Streams across Western North Carolina have dropped to record
lows as a drought now in its second year again tightens its grip
on the region. Monthly average flows hit all-time record lows
for June and July at more than half of the U.S. Geological
Survey's long-term gauges in the region. Low-water records have
been set in the Catawba, Yadkin and Broad River basins. The July
average at one measuring point on the Catawba, in McDowell
County, was 38 percent lower than the previous record for the
month set in 2002. Stream levels are important because they
determine how much water feeds the reservoirs most Charlotte-
region cities rely on. Low flows magnify pollutants, making it
harder for sewage treatment plants to dilute their wastes.
Drought is tough on fish and other aquatic life, reducing not
only water to swim in but oxygen in the water. Jerad Bales,
director of the geological survey's N.C. Water Science Center,
said more than a year of dry weather has lowered groundwater,
which provides a good part of the wat