Tropical storm flooding brings debris to major drinking water supply

CHARLOTTE — As floodwaters recede after Tropical Storm Helene, all of the water and debris is making its way through the Catawba River System.

Every drop of water that falls in the northern foothills eventually flows through here and ends up going to Lake Wylie, and even further into South Carolina.

It’s the drinking water source for millions, and those who work to keep it clean say the storm highlights just how vulnerable the river can be.

“Anything that’s in the water upstream is coming our way, and that includes debris and damage from homes, bridges, but also if there’s been sewer overflows, if there’s been rockslides or mudslides, all of that is on its way here,” said John Searby, the executive director of the Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation.

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Searby told Channel 9 Climate Reporter Michelle Alfini these disasters force many to think about exactly where our water goes for the first time.

“This stormwater has to go somewhere, and it goes to our creeks and our streams and our rivers and our lakes and it can have a really really negative impact,” he said.

Flooding is the first concern, then erosion and pollution.

“As the river lowers in height it’s also going to leave a lot of this stuff on the banks,” Searby said.

This upcoming weekend is supposed to be the annual Catawba Riversweep where hundreds of volunteers work to clean the river up. But Searby says the high water levels and currents means many cleanup sites are unsafe.

“We’re evaluating all the Charlotte region sites and we’re looking at them on a case-by-case basis,” Searby said.

According to the Catawba Riverkeeper, the sites will be monitored throughout the week, and they’ll say which sites are remaining open by Friday.

Searby says much of the cleanup will have to wait until the water recedes, which could take weeks.

Looking at Mountain Island Lake on Monday, you could see the water has a brownish color to it, all from the sediment that has washed into the river system. Charlotte Water says they’ve adjusted their treatment process to address that.

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“We are seeing an increase in turbidity (cloudiness) in the lake water and adjusting our treatment processes. The after effects of Hurricane Helene are not impacting drinking water quality,” Charlotte Water told Channel 9.

Charlotte Water added it has more than 500 million gallons of water stored in reservoirs.

(VIDEO: ‘Wiped out’: Hundreds left homeless after historic flooding in Asheville)