The state environmental department, after consultation with the state health and human services department, the Mecklenburg County Health Department, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Lake Wylie Marine Commission, town officials from Belmont, North Carolina and Rock Hill, South Carolina, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, the Catawba Riverkeeper and the Sierra Club, has authorized a plan for discharging water from the U.S. National Whitewater Center.
“We are confident that the extensive monitoring requirements in the discharge plan will protect water quality in the Catawba River,” said Tom Reeder, assistant secretary of the state environmental department. “It’s important to remember that the amoeba is naturally occurring in lakes and rivers, but after review by many stakeholders we believe this plan offers the best possible protections for public health and the environment.”
The pre-discharge treatment plan requires the water to be chlorinated at a level more than ten times that needed to reduce the amoeba by 99.99 percent. The water will be dechlorinated under a process approved by state environmental engineers before it is discharged. The treatment and discharge will be supervised by engineering and water management experts under conditions specified by the state environmental department, including testing of the water at regular intervals during the treatment process and monitoring of the water at and downstream from the discharge points.
Helpful links:
Authorization letter from the state environmental department
Letter of support from the state health and human services department