Riverkeeper Edgar Miller took to the air on June 2 with Southwings Pilot Holliday Obrecht, III, to do an aerial survey of the Yadkin Pee Dee Lakes region, including a flyover of poultry and dairy concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), hydropower dams, drinking water facilities and wastewater treatment plants in the lower Yadkin watershed. The Lake region faces different challenges than the upper Yadkin Watershed, including excessive sedimentation and nutrient loading, harmful algal blooms, and inactive hazardous waste sites at Alcoa’s former aluminum smelter on Badin Lake. A major YRK priority is the state adopting an effective Nutrient Management Strategy requiring reductions in nutrients and sediments from all sources.
Read moreYadkin Riverkeeper Advocacy Update- June 2022
The first six months of 2022 have proven to be a pivotal time for the development of new water quality standards in North Carolina, and specifically the Yadkin Pee Dee River basin. Yadkin Riverkeeper’s job number one it to protect and improve the water quality in the entire river basin, which supplies drinking water to more than one million North Carolinas. We are diligently tracking all major regulatory, permitting and legislative initiatives that might impact water quality in our basin and statewide. Please see below for an update on YRK’s major advocacy priorities.
Read moreNew Board Members To Join Yadkin Riverkeeper's Board of Directors
At YRK’s Annual Meeting on Monday evening, six new board members were voted onto the Board of Directors.
Read moreApril Flight Blog
Yadkin Riverkeeper (YRK) took an aerial monitoring flight with SouthWings on April 15th to assess current and potential threats to the northern part of the watershed.
Read moreYadkin Riverkeeper Spring Appeal
I hope you had a happy and productive Earth Day. I am writing to ask your support for the Yadkin Riverkeeper. We all know the Yadkin is a remarkable river that flows through the very heart of North Carolina. It is large watershed, roughly 7,221 square miles that serves as the drinking water source and sustains a population of almost 1.7 million residents. The magnitude of the river basin is both immense and impressive. And yet, the overall conditions of the large river system are influenced by an infinite number of situations, both good and bad, that occur on a smaller, more localized scale.
Read moreYadkin Riverkeeper Advocacy Update
Significant progress is being made in establishing more stringent water quality standards to protect public health and water quality in North Carolina. NC Riverkeepers, including the Yadkin Riverkeeper, have been at the forefront of advocating for these changes to ensure our waters are drinkable, swimmable and fishable. For latest regulatory and policy developments see below:
Read moreYRK is Hiring a Diversity Communications Specialist
Yadkin Riverkeeper, Inc. (YRK) is seeking to hire a part-time (20 hrs/week) diversity communications specialist to:
1) identify and reach out to communities of color on water quality and environmental justice issues,
2) develop outreach materials and youth educational programming for communities of color and YRK generally,
3) update YRK’s diversity plan and goals in conjunction with the executive director and YRK board.
Read moreCAFO Flight Blog
Yadkin Riverkeeper took an aerial monitoring flight with SouthWings on January 25th to assess land use and water quality issues along the South Yadkin River.
Read moreThe Mitchell River and Blue Ridge Trout Unlimited
For many years locals have enjoyed the beauty and tranquility of the rivers in Surry County while fishing for trout and other species. One of the most prized fishing spots is the Mitchell River in Dobson. Over twenty years ago the North Carolina Wildlife Commission designated a three-mile section of the Mitchell from the Kapps Mill north, a Delayed Harvest stream.
Read moreReflection on Water Sampling & Testing at High Rock Lake
On the last day of August recently, I found myself a little lost in Lexington. After getting myself turned around a bit, and a few dropped phone calls, I finally made it to my destination: Skipjack Harbor, a small marina off of High Rock Lake, tucked away past a private development. As I arrived, I was greeted by Edgar and Brian, our current and past Riverkeepers as they prepared to get us out on our skiff on the lake. After loading up our supplies, gassing up the boat, checking all of our water testing materials, and getting a quick rundown of boat safety and emergency information, we were off!
Read moreYRK Advocacy Update
July has been a busy month for YRK on the advocacy front. See the update below from YRK Riverkeeper and executive director Edgar Miller. The full update includes links to action alerts and other information that you can use to advocate on behalf of clean water.
Read moreYRK is Hiring an Assistant Riverkeeper
Yadkin Riverkeeper is seeking an assistant Riverkeeper, a position that offers the opportunity to help protect North Carolina’s second largest river basin. As the assistant Yadkin Riverkeeper, you will identify, track and prioritize on-going water quality issues related to the health, protection, and restoration of the Yadkin River and the Yadkin Pee Dee Lakes. The position will be a salaried, 30-hr per week job with three weeks of paid time off.
Read moreSpring Appeal
Spring is upon us. It is a time for change and new beginnings.
Read moreYRK Is Hiring A Summer Communications and Outreach Fellow
Yadkin Riverkeeper is seeking to hire a Summer Communications Fellow.
Read moreThere Is A Place In The Movement For All Of Us (Earth Day 2021)
Community organizers say there is space in the movement for ALL of us. Social Movements, often referred to as movements, are sustained campaigns in support of a social goal, typically related to the implementation of a change in society's values. As we work to create a more just and equitable society, the language of "movement" is often used. Examples of "movements" include but are not limited to the Women's Rights, Social Justice, Abolitionist, and the Environmental movements. The Environmental Movement is an umbrella where other distinctive movements derive yet focus on specific ideas like water protection, climate, conservation, etc.
Read moreNC Division of Water Resources Rejects Alcoa Badin Business Park’s Special Order by Consent (SOC)
The NC Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources (DWR) has withdrawn from Alcoa Badin Business Park’s (ABBP) proposed Special Order by Consent or “SOC.” The SOC would have allowed ABBP to divert contaminated stormwater currently going into Little Mountain Creek into Badin Lake. Alcoa requested the SOC because it has been unable to consistently meet existing limits for cyanide and fluoride in its discharge into Little Mountain Creek. Under the SOC, Alcoa would have diverted that discharge into Badin Lake, where the contaminants would be diluted in a regulatory “mixing zone” allowing ABBP to meet state water quality standards. Read the press release here.
Read moreStories Connect Us Like the River
Stories are what connect us… Stories of the land, stories of the water, stories of the people.
Read moreYRK's Annual Meeting Presentation
Comments on Proposed Special Order by Consent for the Badin Business Park Facility NPDES Permit NC0004308, EMC SOC WQ S19-009
Please click here to read the full comment letter plus attachments.
Unacceptable Permit Changes Proposed for Alcoa’s Badin Business Park Stormwater Discharge: YRK Calls for Public Hearing
The NC Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources recently published notice of its intent to issue a Special Order by Consent (SOC) for Alcoa’s Badin Business Park located in Badin, NC. The facility discharges groundwater, stormwater and fire protection water into Little Mountain Creek and Badin Lake. It is unclear from the SOC how the design and construction of an upgraded stormwater piping system will help BBP attain compliance with the final effluent limitations in BBP’s NPDES Permit NC0004308. Yadkin Riverkeeper is opposed to the state issuing the SOC as it will increase pollution in Badin Lake.
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