Great Falls of the Catawba

Great Falls of Catawba

a Carolina Paddler Article

by Jim Mead and Alton Chewning

-An exciting new paddling destination is opening very soon, the Great Falls of the Catawba project.  A formal grand opening will occur on March 15.  Carolina Paddler will be there for the opening day of paddling on March 18, the first scheduled release, but in the meantime here’s an in depth look at the project and how it came about.

The Catawba River flows through North Carolina and into South Carolina.  One of the largest sets of rapids on the river is in upper South Carolina.  The drop was given the often-used title, “Great Falls” and a small town emerged on the site.  In the early 1900’s, factories all over the south were looking for large supplies of hydropower and two dams were built near the rapids by the Southern Power Company, which later evolved into Duke Energy.  Incidentally, the Catawba River was the driving force in Duke’s early growth. Three textile mills were built on the site, as well as a fertilizer plant and other businesses.  They prospered for many years but in the 1980’s the textile industry declined under foreign competition and the mills went largely unused.  Duke Energy continues to operate the dams, supplying electricity to homes and businesses.

To better understand the following discussion, keep in mind the Catawba River at Great Falls is divided by an island, Mountain Island.  The “Long Reach” noted below refers to the larger 2.25-mile section of the river on the eastern side of Mountain Island.  The “Short Reach” is a narrower .75-mile section on the western side.

Jim Mead worked in an official capacity with the NC Division of Water Resources for the entire relicensing process for all the Catawba Wateree projects – including Great Falls – along with many other stake holders. Jim is also a canoeist and CCC member and he will pick up the discussion at this point.

The Licensing

Duke Energy operates 13 hydropower stations and 11 reservoirs on the Catawba River in North and South Carolina – starting upstream at the Bridgewater project (Lake James) near Morganton, NC and ending downstream at Lake Wateree near Camden, SC. All are monitored and managed in a coordinated manner from a central office in Charlotte.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) requires hydroelectric facilities to have federal licenses that need to be renewed every 30 to 50 years. Duke’s license covers all the projects in the Catawba-Wateree system. Duke began the formal relicensing process in 2002 (although studies and consultation with agencies began several years earlier), submitted their final application in 2006, and received their new 40-year license in 2015 after public comment and FERC review. From 1990 to 2010, similar relicensing processes were conducted for the Nantahala/Tuckasegee system (Duke), the Cheoah River (Alcoa), the Yadkin River (Alcoa and CP&L), and the Roanoke River (Dominion).

Hydropower relicensing opens the door to evaluating all environmental and recreational aspects of an existing dam. The Catawba project relicensing was especially complicated and lengthy due to the number of dams and many different interests involved – more than 80 organizations in all. In addition to CCC and AW, water users involved in relicensing included:

-Multiple state and federal agencies responsible for water quality, water quantity, fish & wildlife, and recreation.

-Multiple local governments concerned about their water supplies, wastewater discharges, recreation, emergency response and local economy.

-Multiple non-governmental organizations – including CCC, AW, land conservancies, environmental groups, local history groups and others.

-Native American tribal interests.

-Homeowners of property adjacent to the fringe of land around the reservoirs that Duke retains ownership and control over.

-Business interests – including marinas, outfitters, and industries that withdraw water and/or discharge wastewater.

-Duke Energy – who wanted to retain as much control as possible over the flow of water to maximize power generation and retain maximum flexibility to meet peak electric demand.

Given the number of diverse interests involved it’s amazing that a settlement agreement was reached that most of the relicensing participants signed on to, and that there were no significant challenges to the settlement or the license that was eventually issued.

From start to finish, Maurice Blackburn represented the CCC with great skill, patience, intelligence, and commitment. He and his wife, Mottie, were at every meeting and negotiating session. He was respected by all, and his contributions were very important. He is greatly missed.

Other people familiar to CCC include Kevin Colburn and Andrew Lazenby, representing American Whitewater. Kevin and Andrew first suggested the modification of the Great Falls Dearborn Dam to allow for recreational uses.  Jim Mead was involved for the entire process as an employee of the Division of Water Resources in the NC Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources. His primary focus was flow for aquatic habitat, but he was also involved in flows for recreation.

In October 2004, a recreational flow study was conducted in both the long (LBR) and short (SBR) bypassed reaches (see the accompanying explanation of Bypassed Reaches at the end of this article) immediately below the Great Falls Dearborn dam in South Carolina. Paddlers ran these reaches at two different flows – 1420 and 2950 for the LBR and 2100 and 2900 for the SBR. They recorded their impressions on survey forms that were used in determining the final negotiated recreational release. A field study of aquatic habitat in the LBR was conducted, including a model of how the amount of habitat was affected by different flows. The results were used to arrive at a continuous release from the Great Falls dam for aquatic habitat that varies by season.

The license issued by FERC in November 2015 included a long list of requirements for Duke Energy and a timetable for their completion. Some of these involved major modifications to existing dams and turbines, construction of access facilities, and changes to operations. Establishing recreational flow releases and constructing facilities for recreational use at Great Falls dam in South Carolina are some of the last required items to be completed.

One reason it has taken so long is the amount of engineering design, construction and expense involved. The crest of the Great Falls dam (constructed in 1907) was modified to better control the amount of water released. A large notch was made to release the flow for aquatic habitat. Similar modifications were made to provide releases to the SBR. Former Olympic paddler Scott Shipley works for S2O Design & Engineering (who also designed the Charlotte Whitewater Center). That firm was retained to design a “safe boater bypass” for paddlers headed to the Long Bypass Reach. Their engineering work included building a scale model and testing different designs and releases. All the new construction and modifications at Great Falls dam required review and approval by FERC. Construction entailed drawing down the reservoir to prevent spillage and then building a temporary road across the channel from river left just below the dam. The finished facility and the construction process can be seen in the photos below.   In addition, here is a map of the Great Falls project area.

-This video by Pathfinder UAV Services, LLC, has good aerial views of the project area.

The Flow

To describe the Great Falls project, we’ll take you from your arrival onto the take-out, veering off to examine several other threads.

Boaters arriving will park in the Nitrolee Access parking lot.  The lot has parking for 100 vehicles and rest rooms.  A stairway with a boat slide leads to the water.  The Nitrolee Access was built by Duke and named for the Nitrolee fertilizer plant, operating nearby in the early 1900’s.  The plant’s name came from combining “Nitrogen plus Lee”; William Lee was one of the early developers of Great Falls area. Next door is The Arc Building, also part of the Nitrolee plant, on property owned by the Catawba Valley Land Trust.  The Arc is being redone as a visitor’s center.  All of this will become part of the Carolina Thread Trail, a regional network of greenways, trails and blueways.

Be sure to carry all you need with you in your boat.  There is no “quick walk back to the car.”   The only means of getting to the Falls area is by boat.  PFD’s must be worn by anyone in or around the Great Falls structures and waterways.  Alcohol is prohibited.  We’ll get into this more later but the Main Channel, designated by Red poles, is off limits for now.  Do not be tempted by a wild hair.  There will be a day when this channel is available but now is not the time.  Be patient and respectful.  The Boater Bypass, also known as the Paper Clip, is designated by Green poles and is the only channel currently open.

After putting on at Nitrolee, boaters will cross the Great Falls reservoir to go to one of the three structures that allow travel downstream, the Boater Bypass channel, the Habitat and Wildlife Flow channel, also called the Main Channel, and further down the western side of the reservoir, the Short Bypass entrance.   The Boater Bypass and the Habitat and Wildlife Flow merge to become the Long Channel or Long Bypass or Long Reach or Long Bypass Reach (LBR).   At this point we should say the terminology is all a little bulky and confusing.  Let’s hope the names sort themselves out over time in a succinct way.

Initially, only the Boater Bypass, a Class II-III run, will be open for the March 18 releases, designated by Green poles.  You can pull your boat over at the top, in the calm water and get out to take a look at the channel.  You’ll need to seal launch off the rough concrete to get back in the water and run the channel.

There is no physical barrier to the Habitat and Wildlife Flow structure, marked by Red poles. This structure may be opened to qualified boaters at a later time but this channel contains strong currents and hydraulics and more preparation needs to be done to provide for safe use.

The Short Bypass stairways and parking lot are still under construction. Plans are to open this proposed Class III-IV run to boat traffic in May.  For the March opening releases, the Boater Bypass is the only “approved entrance point” to the opened Long Channel.

When Scott Shipley and his company, S2O, were contacted, “The goal was to aid the Client in opening up a reach of the Catawba River that had not been opened before and the two components of the channel provide for that with the Bypass channel providing safe boater passage and the Main flow supplying the water to the river below the dam.”  The river below the dam has been effectively de-watered for 120 years.  Sustained, controllable levels of water need to be provided to maintain the ecology of the reborn river and a recreational channel established for getting boats safely down river. The “safely down river” specification became the Boater Bypass, now popularly called the “Paper Clip” for the way the channel loops back on itself before joining the Long Channel.

The Boater Bypass, aka Paper Clip, seems to be making the most of a compact design, condensing 8 wave/hole spots in the looping channel.  Shipley said, “We build all kinds of instream features, but the ones that diffuse the water energy the best and provide for the best recovery are the ones that are pool and drop.  The idea is that if someone, Bobby Trippe, for example, were to show up for a canoe trip unprepared and were to start to navigate the Bypass channel that they would have ample places to stop and get out of their boat, pull over and recover and rest, and or, if Bobby swam, a safe place to get out.  This type of design is conducive to this and, in comparison to faster channels, people will be able to recover quickly and exit the channel if need be.  A side effect of this is that there are features there that people can play in.”

S20 designed a 1:20 scale model, constructed by engineers at the Czech Technical University in Prague, to study the flow conditions of the channels.  The eight feet of drop are spread over a 1,075 foot passage with the adjustable “rapids” structures controlling the flow.   The sides of the channel are gradually sloped, and stairways and handrails are provided to facilitate exits by swimmers.

At the bottom of the Boater Bypass channel, the current continues to join the flow from the Main channel and becoming the Long Channel.  An outlet pool on river right of the Paper Clip provides a means to portage a vessel back to the top of the structure.  Paddlers should keep in mind at release levels a swim in the lower portions of the Boater Bypass could mean continuing into the Long Channel.  The entrance to the outlet pool has a strong eddy fence which can only be penetrated by aggressive swimming.  Any paddle or other article dropped in the Boater Bypass could very well continue downstream and disappear in the maze of trees and rocks.

The Paper Clip will have waves and rapids considered Class II – III, a whitewater run not intended for leisurely paddling or unsuitable vessels.  It is wide enough to accommodate most whitewater craft.

At times when releases are not scheduled, both channels will have some water flowing through them.  Whether these small flows will be suitable for paddling remains to be seen but the predictions are optimistic.  Fishing Creek waterway is below the upstream Nitrolee/Fishing Creek Dam and its flow will add to the water coming downriver.  After storms this may have an impact.  Of course, there will be water released at other times than the scheduled ones, times when the reservoirs are exceeding full pond level or times when additional power generation is needed.

Names for the rapids in the Boater Bypass and the other channels are still being discussed.  The thought is to use names that have local color or significance.  One name that will be used is “Iswa” or “Iswa Wave.”  Iswa means “People of the River,” and recognizes the importance of the local Catawba population, a group that has lived here long before the coming of Europeans.  The Catawba people are still very active and were a prominent party in the planning and execution of the project.

Farther down the Long Channel is a calm section which will carry the name, “Peace Valley.”  Dennis Huntley, noted CCC paddler, and Mike Vaughn, local historian, and outfitter, chose the name.   Other names likely to be used: Arsenal Alley, Nitrolee and Spider Lily.  Many people feel a feature should be called “Blackburn” to honor the work and dedication of the long-time paddlers’ advocate, Maurice Blackburn, who died before seeing the project completed.

The other passage notched through the dam is the Main Channel, also called the “Habitat and Wildlife Flow Channel.”  This channel is only 400 ft. long and carries most of the flow down the eight feet of drop from the reservoir to the bottom pool.  Prior to this new project, the downstream channel was a dry riverbed for most of the year.  This new channel will carry sufficient water to keep the habitat of the Long Bypass Reach at a sustainable level year-round.  On scheduled releases dates and other high-water occasions, the channel will be a much larger waterway, spreading out into the large sweep of the Long Bypass Reach.

The three drop structures in the Habitat and Wildlife Flow generate larger waves than those in Paper Clip.  Accompanying hydraulics can be forceful if not retentive and swims would likely carry the person into the Long Channel.  For this reason, boaters are discouraged from using the Main Channel at this time.  When the community has more experience with the overall site, a new set of guidelines could establish a Class rating for the Main Channel and some usage may be allowed.

Video of Main Channel wave by Jacob Meadows

The flow from the Main Channel, aka Habitat and Wildlife Flow, joins the water from the Boater Bypass and together they become the Long Bypass Reach or Long Channel.  This is on the eastern side of the center island, Mountain Island.  On the other side of Mountain and farther downriver is the Short Bypass Reach.  When the Short Bypass is completed, in mid-May, the ratings for it will be Class III-IV.

At this point we should note the Long Bypass Reach (and the Short) are “naturalized or re-established” rivers.  They have been largely dry riverbed for 120 years.  During this time trees, logs and debris have accumulated on the dry ground.  A normal river would not have permitted trees to grow in mid-channel and much of the wood and other debris would have been flushed downstream in floods.  Furthermore rocks, even large ones, would have shifted during high water storms.  During the releases, the Bypass Reaches will look more like normal rivers, but it will take time for the scheduled high flows to regain the river’s former character.

During releases, the Long Channel is very wide, with poorly defined banks and strong current sometimes running through wooded areas.   The Short Bypass is more compact, narrower with somewhat more contained banks and faster water.

AW’s Kevin Colburn, Catawba Riverkeeper’s Greg Nance, and others coordinated efforts to clear the first 50-100 yards of channel after the Habitat and Wildlife Flow and the Boater Bypass flow merge.  From this point, the restored river is largely untouched, and caution should be taken.  Standing trees, strainers, various woody sieves, rocky entanglements, and trash accumulations can pose hazards.  Capable, alert, Class III paddlers should be able to negotiate these hazards safely but it not a suitable place for unskilled paddlers, swimmers, or other casual users.

The Long Reach Channel runs for 2.25 miles.  At that point it joins with the .75 mile long Short Reach.  There is an access trail on Mountain Island at this confluence which can be used to hike up to the top of the Short Bypass Reach.  Again, the SBR will not open until May.

Once boaters have reached the confluence of the reaches, they will be in the part of the reservoir called Stumpy Pond.  Paddlers continue across the pond for a couple of miles to the Stumpy Pond Access Area on the eastern side of the reservoir.   From there, it is a fifteen-minute drive to the Nitrolee Access Area, thirty minutes for a round trip.

Eventually the Short Bypass Reach will have a closer parking area.   Otherwise, it’s a long paddle from Nitrolee.  A shuttle would be required to run a second lap on the Short Bypass (unless you’d like to hike up the half mile access trail on Mountain Island. Probably not.)

So, if a boater did not want to set shuttle to paddle the whole LBR or SBR channels, a vehicle could be left at Nitrolee, the boater could paddle to Paper Clip and do laps to heart’s contents and then paddle back across the reservoir to Nitrolee.

Swift Water Rescue

The local Rescue Squads and Swiftwater Rescue groups have been training with Catawba Riverkeeper’s Greg Nance, Dennis Huntley, and others to have a quick and appropriate response to situations that could arise.  The departments have two Zodiacs and two whitewater rafts at their disposal, positioned at the upper and lower ends of the runs.  Twelve responders have been trained and rescue scenarios will be rehearsed up to opening day.

Water Quality

The Catawba River is a wild and natural river.  It is subject to all the polluting conditions that affect other rivers we love.  This section of the Catawba is downstream of Charlotte and Sugar Creek.  During heavy storm events, water quality is affected by run off and contamination.  The main emphasis of Riverkeepers is water quality and the Catawba Riverkeepers have been sampling and analyzing water here on a long-term basis.  More testing will be done on the newly watered Bypass Reaches to make sure a base standard is met to sustain a healthy ecosystem.  The additional scrutiny brought by a large recreational population should be an asset to expecting and assuring good water quality to the new sections of the river and the Catawba as a whole.

As responsible paddlers we should keep in mind during warm weather in our region more organisms grow in the water.  Strong currents can expose tumbling swimmers to microbes most casual boaters won’t experience.  Consideration should be given to water quality and suitable protective measures in these conditions.

Ecology

The rewatering of the Long and Short Bypass Reaches will have a significant impact on the health of the river and the growth and vigor of new populations of fish, invertebrates, birds, and plants.  An exciting example of this is the Rocky Shoals Spider Lily.

The Rocky Shoals Spider Lily is a rare species, only growing in South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.  The population in nearby Landsford Canal State Park is the largest in the world.  If you are making a visit to Great Falls in late April or May, set aside time to go by Landsford and see the dazzling display of large, showy lilies sprouting from the rocks and crevasses of the river.

A small patch of Rocky Shoals Lilies is already growing in the Long Bypass.  Having a steady water supply should help other colonies to sprout. The Catawba Riverkeepers and other groups are prepared to plant specimens to encourage propagation along the reaches.

The Future

More plans are underway for the area.  Doubtless, businesses will take advantage of the new interest in the river opportunities and other attractions will follow.  Duke Energy is working on other improvements, such as the parking lot closer to the Short Bypass and connecting some of the existing trails.  Duke is also contributing money to help the  South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism develop a park on the 600-acre Dearborn Island near the confluence of the LBR and SBR.   The Dearborn Island State Park will have camping and other amenities.

Releases and other information

This information is subject to change.

-The Long Channel will see 2,940cfs releases, 10am to 3pm, two Saturdays per month and a total of 4 Sundays, March 1-October 31.  In addition, there will be a boatable continuous base flow of 850cfs February 15-May 15, and 450cfs the rest of the year.

-The Short Channel will see a new 100cfs continuous base flow.  Recreational releases of 2,860cfs from 10am to 3pm, one Saturday per month in March and April, plus 2 weekends per month May 1-October 31.

-A gauge summary will be available on the American Whitewater website as well as other useful information.

-The Facebook users’ group, Great Falls SC Whitewater, contains valuable information and discussion.

The Great Falls of Catawba has much to offer to the area and to visitors who come to paddle and hike and enjoy the beauty.  Let us all celebrate the rebirth of a river.

This article is dedicated to the memory of Maurice Blackburn.

 

From Jim Mead:   An explanation of  “Reaches.”

Regarding the names Long Bypassed Reach and Short Bypassed Reach (probably more than you want to know, but I spent a fair portion of my career working on restoring flows to bypassed reaches).

I agree the names are sort of clunky but calling them “bypassed reaches” is deliberate. Hydropower depends on two things – amount of flow through the turbines and the amount of head. The latter is the difference in elevation between where water first begins to flow to the powerhouse and where it exits the turbines. More head means more energy can be generated. Many hydropower projects are designed to increase head by diverting flow into a “penstock” (a pipe, tunnel, flume, etc.) at the dam. This water is diverted some distance downstream before the penstock connects to the powerhouse where it is discharged through turbines back into the natural river channel. The part of the natural channel between the upstream dam and the downstream powerhouse is referred to as the “bypassed reach” – meaning that some or all of the flow has been diverted around this section.

Dams are often built where there is a natural break in topography that creates “fall” that translates into head. A bedrock substrate is also desirable for dam construction. That’s why many dams are located at the site of former rapids and falls. Diverting water around these rapids and falls to some point downstream greatly increases head.

Older hydropower projects were designed to maximize generation by diverting as much water as possible around the bypassed reaches. The ONLY time they received flow was if inflows upstream of the dam were so high that the storage capacity of the reservoir and the hydraulic capacity of the penstock and turbines was exceeded – resulting in a spill over the dam.

FERC relicensing opened the possibility to restore some portion of the flow in these dewatered bypassed reaches. Power companies resist this and prefer to minimize release to a bypassed reach because it is water that is lost to power generation. Also, it is not what these old dams were designed to do, and often requires construction to modify them to make the release.

There are many examples of bypassed reaches that have some degree of flow restoration thanks to FERC relicensing. Typically, this is a constant minimum release for aquatic habitat that may vary with the time of year. Releases for recreation are usually higher and are made on a specific schedule. Just a few other examples of bypassed reaches with newly restored flows include: the upper Nantahala and Cascades section; the Cheoah River; and the West Fork Tuckasegee (upper section just below the dam).  All of the Ocoee whitewater sections are bypassed reaches, but since TVA is a federal agency they are exempt from FERC oversight and their operation is governed by what TVA wants to do and what Congress tells them to do. The Pigeon River “Dries” were evaluated for a restored release during relicensing. However, it was determined that due to upstream water quality issues it was better to continue diverting Pigeon River water around them and let a small amount of flow be maintained for aquatic habitat in the “Dries” by the inflow from small high-quality tributaries like Cataloochee Creek.

At Great Falls the two bypassed reaches are separated by an island. The LBR is roughly 1.5 miles long and the SBR is only about a third of that. Hence the name.