Western North Carolina
Western North Carolina (often abbreviated as WNC) is the region of North Carolina which includes the Appalachian Mountains; it is often known geographically as the state's Mountain Region. It contains the highest mountains in the Eastern United S ...
and flows into
South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
, where it later becomes known as the
Wateree River
}
The Wateree River, about 75 mi (120 km) long, is a tributary of the Santee River in central South Carolina in the United States, which flows to the Atlantic Ocean. It was named for the Wateree Native Americans, a tribe who had migrate ...
. The river is approximately 220 miles (350 km) long. It rises in the
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...
, where it has been impounded through a series of reservoirs for
flood control
Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...
and generation of
hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other Renewabl ...
. The river is named after the
Catawba Catawba may refer to:
*Catawba people, a Native American tribe in the Carolinas
*Catawba language, a language in the Catawban languages family
*Catawban languages
Botany
*Catalpa, a genus of trees, based on the name used by the Catawba and other N ...
language
Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...
, they call themselves "yeh is-WAH h’reh", meaning "people of the river."
The river rises in the
Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States, and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsylvania through Maryland, West Virgin ...
in western present-day
McDowell County, North Carolina
McDowell County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,578. Its county seat is Marion.
McDowell County comprises the Marion, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also inclu ...
, approximately 20 miles (30 km) east of
Asheville
Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous ci ...
. It flows ENE, falling over two waterfalls, Upper Catawba Falls and
Catawba Falls
Catawba Falls is a series of waterfalls on the headwaters of the Catawba River, in McDowell County, near Old Fort, North Carolina.
Geology
The Catawba River flows over 2 major waterfalls in a short distance. The first drop, called Upper Cata ...
, before being dammed by
Lake James
Lake James is a large reservoir in the mountains of Western North Carolina which straddles the border between Burke and McDowell Counties. It is named for tobacco tycoon and benefactor of Duke University James Buchanan Duke. The lake, with su ...
, and joining the
Linville River
The Linville River is a river in western North Carolina. The river begins in the slopes of Peak Mountain, Sugar Mountain and Flattop Mountain, in the Linville Gap area (also known as Tynecastle). As it goes south through Avery County, it passe ...
. It passes north of Morganton, then southeast through Lake Rhodhiss and Lake Hickory just north of
Hickory
Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes around 18 species. Five or six species are native to China, Indochina, and India (Assam), as many as twelve are native to the United States, four are found in Mexi ...
, and into the
Lake Norman
Lake Norman is the largest man-made body of fresh water in North Carolina. It was created between 1959 and 1964 as part of the construction of the Cowans Ford Dam by Duke Energy.
Geography
Lake Norman is fed by the Catawba River, and drains i ...
reservoir. From Lake Norman it flows south, passing west of
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
, then flowing through the
Mountain Island Lake
Mountain Island Lake is a lake northwest of Charlotte, North Carolina created in 1924 to coincide with the building of Mountain Island Hydroelectric Station. It is named after the mountain which appears as an island in the lake, and the surrounding ...
and
Lake Wylie
Lake Wylie is a reservoir or man-made lake in the U.S. states of South Carolina and North Carolina. The lake has a surface area of 13,400 acres (54.2 km2) (20.9 mi2) (5420 ha) and features of shoreline.
History
The man-made lake was first form ...
reservoirs, where it exits the reservoirs approximately 10 miles (15 km) south of the border between North Carolina and South Carolina. The confluence of the
South Fork Catawba River
The South Fork Catawba River (better known as the South Fork River) begins south of Hickory, North Carolina just northwest of the intersection of US Highway 321 and North Carolina Highway 10, at the confluence of the Henry Fork and Jacob Fork. ...
and Catawba River is submerged by Lake Wylie near the NC/SC state line.
The river flows into northern South Carolina, passing Rock Hill, through Fishing Creek Reservoir near
Great Falls
Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements
* Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size
* Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent
People
* List of people known as "the Great"
*Artel Great (born ...
, and into the
Lake Wateree
Lake Wateree is a reservoir in Kershaw, Fairfield, and Lancaster counties, South Carolina, in the United States. Developed in 1919 by the damming of the Wateree River, it is one of South Carolina's oldest man-made lakes. It has of shoreline a ...
reservoir, approximately 30 miles (50 km) northeast of Columbia. At the now-submerged confluence with Wateree Creek, it becomes known as the
Wateree River
}
The Wateree River, about 75 mi (120 km) long, is a tributary of the Santee River in central South Carolina in the United States, which flows to the Atlantic Ocean. It was named for the Wateree Native Americans, a tribe who had migrate ...
.
Dams
The Catawba has been controlled by several dams, including the following:
North Carolina
*
Lake James
Lake James is a large reservoir in the mountains of Western North Carolina which straddles the border between Burke and McDowell Counties. It is named for tobacco tycoon and benefactor of Duke University James Buchanan Duke. The lake, with su ...
Dam
* Rhodhiss Dam
*Oxford Dam
*Lookout Shoals Dam
*
Cowans Ford Dam
Cowans Ford Hydroelectric Station is a hydroelectric power plant and dam located near Huntersville, North Carolina, approximately 20 miles north of Charlotte on Lake Norman. It is the largest conventional hydro station owned by Duke Energy, gen ...
, creating
Lake Norman
Lake Norman is the largest man-made body of fresh water in North Carolina. It was created between 1959 and 1964 as part of the construction of the Cowans Ford Dam by Duke Energy.
Geography
Lake Norman is fed by the Catawba River, and drains i ...
*
Mountain Island Lake
Mountain Island Lake is a lake northwest of Charlotte, North Carolina created in 1924 to coincide with the building of Mountain Island Hydroelectric Station. It is named after the mountain which appears as an island in the lake, and the surrounding ...
Dam
South Carolina
*
Lake Wylie
Lake Wylie is a reservoir or man-made lake in the U.S. states of South Carolina and North Carolina. The lake has a surface area of 13,400 acres (54.2 km2) (20.9 mi2) (5420 ha) and features of shoreline.
History
The man-made lake was first form ...
Great Falls
Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements
* Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size
* Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent
People
* List of people known as "the Great"
*Artel Great (born ...
*Dearborn-Great Falls Dam
*Cedar Creek Reservoir Dam
*
Lake Wateree
Lake Wateree is a reservoir in Kershaw, Fairfield, and Lancaster counties, South Carolina, in the United States. Developed in 1919 by the damming of the Wateree River, it is one of South Carolina's oldest man-made lakes. It has of shoreline a ...
Dam
Controversy
In 2006 the river became the center of a water use controversy between the residents of the Catawba watershed and
Concord
Concord may refer to:
Meaning "agreement"
* Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony)
* Harmony, in music
* Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...
and
Kannapolis
Kannapolis () is a city in Cabarrus and Rowan counties, in the U.S. state of North Carolina, northwest of Concord and northeast of Charlotte and is a suburb in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The city of Kannapolis was incorporated in 1984. Th ...
are expecting a daily shortfall of of water a day by 2035 and want to pump up to of water daily from the Catawba River. The Concord/Kannapolis Interbasin Transfer (IBT) proposal calls for water to be permanently transferred from one river basin to another river basin. Such a transfer is unlike the more common water usage, in which municipalities within the Catawba basin pump water from the river and treat it for residential use. Much of that treated water eventually returns to the Catawba River.
Though neither Concord nor Kannapolis is located in the Catawba River basin (both are located in the Pee Dee River basin), the cities said the Catawba River is a regional resource. Opponents of the IBT argued that towns and cities along the Catawba River basin are growing as well, and that the cities' request is too large.
On January 10, 2007, the
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
state environmental panel authorized Concord and Kannapolis to pump up to a day from the Catawba River. This decision represented a compromise recommended by hearing officers for the Environmental Management Commission. The mayors of Morganton and Valdese said that they were adamantly against the transfer and that the panel's ruling was skewed and biased. Concord's city manager said the approval of the water transfer was "bittersweet", since the panel authorized an amount much lower than was originally requested and the action is likely to be delayed by lawsuits.
“Well, (officials from) Hickory are going to file an appeal,” said Concord Mayor Scott Padgett, who spoke briefly with Hickory Mayor Rudy Wright after the EMC meeting. “His major concern is changing the (interbasin transfer) process. My appeal to him is that there should be a truce. To file an appeal is just going to prolong something we deserve, is less than what we asked for and is going to further hard feelings this has already created.”
The controversy ended in early 2010 when all the parties reached a settlement. It further limits the amount of water available to Concord and Kannapolis under drought conditions.
A river at risk
Starting in the early autumn months of 2007, residents and businesses of the Catawba basin, along with large swaths of the
Southern United States
The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
, began to feel the effects of an extreme drought. On October 15, 2007, the ''Morganton News Herald'' reported that
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
Governor Mike Easley described the drought as "the worst in recorded history".
On January 29, 2008,
Duke Energy
Duke Energy Corporation is an American electric power and natural gas holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Overview
Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Duke Energy owns 58,200 megawatts of base-load and peak generation in ...
, the utility responsible for managing the Catawba River, extended its estimated time frame for Stage 4 water restrictions to August. The extension was possible because of conservation measures and the 6 inches of rain the basin received in December. However, area leaders converged on Valdese to hear presentations from representatives of the N.C. Rural Center, N.C. Department of Commerce, N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the
Appalachian Regional Commission
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is a United States federal–state partnership that works with the people of Appalachia to create opportunities for self-sustaining economic development and improved quality of life. Congress established A ...
about grants and loans available to help pay for solutions to the drought.
In April 2008 the environmental group American Rivers named the Catawba-
Wateree River
}
The Wateree River, about 75 mi (120 km) long, is a tributary of the Santee River in central South Carolina in the United States, which flows to the Atlantic Ocean. It was named for the Wateree Native Americans, a tribe who had migrate ...
"the most endangered river in America." Reasons cited for the river's condition are the drought, the presence of 11
hydroelectric dams
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...
,
global warming
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
, and unchecked development along its banks, with the latter reported as the most serious threat.
On June 11, 2008, South Carolina Governor
Mark Sanford
Marshall Clement "Mark" Sanford Jr. (born May 28, 1960) is an American politician and author who served as the U.S. Representative for South Carolina's 1st congressional district from 1995 to 2001 and again from 2013 to 2019, and also as the ...
signed legislation denoting the Catawba as a state scenic river. The designation carries no land-use restrictions, but it allows the state to convene an advisory group to address river-related concerns.
On June 29, 2009, the
EPA
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...
announced that four of the top 44 "High Hazard Ash Ponds" in the United States are on the Catawba River. Two
ash pond
An ash pond, also called a coal ash basin or surface impoundment,U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Washington, D.C. "Hazardous and Solid Waste Management System; Identification and Listing of Special Wastes; Disposal of Coal Combustion ...
s are adjacent to and discharge into
Mountain Island Lake
Mountain Island Lake is a lake northwest of Charlotte, North Carolina created in 1924 to coincide with the building of Mountain Island Hydroelectric Station. It is named after the mountain which appears as an island in the lake, and the surrounding ...
. The EPA High Hazard list also includes ash ponds on
Lake Wylie
Lake Wylie is a reservoir or man-made lake in the U.S. states of South Carolina and North Carolina. The lake has a surface area of 13,400 acres (54.2 km2) (20.9 mi2) (5420 ha) and features of shoreline.
History
The man-made lake was first form ...
and
Lake Norman
Lake Norman is the largest man-made body of fresh water in North Carolina. It was created between 1959 and 1964 as part of the construction of the Cowans Ford Dam by Duke Energy.
Geography
Lake Norman is fed by the Catawba River, and drains i ...
.
On December 11, 2014,
Duke Energy
Duke Energy Corporation is an American electric power and natural gas holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Overview
Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Duke Energy owns 58,200 megawatts of base-load and peak generation in ...
received approval from North Carolina to dump
coal ash
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when de ...
(containing arsenic, lead, thallium and mercury, among other heavy metals) from the
Marshall Steam Station
Marshall Steam Station is a fossil fuel power plant, coal power plant located at in Sherrills Ford, North Carolina, Sherrills Ford, Catawba County, North Carolina, Catawba County, North Carolina, United States and owned by Duke Energy. Named for ...
into
Lake Norman
Lake Norman is the largest man-made body of fresh water in North Carolina. It was created between 1959 and 1964 as part of the construction of the Cowans Ford Dam by Duke Energy.
Geography
Lake Norman is fed by the Catawba River, and drains i ...
in order to repair a rusted, leaking pipe at their facility. Groundwater at the Marshall Steam Station flows toward Lake Norman, and the contaminated field abuts the lake for about 30 feet of shoreline near its largest coal ash basin, threatening water quality in the lake.
On October 3, 2015, Duke Energy reported that a sinkhole had formed at the base of the Marshall Steam Station dam north of Charlotte on Lake Norman. The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) says Duke Energy placed a liner in the hole and filled it with crushed stone.
The Catawba River basin is one of only four areas left in the southeast with significant populations of ''
Hymenocallis coronaria
''Hymenocallis coronaria'', commonly known as the Cahaba lily, shoal lily, or shoals spider-lily, is an aquatic, perennial flowering plant species of the genus ''Hymenocallis''. It is endemic to the Southeastern United States, being found only ...
'', the Shoals spider lily. It has one large population left at
Landsford Canal State Park
Landsford Canal State Park is a South Carolina state park in Chester County, from US 21. The park contains the ruins of the Landsford Canal built using slave labor to bypass rapids on the Catawba River between 1820 and 1825. The coming of th ...
.
Crossings
The Catawba River is crossed by many highways over its course. (Note: this list may be incomplete)
North Carolina
*Lake James to Lake Norman
**Power House Road
**Watermill Glen Alpine Road
**Independence Blvd in Morganton
**N Green Street (N.C. 181) in Morganton
**
U.S. 64
U.S. Route 64 (US 64) is an east–west United States highway that runs for 2,326 miles (3,743 km) from Nags Head in eastern North Carolina to just southwest of the Four Corners in northeast Arizona. The western terminus is at U.S. Route 1 ...
Hickory
Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes around 18 species. Five or six species are native to China, Indochina, and India (Assam), as many as twelve are native to the United States, four are found in Mexi ...
**N.C. 127 near Hickory
**N.C. 16 below Oxford Dam
**
Interstate 40
Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...
**
US 70
U.S. Route 70 or U.S. Highway 70 (US 70) is an east–west United States highway that runs for from eastern North Carolina to east-central Arizona. It is a major east–west highway of the Southeastern, Southern and Southwestern United States. ...
in Catawba
**Buffalo Shoals Road (Iredell County)/Hudson Chapel Road (Catawba County) over
Lake Norman
Lake Norman is the largest man-made body of fresh water in North Carolina. It was created between 1959 and 1964 as part of the construction of the Cowans Ford Dam by Duke Energy.
Geography
Lake Norman is fed by the Catawba River, and drains i ...
**N.C. 150 over Lake Norman
*Lake Norman to the SC border
**N.C. 73 bridge at Cowans Ford Dam
**Rozzelle Bridge on Brookshire Blvd (N.C. 16) over
Mountain Island Lake
Mountain Island Lake is a lake northwest of Charlotte, North Carolina created in 1924 to coincide with the building of Mountain Island Hydroelectric Station. It is named after the mountain which appears as an island in the lake, and the surrounding ...
Interstate 85
Interstate 85 (I-85) is a major Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with I-65 in Montgomery, Alabama; its northern terminus is an interchange with I-95 in Petersburg, Virginia, n ...
Buster Boyd Bridge
The Buster Boyd Bridge is a four-lane automobile bridge spanning the Catawba River/Lake Wylie between Lake Wylie, York County, South Carolina and Steele Creek, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. The bridge carries/connects SC 49 and N ...
over Lake Wylie
South Carolina
*Lake Wylie to Lake Wateree
**
Interstate 77
Interstate 77 (I-77) is a north–south Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. It traverses diverse terrain, from the mountainous state of West Virginia to the rolling farmlands of North Carolina and Ohio. It largely supplants the ...
Catawba Catawba may refer to:
*Catawba people, a Native American tribe in the Carolinas
*Catawba language, a language in the Catawban languages family
*Catawban languages
Botany
*Catalpa, a genus of trees, based on the name used by the Catawba and other N ...
**Lancaster-Chester Highway ( S.C. 9)
**Francis Avenue in
Great Falls
Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements
* Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size
* Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent
People
* List of people known as "the Great"
*Artel Great (born ...
See also
*
List of North Carolina rivers
This is a list of rivers in the U.S. state of North Carolina.
By drainage basin
This list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries alphabetically indented under each larger stream's name.
Atlantic Ocean
* North Landing Riv ...
*
List of South Carolina rivers
This is a list of rivers in the U.S. state of South Carolina:
By drainage basin
This list is arranged by drainage basin, from north to south, with respective tributaries indented under each larger stream's name. All rivers in South Carolina drain ...
*
U.S. National Whitewater Center
The U.S. National Whitewater Center (USNWC) is a not-for-profit outdoor recreation and athletic training facility for whitewater rafting, kayaking, canoeing, rock climbing, mountain biking hiking and ice skating which opened to the public on 2006 ...