“Water Troubles and Water Solutions: Western North Carolina Water in Context”
A spring series of Saturday afternoon presentations at Pack Memorial Library
Sponsored by The Wilma Dykeman Legacy and Buncombe County Public Libraries
Western North Carolina is one of the world’s richest areas in natural water resources. Ten rivers begin their flow in our mountains – five on the east side of the Eastern Continental Divide, five on the west side. Major headwaters include the westward flowing French Broad and Little Tennessee, and the eastward flowing Yadkin, Catawba, and Broad.
Water is central to our lives. Water accounts for two-thirds of the human body. Except in a few extraordinary cases, humans cannot live longer than one week without water. Water also sustains the life of all plants and animals. We have words for places with little or no water: badlands, desert, wasteland.
What will happen to our water in Western North Carolina over the next 50 years?
A century ago, Western North Carolina was home to over 10 billion board feet of timber standing as the last best virgin hardwood forest on the planet. But a combination of the chestnut blight and devastating logging practices put an end to this treasure. Will a combination of drought and our own thoughtless behaviors put an end to our water treasure?
According to the North Carolina Division of Water Resources, “the 2007-2008 drought in North Carolina was the worst in the 112-year recorded rainfall history…At one point, as many as 30 cities and towns were confronted with running out of water or having to ration it.” In 2008, The Center for Integrative Environmental Research at the University of Maryland assessed the economic impacts of climate change on North Carolina and concluded that “increased severity of droughts in the future from unmitigated climate change could put an even greater strain on the already stressed water supply systems of North Carolina.”
How can Western North Carolina ensure an abundant and affordable supply of usable water forever?
It is a complicated challenge. To help us think about these questions, the Wilma Dykeman Legacy has invited experts from other areas in North Carolina, the South, and North America to share with us their water issues.
The presentations will be on five Saturdays from late March to early May in Pack Library’s Lord Auditorium (67 Haywood St.) – next to the U.S. Cellular Center.
Following each presentation, a responder from the Asheville area will take the podium and share his or her thoughts about the presentation and how it relates to Western North Carolina.
The Wilma Dykeman Legacy is a tax-exempt non-profit organization founded in 2012 to sustain and promote Wilma’s values by sponsoring workshops, events, and other programs. For more information, visit www.wilmadykemanlegacy.org.
For more information, contact:
Jim Stokely
President
Wilma Dykeman Legacy
60 Shuford Road
Weaverville, NC 28787
stokely.jim@gmail.com
(828) 458-5813