Going down Bean Shoals is probably my most favorite part along this section of the Yadkin. It will test your skills to “read” a river, maneuver quickly around obstacles (rocks) and make quick decisions on the best course to pursue.

The following is a series of excerpts of Judge Biggs' ruling against Summary Judgement on our federal Clean Water Act case at Buck Steam Station on High Rock Lake.  Yadkin Riverkeeper brought this case to force clean up of ongoing and continuous discharges of coal ash to the Yadkin River via unpermitted seeps and contaminated groundwater flowing into the Yadkin River in September 2014.  Oral arguments on Summary Judgement were in August 2015 and Judge Biggs' decision came down in October 2015. 

Ever since the Europeans settled in the Yadkin River Valley attempts have been made to turn the river into a commercial waterway. Area residents were eager to make the river accessible for transporting their agricultural goods and products to other markets by linking the western and central parts of North Carolina to the eastern part of the state…

The North Carolina Legislature is once again attacking provisions that protect our water. The rivers and streams of North Carolina belong to the people. TAKE ACTION NOW: Call your NC House member and Senator today and tell them you want your water protected. If you have already reached out to them, thank you!

Driving down the dirt road to the put-in at the end of Shoals Road, you cross Hall Creek, one of the six tributaries along this part of the Yadkin River. This south bank is actually the far, southwest corner of Pilot Mountain State Park, and is maintained by the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation. What is striking about the put-in location is how calm the river appears – almost mirror-like. Do not be fooled by the placid waters. The excitement of Bean Shoals waits just downstream.

Adventures on the Yadkin River is written by former journalist and life-long river enthusiast, D.R. White. He is a self-proclaimed guardian of the Shoals Road to Donnaha Bridge section of the Yadkin River. Over the course of the next few months, he will bring this stretch of the river to life in words.

Yesterday Duke Energy pled guilty to nine criminal violations of the Clean Water Act at coal ash plants across North Carolina.