It’s been heartbreaking to witness the loss of life, the destruction, and the overwhelming feeling that we are on the teetering cusp of ecological collapse. Discovering these piles of dead hellbenders hit me harder than any coal ash spill or wastewater system failure. The devastation of the hurricane was exacerbated by years of spineless legislative lack of action and bureaucratic dithering when it comes to protecting the environment. We can fix that while we are at it. The scope and hard work of a region-wide recovery effort is daunting. We are up for the challenge, we have the passion, the skills, and the tools. The dams aren’t coming back, live stakes can be replanted. Our rivers and communities will recover.

Our team is also busy lobbying for a massive investment in the cleanup of our river. We are pushing the state for a $7 million river cleanup fund, so we can hire 200 out-of-work river guides to clean up our waterways. In this critical window of time, if we can invest the time and resources needed to clean up our waterways, by the start of the paddling season in the late spring, we can save many river businesses and be a moral boost to our community; a statement to the flood that knocked us down that we are getting back up. We have already taken numerous water samples, and despite the impact of the storm and the damage to our wastewater treatment systems, the water quality in many areas doesn’t look nearly as bad as I feared.

Public access points to the river have all taken a beating. We have organized cleanup days and shared a Debris Removal Reporting Form. We are hosting cleanups at our beloved public access points and parks and will scale up watershed-wide to meet the need.

Lots of questions about water quality. Widespread impacts to infrastructure. Our Riverkeepers are sampling across the region. Many municipal and private wastewater treatment facilities have been impacted. We are seeing high levels of bacteria and other contaminants across the region. For now, we need you river lovers to keep yourselves safe,  avoid contact with surface water, wear PPE for cleanup efforts, and hang in there.

I know it feels pretty grim, but a Herculean recovery process is underway. If your well was inundated with flood water contact your Riverkeeper or local health department for testing and treatment. Folks can get well-testing kits at the following location:

• Johnson County, TN: Tennessee/NC State Line Resource Center (11878 US-421, Trade, TN) from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday – CLOSED Wednesday & Sunday.

If you can’t make it out to the Resource Center, fill out this form to let us know you’re interested, and we will do our best to service your area!

I’ve got extra gloves and waders. We’ve got work to do. Come join us in a generational watershed-scale restoration and recovery effort. We can build back better.  Follow us on our social media channels (Watauga Riverkeeper Instagram + Facebook), share our newsletters, donate. Come get down in the mud with us (but wear your PPE!). Action and hope are the only antidotes for despair in the wake of the flood. Hope you’re hanging in there. No more disaster pics, just uplifting recovery messaging from here. We love the way our community is showing up for each other. Stay with it.

-Watauga Riverkeeper Andy Hill