American Whitewater and many other stakeholders are making solid progress on the Catawba River relicensing in North and South Carolina.  Recreational flow studies have been ongoing for the past few months all along the Catawba thanks to Duke Power and the excellent guidance of consultant Bunny Johns, and the assistance of volunteers Maurice Blackburn (Carolina Canoe Club), Andrew Lazenby (AW), and many others.

Later this fall we will be studying the Great Falls of the Catawba, a reach that currently only runs after significant rains and/or the weekly hurricanes that have been rolling up the Catawba Watershed.  We are very excited about the prospects of restoring water to this very special section of river for both ecological and recreational reasons, and the studies will form a critical basis for those negotiations.  We hope the paddling community is very excited about paddling these reaches, and yet we have to ask that paddlers that are not part of the official study not attempt to paddle the Great Falls during the study flows.  For logistical reasons the study teams are limited, and participants have been picked that are already involved in the relicensing and/or will share their experiences with the larger paddling community.  Participants will represent a cross section of potential users and you can be assured that your interests will be represented during and after the studies.  Paddlers crashing the test flows could jeopardize the entire study. 

American Whitewater excitedly awaits the day we can invite the entire paddling community to enjoy the Great Falls, and we greatly appreciate your support of this project.  We will keep you informed of the study results and the resources that we discover.  Only a couple more years of negotiations!