by Leah Justice
Polk County reached a milestone it has been waiting for years to see as the state officially reclassified the Green River Watershed, including Lake Adger, as a watershed IV (WS-IV), to be used as a drinking water source.
The county received word of the state approval on Aug. 27 from Elizabeth Kountis, Senior Environmental Specialist with the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR) Division of Water Resources.
Kountis said the Green River, including Lake Adger, proposed WS-IV CA and WS-IV reclassification was approved by the state Rules Review Commission and given that no letters of objection were received within the required timeframe, the reclassification will not go to the next legislative session and will become effective on Sept. 1, 2014.
Polk County Commissioner Chair Ted Owens said, “This is awesome news.”
“I’ve been seeking and pushing for this ever since we bought Lake Adger,” said Owens. “It is one of the best things that has happened for the citizens of Polk County. It ensures there will be a drinking water source for the future, even if a drought occurs again, like in 2007.”
Polk will now have to amend its ordinances to meet the new requirements of the WS-IV classification. Kountis said the county would receive a letter regarding the requirement to amend the county’s ordinance, which must be done within 270 days of the Sept. 1 effective date.
The state held a public hearing on March 27 with mostly positive comments regarding the reclassification. Residents were also given an opportunity to submit written comments to the state until the end of April this year.
The reclassification was a requirement for the county to construct a new water supply intake at Lake Adger to use the water for public drinking water. Polk has plans to one day construct a water plant on property that also houses the county transfer station in Mill Spring to treat the water.
The critical area portions of the waters that were reclassified include the portion of the Green River that extends nearly ½ mile from and draining to Lake Adger and includes approximately 3,154 acres.
The portion of the Green River reclassified in the protected area extends nearly five miles from and draining to Lake Adger and includes approximately 17,421 acres. Silver Creek, Ostin Creek, Rotten Creek and Panther Creek are located entirely within the proposed watershed.
Regulations affecting new development as well as existing and new wastewater discharges will now apply throughout the area. Other requirements, which would apply only in the critical area, are additional treatment for new industrial process wastewater discharges, no new land application sites and no new landfills. Forestry and farming practices will not be affected. There are no permitted wastewater discharges located in the entire proposed watershed, according to Kountis, nor are there any known planned land application sites or landfills in the proposed critical area and no known planned wastewater discharges or developments in the entire proposed area.
Polk County purchased the bed of Lake Adger and Turner Shoals Dam from Northbrook in 2009 to use the lake as a future drinking water source for the county. Polk paid $1.6 million for the purchase.
Polk County currently supplies water through an agreement with Broad River Water Authority and Inman-Campobello Water District (ICWD), which ran a main water line through the Green Creek area of the county. Polk owns the water line and is able to extend water lines throughout the county, with ICWD serving as the county’s water provider.