedingly common in the strictest sense, most transfer less than 1 MGD, and those transfers exceeding 2 MGD are regulated by the state.

If an IBT request is approved, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality's Environmental Management Commission will award a certificate allowing the IBT. Charlotte filed a notice of intent to request a modification to its existing IBT certificate, capping its transfer at 33 MGD, to allow for an additional 30 MGD to be withdrawn. The notice of intent is the first step in the multi-year long process of requesting a modification. The original 33 MGD certificate was approved in 2002. Charlotte water expects this limit to support the Charlotte area's water demands until 2028, but Charlotte water is beginning the multi-year process of raising the limit now, before demand can exceed that limit.

Although Charlotte Water does not have specific details about the impact of the proposed modification, more research will be conducted as a part of making the request, which will illuminate economic and environmental impacts of the transfer. The EMC will make its final decision based on that information, and upon the request as it is modified to account for that information and additional public concerns.

Members of the Western Piedmont Council of Governments expressed concern that the transfer would overtax a finite resource. In 2005, Concord and Kannapolis requested a 36 MGD IBT request, which turned into a 10 MGD certificate (to be reduced during drought conditions). If Charlotte Water's request is approved, a total of 73 MGD of water could be transferred from the Catawba river basin to the Charlotte area.

"Our region should not be forced to give up its potential growth opportunities to subsidize charlotte's growth with our water resources," said a letter from the COG.

The meeting turned to public comment, during which many local elected officials announced their opposition to the request, including Lenoir Mayor Joseph Gibbons. Locals used their available time to make their concerns known about the request and the consequences it might have on local life and economic growth should the modification be approved. The crowed overwhelmingly expressed frustration with the lack of concrete information provided at the meeting and with what attendees felt was a lack of transparency and responsiveness from Charlotte Water throughout the process.

Charlotte Water has promised to respond to these criticisms by a larger venue at future public meetings and discussions and allowing the public comments to shape the content of future meetings and research.

"This is our step 1," said David Czerr, Deputy Director of Charlotte Water Engineering and Land Development. "I hate that anyone walks away thinking we were working on this in advance. I hate that people felt overwhelmed or blindsided."

If there existed a consensus among the attendees, it was: "the proposed IBT modification by Charlotte Water represents an impermanent and unnecessary solution to its growth problems that will inevitably harm the environment and economic opportunities of those living on or near the Catawba river basin. Charlotte should prioritize sustainable policy changes and other means of dealing with its projected growth without drawing on a finite resource that others depend upon."

An additional meeting was held in Charlotte on May 9, and an additional meeting will be held in Albemarle on May 15 as a part of requirements of the request process. Additional information on the request, and a link to a recording of Wednesday's meeting, can be found at CharlotteWaterIBT.org