Regional officials warn Charlotte water transfer could deepen stress on Catawba River, urge public engagement
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Summary
Anthony Starr of the Western Piedmont Council of Governments warned Morganton City Council that a proposed large interbasin transfer by Charlotte Water could further strain the Catawba River Basin, and urged local governments and residents to engage with state legislators and a UNC study now underway.
Anthony Starr, executive director of the Western Piedmont Council of Governments, told the Morganton City Council on Jan. 5 that proposed increases in Charlotte's interbasin water transfers threaten the long-term health and reliability of the Catawba River Basin.
"This is not a good thing for source basins like the Catawba River Basin," Starr said, citing academic research and regional engineering analyses. Starr said Charlotte Water currently holds a 33 million gallons-per-day certificate and has discussed increasing transfers toward roughly 63 million gallons per day — a change he said could have economic and environmental consequences across the basin.
Starr walked council through drought and flow records, noting historic low flows during severe droughts and that the basin is one of the most densely populated in North Carolina. He pointed to system losses in Charlotte's distribution network — saying Charlotte loses about 19% of every gallon it takes from the Catawba and citing a transcript figure of 'about 23,000,023 gallons per day' as lost to leaks — and argued that expanding transfers could make drought impacts worse for upstream communities.
Starr also described alternatives that could reduce reliance on large transfers: purchasing or sourcing water within the Yadkin basin, or returning used water after treatment so it does not count as an interbasin transfer. He said these options were discussed previously and that the capital costs cited by Charlotte have varied widely over time.
The briefing noted recent state-level steps: House Bill 850 enacted a moratorium on large interbasin-transfer increases (exceeding 15 million gallons) until March 2027 and directed the North Carolina Collaboratory at UNC Chapel Hill to study statutory approval processes for surface-water transfers. "We're asking utilities and local officials to engage with your state legislators and with the Collaboratory," Starr said, adding that the coalition of affected counties — including Morganton — is coordinating a regional response.
Mayor Ronnie Thompson and other council members asked technical questions about reservoir operations and the role of Duke Energy in managing water flows. Starr said Lake James serves as a critical buffer in severe droughts and warned that lowering those reservoirs to support transfers could remove a regional safety margin. He also told the council that the Environmental Management Commission is the regulatory body currently designated to approve or deny surface-water transfer requests.
Starr urged residents to contact legislators in Raleigh and to submit local perspectives to the UNC Collaboratory as it completes its study early next year. The presentation closed with Starr offering to provide additional data and to share a copy of his PowerPoint with the city.
