Catawba-Yadkin Inter-Basin Transfer (NC): Background
The Catawba River originates in the mountains of North Carolina and flows through a series of lakes into South Carolina. Many people within the basin depend on the river as a source of drinking water as well as for a host of recreation activities. The waters of the Catawba River also provide habitat to varied plant and animal species. An inter-basin transfer not only threatens these species, but could also prolong water shortages during periods of drought within the Catawba River and fuel residential growth in the sensitive habitats of the lower Yadkin River.
The request by Concord and Kannapolis for the inter-basin transfer is in part a response to the pending renewal of Duke Energy’s hydropower licenses for the series of dams and reservoirs it operates along the Catawba River. A similar process is underway for the Yadkin River.
What is an Inter-Basin Transfer?
Inter-basin transfers, or IBTs, allow a community to take water from its neighbors in order to make up for a short-fall. A water transfer of this sort takes water from one naturally defined area and moves it to another, with no requirement to ever give it back. One of the problems with inter-basin transfers is the inability to account for, or even adequately evaluate, the environmental impacts in a dynamic, natural system.
The Catawba-Yadkin IBT highlights a larger problem within the NC Department of Water Resources of relying on moving water around the state from water-rich to water-poor regions as a way to achieve water security. While these transfers may be appropriate in some circumstances, every effort must be taken to ensure that water resources and aquatic habitat are not compromised in the process.
Additional Legal Action by South Carolina
The South Carolina Attorney General has also filed suit against the water transfer. Because the suit is against the State of North Carolina it has gone directly before the U.S. Supreme Court. South Carolina has asked the Court to limit the amount of transfers out of the Catawba River Basin by the State of North Carolina so that an equitable amount will be left for its neighbor to the south.
