New River Water Rights Debated

June 23, West Jefferson, NC
The Boone Town Council and Ashe County Commissioners met with a packed auditorium at Westwood Elementary School to discuss Boone's proposed water intake facility. The plant would remove up to 4 million gallons of water a day from the New River on the Ashe County-Watauga County line, replacing it with Boone's treated waste water.

The Town Hall style meeting was very lively, lasting over four hours. Many in the audience spoke and were virtually unanimously opposed to the plant. Boone's need for an additional 4 mgd intake was questioned, based on facts provided by governmental review agencies. See here. Other issues raised were the historic nature of the ancient New River, an American Heritage River, and the economic impact on Ashe County which relies on the river for tourism. Boone's future growth plans, alternative options and waste pharmaceuticals which would be returned to the river untreated, an emerging national issue, were also discussed. In response to many questions, Boone town officials said the environmental review process was still underway and not all data was available yet.

Many questions focused on the transparency of the process and lack of representation by stakeholders. This was the first public meeting for Ashe County residents to express their views, the first public meeting of Boone and Ashe County officials on the issue and the first time the Ashe County Commissioners have been publicly involved.

The meeting was covered by media, including statewide Channel 14 (Time Warner), WSOC TV Charlotte , the Winston Salem Journal and local newspapers.

Although the Boone Mayor and Town Council strongly support the plan, the Ashe County Commissioners reserved judgment awaiting the release of the environmental review documents. For many audience members, however, the need for such a plant did not appear to be established. Many suggested Boone consider alternative options such as sharing water supplies with Appalachian State University, more stringent conservation measures and ensuring Boone's future growth was "smart."