BY ANDY HAYSLIP, WATAUGA RIVERKEEPER
In January 2016, the Watauga Riverkeeper implemented its basinwide water quality monitoring program in partnership with the Environmental Quality Institute (EQI), a nonprofit environmental research laboratory based in Asheville, North Carolina. The data collected becomes part of EQI’s Volunteer Water Information Network (VWIN), which is a volunteer-based water monitoring network that has been monitoring the health of Western North Carolina waterways since 1990. Each month, volunteers collect 65 water samples from 13 sites located throughout the watershed, including sites on the Watauga River, the Elk River, and prominent tributaries such as Laurel Creek and Beaverdam Creek. The specific locations were identified using geographic information systems to analyze land use and topography to pinpoint potential areas of concern, while at the same time trying to stratify as many sites as possible throughout the watershed. Sites included the Watauga River’s headwaters near the north face of Grandfather Mountain, all the way to East Tennessee where the Watauga meets the South Fork of the Holston River.
Currently, water testing in the Watauga River watershed includes tests for pH, ammonia-nitrogen, nitrate-nitrite-nitrogen, orthophosphate, total suspended solids (sedimentation), alkalinity, turbidity, and conductivity. This range of tests, combined with the wide distribution of sample sites, provides a good overview of water quality throughout the watershed and should pinpoint problem areas that can be targeted in future restoration, research, and policy work.
While water quality in the Watauga River watershed is generally good due to the mountainous terrain and relative lack of large scale agriculture and industry, there are still plenty of threats to water quality in the basin. As development starts to pick back up in Western North Carolina, increased sedimentation from runoff remains the greatest threat to our region’s waterways, as well as their incredible inhabitants such as the eastern hellbender and native brook trout. Many people come to enjoy the Watauga River watershed for its world-class fly fishing and recreational opportunities. Ensuring that our rivers are clean enough to continue to support these activities is one of the main objectives of this program. In addition, strained resources at the state level and the relative remoteness of our watershed mean that it is often up to Watauga Riverkeeper and our amazing volunteers to ensure that its rivers remain clean and healthy.