Concerns grow surrounding Charlotte Water’s request for transfer from other NC cities’ supply
LENOIR, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Monday night, officials from Caldwell County plan to voice opposition to Charlotte Water’s request to nearly double the amount of water the city would get from the Catawba River Basin.
Charlotte Water serves roughly 1.1 million people in Mecklenburg County, and the way the county is situated, certain areas pull and return water from different basins in the area.
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The city agency’s leaders want to do what’s called an inter-basin transfer. Basically, they want to increase their water withdrawal from the Catawba River Basin for households to use and return a portion of that (wastewater) to a separate basin (Rocky River).
The transfer would mean an increase from 33 million gallons per day to 63 million gallons per day. This request is part of a long 12-step process that Charlotte Water leaders say will take years.
Right now, Charlotte Water is fielding questions from leaders and residents throughout the Catawba basin and trying to answer concerns about the negative impact of this move.
Some leaders of nearby counties are worried that the proposed transfer will limit the amount of water their communities need to support growth.
“Every one of the communities is concerned,” said Hickory Councilwoman Jill Patton, “because it does hamper if we are giving water to Charlotte, it’s not coming back to our basin, then it I think, will hamper our growth all the way up and down the river.”
Anthony Starr with Western Piedmont Council of Governments agrees.
“Our concern is that we’re subsidizing growth outside of the Catawba River Basin with our limited resources,” he said, “and so there needs to be strong justifications to do that. Our local governments are concerned about taking more water out of the Catawba River and somehow it limiting our future growth opportunities in the Hickory metro.”
Other concerns surround what will happen during drought conditions.
“We’ve had water scares before,” said Lenoir Mayor Joseph Gibbons. “When we had droughts and that kind of thing, and, you know, we had to conserve water, and then all of a sudden someone is asking out of the Charlotte area for 30 more million gallons of water. So, you know, that’s a concern for everyone in the area as to what is the real reason behind is and what can we do?”
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Some city leaders would like Charlotte Water to explore the option of returning the treated wastewater back to the Catawba basin.
Charlotte Water hasn’t responded to Queen City News’ request for comment. Duke Energy representatives stated:
Duke Energy shares a commitment with communities and water users to conserve and manage the water supply along the rivers we collectively use. Duke Energy built its reservoirs to provide our customers a source of reliable and affordable electricity, and the company supports reasonable and sustainable human uses of water stored in its reservoir systems. We look forward to the opportunity to engage with Charlotte Water, the Catawba-Wateree Water Management Group and other stakeholders in a thorough evaluation of options over the coming months to help Charlotte Water identify the best solution that not only meets needs of the growing population but also protects all our communities and our shared water resources.”
Duke Energy
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