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POLK COUNTY—The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources is inviting public feedback on the 2024 Broad River Basin Plan. The comment period is open until October 17, 2024. A draft of the plan can be found at www.deq.nc.gov.

The basin’s land cover is a mix of forest, agriculture, and development, with Polk, Cleveland, and Rutherford counties comprising most of its land area.

The basin plan aims to help state and local leaders pinpoint areas that require additional protection, restoration, or preservation to ensure that the state’s waters meet water quality standards. It focuses on water quality data collected between 2008 and 2022 and addresses impairments associated with aquatic communities, turbidity, fecal coliform bacteria, temperature and nutrients.

The plan focuses on changes in water quality identified during its development, provides an overview of water use and availability in the basin, and offers suggestions for safeguarding the state’s water resources.

The Broad River Basin covers 1,513 square miles in North Carolina. Its headwaters and major tributaries begin in the Blue Ridge Mountains and flow south-southeast through the foothills and southern Piedmont into South Carolina.

Comments can be submitted via email to deq.dwr.basinplanning@deq.nc.gov or mailed to:

N.C. DEQ Division of Water Resources

ATTN: Niki Maher, Basin Planner

1611 Mail Service Center

Raleigh, NC 27699-1611

This is an important opportunity for the public to contribute to protecting and preserving North Carolina’s water resources.