America's Most Endangered Rivers - (Page 21) The CatawbaWa t e r e e a n d G l o b a l Wa r m i n g Removing more water to fuel poorly planned development would further reduce water levels and inhibit the river’s ability to adapt to global warming. Already, recent droughts have produced record low water flows in tributary streams and reservoirs on the river. Water efficiency and conservation planning can help meet current demands without sacrificing the Catawba-Wateree River or the communities and wildlife that rely on it. PIERCE size conserving water year-round rather than only when drought has already arrived. These plans must direct funding towards infrastructure upgrades and distribution of water-saving appliances to users at reduced cost. Industries and municipalities must be required to utilize proven water efficiency technologies. Such policies will enable communities to live within realistic “water budgets” and maintain healthy water resources, eliminating the need for future interbasin transfers from the CatawbaWateree River and others. As a necessary first step towards maintaining healthy flows, North Carolina and South Carolina must track the amount of surface water each user withdraws and establish enforceable guidelines regarding maximum withdrawals. The South Carolina Legislature must enact new surface water laws that estab- PIERCE lish withdrawal regulations and guarantee that enough clean water remains in rivers and lakes to fully support all users including anglers, boaters and wildlife. The goal should be to maximize community health — not water withdrawals. The North Carolina Legislature should update current surface water regulations during the 2009 legislative session, which begins in January. This update must include water flow requirements that adequately protect the ecological, recreational and economic values of the state’s rivers. ©NANCY CONTACT INFO Gerrit Jöbsis, American Rivers, 803-771-7114, gjobsis@AmericanRivers.org C. David Merryman, Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation, 704-679-9494, david@catawbariverkeeper.org Amy Pickle, Southern Environmental Law Center (NC), 919-967-1450, apickle@selcnc.org Blan Holman, Southern Environmental Law Center (SC), 919-302-6819, bholman@selcnc.org ©BILL STOKES TO TA K E AC T I O N : W W W. AMERICANRIVERS.ORG/CATAWBAWATEREE ©NANCY PIERCE ©NANCY http://www.catawbariverkeeper.org/ http://www.southernenvironment.org/ http://www.southernenvironment.org/ http://www.americanrivers.org/catawbawateree
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.