Save Ivy River at Weaverville Town Hall

30 S Main Street,Weaverville NC 28787

27 June, 2022

Description

PLEASE Come to Weaverville Town Hall Monday, June 27 - 6 pm! BRING 1 PERSON WITH YOU!Lets pack the room with people.We don’t want a dry creek bed.This is the last chance to Save the Ivy River (that does not require legal action) There are safer, affordable, viable ways to get water to the people of Weaverville.LETS TRY TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE TOGETHER! City Council plans to vote on a resolution to increase the withdrawal of water removed from the Ivy River from 1.5 million gallons of water/day to 3.0 million gallons of water per day ! The flow of the river is not great enough to meet that demand. The creek bed will eventually run dry and the habitat gravely affected. Without our voices, the vote is likely to go through. We can change that by showing up and showing our concern simply with our presence and cheering on the public speakers who know how to articulate the concern. You don’t have to be from Weaverville to show your support. The Ivy River touches Barnardsville, Weaverville, Mars Hill, Marshall, Woodfiin and Asheville There are several knowledgeable people who will make public comment on City Council Agenda Item D - Resolution on Water Systems Recommendation - pages 81 - 83. See Link. Some of the ideas in the resolution are sound. Others are not. We are questioning the accuracy of the data upon which the decision to approve expanding the water treatment system from 1.5 MGD --> 3.0 MGD is being made. Item # 7 on page 83 of the agenda. Save Ivy River, a non-profit organization, is urging council to gather more present day and accurate data from just above and below the water treatment plant rather than 8 miles down river which is fed by 2 additional creeks. This may drastically change their assumptions and decision. We will urge council to remove # 7 from the resolution. We don't want City Council to make a bad decision based on misinformation that could have detrimental consequences on the ecosystem and the river herself. MORE DETAILS Weaverville City Council has the hard job of responsibly guiding growth. Mayor Fitzsimmons has drawn up a resolution for the Town's Water System that is going to be voted on at the Monday, June 27, 2022 City Council meeting - Agenda D pages 81 - 83. Included is a very good idea to network with surrounding cities, create a collaborative water system and encourage decreased water usage. What is concerning is the inclusion of expanding the capacity of the Ivy River Water Treatment Plant to increase from pulling 1.5 million gallons of water/day to 3.0 million gallons of water/day. The Ivy River Water Treatment Plant currently has a capacity of 1.5 million gallons/day but apparently is in need of repair. In the Water System Resolution on page 82/83 - they have included a proposal to expand the capacity from 1.5 million gallons/day to 3.0 million gallons/day based on the state permit for 4.0 million gallons/day that was granted over 25 years ago. The plan is to build a sister water treatment plant on the other side of the river which will have the same 1.5 million gallon/day capacity. This will allow the city to make necessary repairs on the current water treatment plant as well as be able to double the current amount of water that they can eventually draw from the river once both are functional and in use. Not only does this greater capacity meet the growing needs of development in Weaverville but it also provides financial incentive and revenue for the city. The Mayor and his subcommittee apparently did research and concluded that the Ivy River can accommodate the eventual 3.0 million gallons of water /day (3.0 MGD) without negative consequence to the ecosystem. However the research gathered by the non-profit group Save Ivy River shows something different and calls in to question the data that was used in the council subcommittee’s report. Correspondence from the NCDEHNR (now NCDEQ) from 1993, 2000 and 2018 do not appear to thoroughly confirm that 4.0 MGD withdrawal is allowable at the current site. It appears that the allowable withdrawal is dependent upon the intake flow. Why not re-evaluate the assumptions upon which the 4.0 MGD designation became allowable and more accurately measure and monitor flow rates just above and below the current water treatment plant to get accurate data to make a sound decision? The Alternative Water Sources Initiative has also offered a very sound alternative proposal to the Council to consider. WHY DOES LISA CARE? I'm a person who lives the Ivy Creek. I don't get my water from it but I receive solace, healing and joy from this river and it inhabitants since 1998 with my husband and 2 sons. I also clean up a lot of garbage that flows down the river. I feel a sense of responsibility to care for and protect the Ivy and her habitat. The Ivy Creek is sacred. It provides life giving waters to many peoples (human and non-human) living along its path. We take from her but have forgotten how to give back and give thanks. It is time for me to learn and remember how to honor and care for the sacred. Raising awareness, learning and asking questions is part of beginning to build relationship with this sacred being I have lived with for almost 25 years. I live downstream from the water treatment plant along the Ivy River but upstream from the flow gauge where the committee apparently is getting its data from. I don’t see how doubling the amount of water pulled from the Ivy River won’t dry up the creek and effect the ecosystem. Its already quite low in the summer time. I’m willing to look at some good data that is present day and not 10 - 30 years old and is also taken from just above and just below the treatment plant rather than 8.7 miles down stream from the water treatment plant (which measures the flow rate higher after 2 additional streams have fed into the Ivy). To Learn More: Save Ivy River City Council Agenda See Pages 81 - 83 Recent Article