Residents alarmed Charlotte Water wants 30M gallons daily from Catawba River

A fight over the water in the Catawba River is nearing a boiling point. Charlotte wants to pull more than 30 million more gallons a day from the river.

Channel 9′s Tina Terry learned how the proposal could impact communities downstream.

Those communities include Lauren Worsman, who remembers what it was like when water levels in the Catawba River dropped due to severe drought years ago.

“They wouldn’t let us water our grass,” she said. “I remember when ‘it’s between this and this hours, don’t water your grass’ — that type of thing.”

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That’s one reason she’s concerned about Charlotte Water’s request to double the amount of water it pulls from the Catawba River to 63 million gallons a day.

It is water that would never return to the Catawba. Officials said the wastewater would naturally flow into another river basin.

Jimmy Bagley is the deputy city manager for the City of Rock Hill. He’s also the chair of the Catawba Wateree Water Management Group.

“I think what people are fearing is if that drought happens again, if we’ve allowed some of this water to go other places that doesn’t return, we’ve excluded folks downstream from being able to use that water,” he said.

Bagley also said the way Charlotte Water brought up the need for more water was jarring.

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“Instead of saying, ‘Hey, what do you all downstream think about this?’ it came out and said, ‘We’re just notifying you we need to do this,’” he said.

He said he’s not opposed to Charlotte’s request if it’s the best and only option.

Bagley hopes regulators pay attention to all concerns, thoroughly investigate, and consider solutions that benefit everyone.

“Maybe there needs to be a surcharge where they need to pay extra for that. That says we’ll give it to you now because you’re in dire straights, but maybe in two to three years you have to find a way to get it back,” he said.

Charlotte Water’s deputy director has said that additional water could be pumped back into the Catawba River, but that would be very costly.

You can learn more at a public meeting to be held at 6 p.m. Monday at Dutchman Creek Middle School in Rock Hill.

(WATCH BELOW: New markers installed to help rescuers along the Catawba River)