The Yadkin Pee Dee River basin is considered the Carolinas’ cradle of civilization with evidence of Native Americans living here more than 12,000 years ago.  The Uwharrie Mountains, the oldest mountain range in North America played a significant role in the human settlement of our region.  Much later, during the mid-19^th century, Daniel Boone and his family migrated from Pennsylvania into the upper Yadkin valley.  Today, there are two separate locations that mark their lives here, “Boone’s Cabin” on Beaver Creek, and “Boone’s cave” .

 

             The Yadkin River itself starts in northwestern North Carolina along the steep slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Blowing Rock.  It then flows northeasterly for about 100 miles, until it reaches the town of Pinnacle near Pilot Mountain State Park.  The river then continues in a southerly direction.  It expands significantly and changes its name along the way until it finally reaches the lower portion of the watershed.

 

The river travels 203 miles through forested foothills and small farmland communities to the more urban areas of Winston-Salem, Lexington, and Salisbury which make up the upper Yadkin Lakes region.  It then converges with the Uwharrie River, at which point the name changes to the Pee Dee River. Beyond that, the river continues through South Carolina and ends at Winya Bay on the Atlantic coast.  Please see below for a more detailed explanation of jurisdiction.

 

              The Yadkin Pee Dee River has many tributaries including Roaring River, Mitchell River, Fisher River, Ararat River, Rocky Creek and South Yadkin River. It contains eight large impoundments, starting in the upper basin with W. Kerr Scott reservoir built by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers for flood controls in the early 1960s.  The second and most recent impoundment is a small low head dam in Forsyth County. The oldest is Idols Dam, built during the summer of 1897, which was the first hydroelectric generating station in North Carolina, and instrumental to the development of Winston-Salem.  The other reservoirs downstream are known as the Yadkin chain lakes: High Rock, Tucker Town, Badin, Falls Lake, Lake Tillery and Blewett Falls, all of which were built in the first half of the 20^th century to power aluminum smelters and electric utilities.

 

              Forestland covers approximately 51% of the basin, which is very apparent in the Federal lands of the Blue Ridge Parkway, the 50,000-acre Uwharrie National Forest, and the Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge. There are two North Carolina State Parks within the basin, Pilot Mountain and Morrow Mountain. With many areas of public access along our watershed, including streams, lakes, and parks, some popular activities within the basin include hunting, fishing, boating, and sight-seeing.

 

The basin includes at least 14 rare aquatic animals, two of which are federally listed endangered species.  They include the shortnose sturgeon, a very rare migratory marine fish that spawns upriver, and the Carolina heelsplitter, a mussel now known from only four populations in the world, including the lower basin’s Goose Creek.  Fortunately our nation’s symbol, the Bald eagle, is making a real comeback in the area, with regular sightings from Surry and Yadkin counties to Falls Lake. There is quite a diversity of birds in the area, including raptors, which attract visitors during spring and fall migrations.

 

The area is growing very rapidly, as our state ranks first nationally in terms of expected population and economic growth over the next quarter century, and the Yadkin Pee Dee River basin is one of the fastest growing regions of our state. This growing problem of rapid urbanization is cause for serious concern, and will have to be addressed through a collective effort.  Yadkin Riverkeeper stands ready to lead the charge.

Threats to the Watershed

Introduction

 

Today the Yadkin Pee Dee River basin supports about 1.6 million people, and over the next 25 years, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, that figure is expected to increase by fifty percent.

 

Much of the anticipated growth will come from new development, as the state now ranks first in the nation in terms of projected economic expansion over the next quarter century. Unless we plan for such rapid growth, both the economy and our natural resources will be stretched beyond the breaking point.  Below is a list of threats which highlight the need for action.  Yadkin Riverkeeper is working to counter these effects through education, action and advocacy.

 

Classifying Effects

 

Recently, in order to assess the overall health of the watershed ecosystem (including human health risks), the North Carolina Division of Water Quality implemented a rating and monitoring system to assess the critical factors related to actual “use” of the river. The following are test results:

 

Aquatic life/secondary recreation (native ecology) - approximately 37 percent of stream miles (2,182) monitored, 17 percent of which were classified as “Impaired”, and 91 percent of lake acres (21,020) monitored, 56 percent of which were classified as Impaired;

 

Fish consumption - although fish tissue was monitored in only a small percent of stream miles (6.3) and lake acres (67), the results confirmed 100 percent of these fisheries are Impaired (some toxins present).  Due to the high levels of mercury present, almost the entire Lakes region is considered “impaired” for fishing purposes;

 

Primary recreation (mainly swimming) - approximately 28 percent of stream miles (61.5) monitored, 14.5 percent of which are considered Impaired.

 

Urbanization

 

Clearly urbanization has the greatest impact on our watershed; not only because buildings, roads, and parking lots replace the vegetative buffers along streams and rivers, but also because these impervious surfaces channel runoff from storms and sewers directly into the watershed.  As the development in our region continues to accelerate, these harmful effects will spread over the entire region.

 

Lakes Region Example

 

At this point High Rock Lake is considered the watershed’s most threatened section, primarily due to high levels of nutrients, chlorophyll, turbidity, and the percentage of dissolved oxygen beyond acceptable limits. In an average year High Rock Lake retains over one million tons of sediment alone.  Even if no new discharge permits are allowed, the Lakes region will continue to suffer the disastrous effects of overdevelopment well into the future.

 

Recently High Rock was classified a “303(d)” impaired resource water, which is an important federal designation under the Clean Water Act that will ensure federal cost-share assistance.  This is an important designation.  We also point out that to reverse the large-scale damage in one area of the watershed, we must also address the upstream issues as well.

 

Another serious problem for the Lakes region is the high level of toxic mercury in certain fish species. The North Carolina Division of Public Health has issued broad public warnings regarding the consumption of fish caught anywhere east and south of Interstate 85.

 

Pollution Sources

 

The watershed suffers from both point source and nonpoint-source pollution.  Point sources include piped discharges from municipal wastewater treatment plants, industrial facilities, and large storm water systems.  Timber harvesting, agriculture, construction of roads, buildings and parking lots, failing septic systems, and hydrological modifications, like dredging, channelization, and impoundments, all contribute to the problem of nonpoint-source pollution in our region.

 

While each regulated point-source discharger must obtain a permit from the State, the sources of nonpoint-source pollution are more diffuse and less predictable, depending on rainfall patterns and land disturbance activities. Consequently, the effects of nonpoint-source pollution are more difficult and expensive to quantify.  For example, the fecal coliform bacterial growth is delivered in urban stormwater, from improperly treated wastewater facilities, and inadequately managed livestock operations.

 

Widespread Degraded Habitat

 

             The greatest threat to our watershed is habitat degradation, defined as a “notable change in habitat diversity or negative change in habitat”.  As more of our woodland and riparian vegetation disappears along the river, the negative effects of channelization, bank erosion, sedimentation, and interrupted flow become more apparent.

 

The primary causes of habitat degradation in the Yadkin Pee Dee River basin are land-disturbance activities, such as construction of roads and buildings, instream mining operations, logging activities, and agriculture, including crop and livestock production, particularly corn, tobacco, cattle and poultry operations along the river and its tributaries.

 

Poorly managed agricultural and wastewater facilities have increased the levels of organic nutrients in the river, which has influenced the level of “dissolved oxygen” critical to the survival of aquatic life in our watershed.

 

Ecological Breakdown

 

Without good instream habitat the watershed’s normal aquatic processes are interrupted, particularly as the organic “micro” and “edge” habitats along smaller streams and tributaries are disturbed or eliminated, directly impacting insect populations throughout the basin, and consequently the entire “food chain”.

 

Already this ecological imbalance threatens our health and economy.  For example, largemouth bass are a major attraction for sport fishing in the Yadkin Lakes Region.  The consumption of largemouth bass is no longer recommended for pregnant or nursing mothers and children, due to high levels of toxic mercury coming from industrial atmospheric pollutants.  There are also many tributaries that are threatened.  Swimming advisories are posted in the upper watershed including places long used as swimming holes such as Elk’s Creek.

 

Climate Change

 

In summary, all the local threats are compounded by the larger global issues.  These widespread “local” threats have far-reaching consequences, as the condition of streams, rivers and lakes ultimately determine the quality of life over all of the river basin.  The river’s health affects not only recreational opportunities but drinking water for future generations.

 

The recent, observable changes in our global climate, and the increased severe drought conditions throughout the southeastern U.S., a supply problem exacerbated by accelerating development throughout the region, we may expect a deficit that will persist well into the future.  This holds true even if rainfall levels increase over the short term.

 

To imagine how this supply crisis will play out, consider the recent controversy over “interbasin transfers” (IBTs) in our region.  The present litigation to prevent the daily extraction of ten million gallons from the Yadkin River to support economic expansions in Kannapolis and Concord presents but one example of the growing pressure.  These kinds of water resource battles will continue to confront our region.

 

It is the responsibility of each resident and visitor to consider his or her individual impact on the watershed.  But it is also the cumulative effects from all these land use activities that cause the most severe and long-lasting impact on our watershed—which emphasizes the critical importance of having an organization such as Yadkin Riverkeeper to act as the watchdog and enforcer when these activities have a negative impact on the basin.

 

             These insidious problems not only affect our wildlife; in reality the condition of streams, rivers and lakes will ultimately determine the quality of life throughout the basin, especially the wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities, and drinking water for future generations.

 

             Together we can make a difference.

 

BECOME A MEMBER TODAY!

Hannah’s Ferry

circa 1916

ABOUT THE YADKIN PEE DEE RIVER

The Yadkin Pee Dee River basin is North Carolina’s second largest, including 5,862 stream miles, 22,988 lake acres, spanning 21 counties and 93 municipalities, and covering approximately 7,221 square miles of our state’s total area. The current population within the basin is about 1.6 million, with an average population density of 222 persons per square mile.

 

Approximately half of the watershed is forestland, most of it privately owned. Nearly one-third of the watershed is used for agriculture, including cropland (15.6 percent) and pastureland (14.1 percent). Just 13 percent of the land is developed, although this figure is rising rapidly.