From the NORTH CAROLINA TRIBUNE | MARCH 25, 2025:
A trio of state senators are trying to clamp down on Charlotte’s quest to gain a larger share of the Catawba River’s water.
Filed Monday, Senate Bill 428 would alter the state’s interbasin transfer law to create a new “major transfer” category and subject it to stricter rules.
Sen. Warren Daniel’s bill defines major as a move of 30 million gallons of water a day between river basins — exactly the size Charlotte Water has floated with state regulators and governments in its region.
It would bar transfers on that scale entirely unless the Environmental Management Commission agrees that the utility applying for one has a water-loss ratio under 15%.
The loss ratio compares the amount of finished water that comes out of a utility’s treatment plants with the amount the utility bills to its customers.
It’s a euphemism for leakage or waste. It “can be a function of age, pipe failure or leaks, improperly maintained water meters or deferred maintenance,” S&P Global said in a 2023 report.
Unchecked, it can create pressure for higher water rates and impinge on water-supply planning, creating the impression of more demand than would otherwise be the case.
There’s wide variance in loss rates among utilities. The S&P report found an average loss rate of 14.8% among the U.S. water systems, though none included North Carolina. The high was Philadelphia’s 31.7% loss rate, and the low was Denver’s 4%.
Charlotte Water’s loss rate was unavailable Monday. “We are reviewing the newly introduced legislation from this morning and assessing its potential impacts on Charlotte Water and implications for interbasin transfers, in general,” city officials said via a statement relayed by spokesman Lawrence Corley.
In addition to the loss-rate provision, SB 428 specifies that a major transfer permit can last for no more than 20 years and can’t be renewed or extended.
The utility receiving the permit would also have to set aside at least 10% of its revenue over the 20 years to plan and build water or sewer infrastructure in the “source basin” to reduce its transfer need to 15 million gallons of water a day.
An interbasin transfer happens when a utility takes raw, untreated water from one river basin and, instead of returning its sewage to the same basin, sends its effluent to a different river network.
Transfers are tightly regulated to protect the water rights of other users and for environmental reasons.
Charlotte Water already has permission to take 33 million gallons a day from the Catawba and put it back into the Rocky River, a Yadkin River tributary. It wants to push that up to 63 million gallons a day.
The Catawba is west of Charlotte; the Rocky River basin covers northeast Charlotte, including the UNC Charlotte campus.
As Daniel’s bill implies, a utility can reduce its need fora transfer by building a sewage plant in the basin where it originally draws the water. Another potential tactic is to build a new reservoir within the basin.
Both options are enormously expensive.
Daniel is from Burke County, where the county seat of Morganton is about 75 miles northwest of Charlotte. The county is among the Catawba basin municipalities that are opposing Charlotte’s quest for additional rights to the river’s water.
Burke County’s population was 88,338 in 2023, compared with 89,353 in2000. Mecklenburg County’s population grew by about 464,000 to 1.16 million in that same period, according to the Census Bureau. The bill’s other sponsors are Sens. Tim Moffitt, R-Henderson, and Mark Hollo, R-Catawba.
***
CLT Water presentation concerning IBT request: Charlotte Water Interbasin Transfer (IBT) Modification Request
Review the Bill: S428v0.pdf
My Take: While the introduction of this bill is not a complete surprise, its appearance should be disconcerting to anyone in the business of promoting positive economic growth and development within the Charlotte region. Passage of this bill would likely derail any effort by Charlotte Water to pursue its proposed Interbasin Transfer Request. Doing so would pretty much shut down future activity in the eastern half of Mecklenburg County and adjacent areas — that includes additional and desperately needed infrastructure improvements.
CATS is seeking your feedback on the alternative program scenarios for the Transit System Plan (TSP) update. In Round 1, more than 1,480 surveys were received and analyzed. This link will take you to the page to begin taking the ROUND 2 SURVEY, an important opportunity for us all to weigh in.
CATS offered us this feedback:
More Transit – 93% of survey participants say more transit options are needed in Mecklenburg County
Goals & Objectives – 95%of survey participants agree with the proposed goals and objectives
More than 1,100 comments were received about:
Goals & Priorities – increasing access to the region, reliability/frequency, reducing traffic congestion, equity, safety/security, environmental impacts, & TOD
Expand Services – including expanding rail, bus service enhancements and park and rides
Improving Existing Transit – including transit user experience, reliability, and maintenance and safety
Community Engagement – including a transparent process with communication
My Take: Over the last 12+ months, and under the leadership of Brent Cagle, CATS has been on an improved trajectory. Surveys like these provide the department some of the necessary guidance needed to set priorities for future spending, choose locations for future infrastructure improvements, and more. This information will also be helpful if, and when, Mecklenburg County is provided authorization to ask the voters for the permission to increase the sales tax by a penny to improve and build out our transportation system. We’ll see as that bill (SB 145) works its way through the process. In the meantime, please provide the requested feedback to CATS.
BACK TO LATEST NEWS