Help Clean Up WNC's Rivers and Streams. Support the I Love Rivers Action Plan.

Do you love rivers that are fishable and swimmable? Unfortunately, many of WNC's rivers and streams fail to meet basic water quality standards, especially after heavy rainstorms. There's no easy fix for the main problems with our rivers — E. coli bacteria pollution, sediment and nutrient pollution, and overwhelming amounts of plastic waste. The Clean Water Act helped create dramatic water quality improvements, but we are still 47 years overdue for meeting its main goal — to have all waters be fishable and swimmable.

Some of the reasons we still fail to meet these goals are outdated sewage systems, failing septic systems, poor agricultural and development practices, and the wide use of single-use plastics. Because the problem is so complex, we need your voice.

We're creating a plan to tackle the issues that most affect river health, and we're starting with E. coli bacteria pollution and agricultural runoff. With your help we can change the way our local governments and regulatory agencies operate, get more funding allocated to help solve the problems, and win the support of local government and the legislature in Raleigh. 

Sign on to support the I Love Rivers action plan and enact real change for WNC's waters below.

Scroll down to read the full action plan. By signing on, we'll keep you in the loop for future updates and action opportunities to protect our waters. You can opt out at any time.

? Take future action with a single click.
Log in or  Sign up for FastAction

Support the I Love Rivers Action Plan

OUR PLAN TO KEEP BACTERIA POLLUTION & AGRICULTURAL RUNOFF OUT OF WNC RIVERS

City & County Actions:

  • Upgrade sewage infrastructure to reduce leaks and overflows from heavy rains.
  • Invest in stormwater management infrastructure to reduce flooding.
  • Enact and strengthen local stormwater ordinances to better prevent runoff from new development.

Agency Actions:

  • The NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) should upgrade its notification system for pollution spills and sewage overflows to alert the public through email, texts and social media.
  • DEQ should adopt a state standard for E. coli.
  • The Soil & Water Division of the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DA&CS) should target its funding to fix the farms most in need of repair. Our public dollars will go further by focusing efforts on farms that are most impacting water quality.
  • DEQ and DA&CS should develop a cooperative approach to help farms comply with clean water laws.

Legislative Actions:

  • Allocate more funding to the Soil & Water Division of DA&CS to help farmers build fences and provide alternative watering sources to keep cows from defecating in streams.
  • Restore full funding for the DEQ's Waste Detection Elimination (WaDE) program, which was wildly successful at finding and repairing illegal straight piping of sewage and septic failures.
  • Move DEQ's enforcement of sediment erosion and stormwater control to the Division of Water Resources and provide sufficient funding and resources.
  • Require farms to follow a set of best management practices, including fencing and stormwater management.
  • Require sufficient riparian buffers to help keep sediment and nutrient runoff from polluting our rivers and streams.

Some Things You Can Do On Your Own:

  • Volunteer to collect water quality samples or sign up for a river cleanup.
  • Regularly maintain your septic system.
  • Report water quality violations.
  • Don't wash grease down the sink or flush disposable wipes. These can lead to blockages in the sewer system.
  • If you are a farmer or riverside property owner, install stream buffers to keep runoff out of streams. Plant cover crops, fence cattle out of streams, and install watering stations away from stream banks.