A Century of Abusing the Catawba

Clean And Clear Catawba, by Alice Battle – May 11 3012

The industrial use of the lakes that occurred along the Catawba in the last 100 years brought potentially lethal by-products into the River. Silty water flowed into the 15-foot settling tanks at the Hickory Filter Plant. The next tank was clearing and emerald green. 

Dumped chemicals were a big problem. There were 40+ dye plants above Lake Hickory. The Burke County dump was near Lake Rhodhiss.

Sediment carries bacteria. Lots of chlorine had to be added to treat the water for drinking.

Charlotte draws its water from Mountain Island Lake, which is below Lake Norman. Lake Norman stabilizes the water so that Charlotte’s drinking water source is one of the best in the Southeast.

Was the river clean or dirty? It depends on where you were along the river, the weather, and whether you the land nearby was urban or rural. Factories, sewer plants and slaughter houses dumped directly into the Catawb early in the industrial age.

The federal Clean Water Act of 1972 stopped the pollution at the sources. Forty years of reforestation along the river stopped most of the mud and soil runoff. 

Today 15 towns and cities take their drinking water from the Catawba. At least a dozen send their variously treated wastewater directly back into the Catawba. The river has not been studied in depth to know the effect of years of pollution.

About Alice Battle – Alice lives on Mountain Island Lake has served on numerous groups devoted to protecting the lake, including the Duke Energy Relicensing stakeholders group. She currently is Lakekeeper for the Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation.