Spatial Features

The following sections define and describe classes of spatial features that are important to public health and the natural environment. Some of them can be explored with our Advanced Mapviewer, others will be added in the future if we can secure additional funding for the further development of this website.

Hazardous substance disposal sites

Hazardous substance disposal sites are areas that are a risk to human health and the environment as a result of past or current manufacturing/commercial activities and waste management practices. These sites can include municipal open dumps and private hazardous waste disposal sites.
The North Carolina list of hazardous substance Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facilities (TSD) is compiled by the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) based on the risk of hazardous substance release, the type of waste on the site, and the impacts on human and environmental health if the contaminants entered the air, ground and surface water, or soil. Sites are given different levels of attention based on these characteristics.
You can download the Tennessee Solid Waste Facility Database (220 kB compressed [.zip] file containing an Excel [.xls] spreadsheet), which includes the hazardous substance TSD facilities, from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Solid and Hazardous Waste Management.
See our Public Health page for more information and downloadable documents.

Superfund sites

Superfund sites are areas that are a risk to human health and the environment as a result of past manufacturing/commercial activities and waste management practices. These sites can include abandoned landfills and former private manufacturing areas and hazardous waste disposal sites. The list of Superfund sites is compiled by NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) based on the risk of hazardous substance release, the type of waste on the site, and the impacts on human and environmental health if the contaminants entered the air, ground and surface water, or soil. Sites are given different levels of attention based on these characteristics.
For more information, visit the websites of the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Division of Waste Management, Superfund Section and the TN Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Superfund.

Brownfield Reclamation Sites

Brownfield sites are areas that were formerly industrial sites that are now abandoned and cannot be redeveloped because of a threat of environmental contamination. While some of these sites pose actual threats to human health most are simply land that needs to be cleaned up and developed in a way that would benefit the community. The EPA regulates Brownfield sites in assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment. Reclaiming Brownfield sites allows for economic growth while protecting the environment by reducing urban sprawl. Opening these lands up for development decreases the amount of green land that needs to be cleared.

Soil Maps

Soil maps allow farmers, planners, and developers to see what soil types are found in a given tract of land. The type of soil can restrict what crops can be grown economically, what kind of development will be possible, or what other land uses are suitable for a specific area. This can include things like septic systems, storm water systems, etc.
Contact your county's Agricultural Service Center for an updated soil map for your county.

NPDES dischargers

The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) is a program created to control point-source discharges of pollution into our nation's waters. Point source pollution is any pollution entering a body of water from a specific source such as a pipe, channel, ditch, or container. Any wastewater discharger must obtain a permit which would limit the level of flow, pollutants biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), pH, Total Suspended Solids (TSS), fecal coliform, oil & grease, etc., and toxicants. Those who release wastewater without a permit are subject to penalty.
It is important to understand that in 1957 there were 30 known industries discharging into the French Broad River and its tributaries. The French Broad River at this times was, as Wilma Dykeman puts it, "too thick to drink and too thin to plow." The Clean Water Act was not signed into law until 1972. In 2003 there were approximately 199 permits to discharge into the French Broad River and its tributaries. And, the river was rated by the State of North Carolina as safe for swimming and a drinking water source to over one million people. Thus, the Clean Water Act had become an economic revitalization tool.
See the North Carolina NPDES Permitting Program for more information.
The 2000 list of North Carolina NPDES dischargers (96 kB Microsoft Word document) is included as an appendix of the French Broad River Basinwide Water Quality Plan.
See Tennessee's Environmental Permitting Handbook for more information on TN NPDES requirements.

Municipal sewage treatment plants

Municipal sewage treatment plants in the French Broad River Basin treat the wastewater from our homes and businesses and some storm water collected in our sewers. After undergoing the treatment process the water is then discharged into the river or stored for use. These facilities can be an issue for human and environmental health during a period of high rain or snowfall when the plant is unable to treat all the water coming into the system and must release untreated water into the environment. The GIS layer provides information on each plant's Wastewater Treatment Plant Identification number (WWTP ID), original construction year, latest renovation date, permitted plant capacity, maximum daily flow, average daily flow, type of treatment, sludge disposal technology, and facility area in acres.

Animal Operations

Animal operations refer to agricultural areas that are used for dairy farming or to raise cattle, hogs, and poultry. Improperly managed animal operations can overload ground and surface waters with nutrients and contaminate them with worrisome micropollutants, including remnants from veterinary pharmaceuticals, hormones, and antibiotic treatments used to stimulate more rapid growth of livestock. Such active compounds may wreak havoc in aquatic life forms and their long-term impact on ecosystems is largely unknown.
For more information on animal operations, see the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service's Animal Feeding Operations Web page,
the North Carolina Department of Agriculture's Veterinary Division, North Carolina's French Broad River Basinwide Water Quality Plan, and
the Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) chapter of Tennessee's Environmental Permitting Handbook.

Fecal Coliform

Coliform bacteria are a group of closely-related, mostly harmless bacteria that live in soil and the intestines of humans and other warm blooded animals. In fact, the intestines of a newborn baby usually are colonized by E. coli, lactobacilli, and enterococci within hours. And that's a good thing! These beneficial bacteria are necessary for proper food digestion. E. coli is particularly important in making Vitamin K and B-complex vitamins available to our bodies. 'E. coli' is short for a bacterium's Latin name, Escherichia coli. It was first described scientifically in 1885 by the German pediatrician, bacteriologist, and great humanitarian Theodore Escherich.
Whereas most strains of E. coli are truly among our best friends, a less common strain, E. coli O157:H7, can make us very sick with bloody diarrhea. That bad strain was first recognized as a cause of illness and traced back to contaminated hamburgers in 1982. The Centers for Disease Control estimate that it causes 73,000 cases of infection and 61 deaths in the United States each year. Live coliforms are excreted in feces and found in untreated sewage and on unwashed hands. The bacteria themselves are odorless and invisible, except under a microscope.
All bacteria are tiny. Billions live in every healthy person's intestines. However, compared to other bacteria, let alone the extremely small viri, E. coli and its relatives are big and fairly easy to detect. Thus, when found at elevated concentrations in the water supply or in food, fecal coliforms are taken as a warning sign of unsanitary conditions. Not only might there be some E. coli O157:H7 among them, there could also be more difficult-to-detect pathogens of contagious diseases that are spread though excrement. People exposed to water or food with elevated coliform levels are at a higher risk for contracting diseases such as typhoid fever, hepatitis, dysentery, gastroenteritis, and ear infections. Therefore, data reporting levels of fecal coliform are analyzed when considering a water body for use as a source of drinking water, or for contact activities, such as swimming, which might lead to recreational water illnesses.
See our Public Health page for more information and downloadable documents.

303d Listed Streams - Impaired Waters

Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act requires that states report every two years on the condition of their waters. If a stream is too polluted or otherwise degraded to support its designated and existing uses, it must be listed in the report. Such 303d-listed streams, for example, may be unable to support fish, shellfish, and other wildlife due to oxygen levels, temperature, turbidity, sediment, or pH. Consequently, states are required to establish Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for each impaired water and each of its pollutants of concern, as well as a restoration plan designed to reduce pollution to TMDL levels or below.
Visit the North Carolina Modeling & TMDL Unit website for additional NC TMDL information. For lists of 303d-listed streams in our watershed, see Table A-27 in chapter 3 (178 kB downloadable Microsoft Word document) of North Carolina's French Broad River Basinwide Water Quality Plan and
Tennessee's Water Pollution Control Participation Opportunities Web page.

Stream Classification (North Carolina)

From North Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water Quality

Class	Description
B	Primary Recreation, Fresh Water
C	Aquatic Life, Secondary Recreation, Fresh Water
CA	Critical Area
FWS	Future Water Supply Waters
HQW	High Quality Waters
N/A	Not Applicable/Out of State
NSW	Nutrient Sensitive Waters
ORW	Outstanding Resource Waters
SA	Market Shellfishing, Salt Water
SB	Primary Recreation, Salt Water
SC	Aquatic Life, Secondary Recreation, Salt
Sw	Swamp Waters
Tr	Trout Waters
WS-I	Water Supply I -- Natural
WS-II	Water Supply II -- Undeveloped
WS-III	Water Supply III -- Moderately Developed
WS-IV	Water Supply IV -- Highly Developed
WS-V	Water Supply V -- Upstream

Dams

Dams are structures that change the flow of water in streams by restraining it, slowing it, or changing its original pathway. Some dams are naturally made by animals such as beavers while others are man-made. People dam rivers for hydroelectric power and to create lakes and reservoirs to be used for recreation or as a water supply. Changing the water flow can be harmful to the fish and other wildlife that must travel through the river to complete their life cycle.
For a list of dams in the North Carolina part of the watershed, see Chapter 2 (308 kB downloadable Microsoft Word document) of the French Broad River Basinwide Water Quality Plan.
See the TN Safe Dams Program for more information about dams in Tennessee. You can find dams in the TN portion of the French Broad watershed on the map of TDEC Dam Locations, after zooming into the very eastern part of the state. (Zooming in reveals more map layers.) For instructions, see TDEC's Help file (644 kB .pdf).

Public Schools

Public schools are elementary, middle, and high schools that are funded and managed by state and local governments.

Federally Owned Land

Federally owned land is land that is owned and managed by the US Government such as the Great Smoky Mountains National Park or the Pisgah National Forest.

State Parks

State parks are tracts of land set aside and managed by the state for recreation, education, and preservation. For more information, visit the North Carolina State Parks and Tennessee State Parks websites.

Local Recreation Areas

Local recreation areas are areas such as swimming holes and boat accesses that are open to the public and allow access to the river.
Find a list of all the river parks along the French Broad River using our French Broad River Access Guide.
You can download a Portable Document Format (.PDF) file of RiverLink's The French Broad River: Map and Guide (1.3 MB). This foldable pocket guide can be viewed and printed with the free Adobe Reader. You may also order a copy of this map, printed on waterproof paper, by contacting RiverLink at 828-252-8474.
For boating information, see also the Boating in Tennessee and North Carolina's Boating/Waterways Web pages.

Wildlife Resources Commission Gamelands

Gamelands managed by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (WRC) are open to the public but require a license and have regulations on the season open for hunting among other restrictions. Be sure to read the Hunting and Trapping Regulations provided by the WRC that apply to specific gamelands.
Go to the NC Wildlife Resources Commission website to get information regarding gamelands.
(Note: None of Tennessee's Widlife Management Areas are located in the French Broad watershed.)

Public Trout Waters

Public trout waters are fishing streams open to the public that are managed by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. Depending on the water quality of the stream they are either stocked or support natural populations of fish. There are regulations about the type of the lures you can use, the season the stream is open for fishing, and how many fish you can take out of the stream.
Go to the Wildlife Resources Commission website to get rules and regulations on North Carolina's Trout Waters.
For information about fishing in Tennessee, visit the Web pages of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Fisheries Management Division.

Environmental Management Commission Designated Trout Streams

Trout streams designated by the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission (EMC) have limits to the amount of sediment that can erode into a stream, using turbidity as the water quality indicator. The turbidity refers to the amount of suspended solids and organic matter in the water; a stream with high turbidity would be hard to see through. High levels of turbidity are harmful for trout streams because decreased light penetration leads to decreased biological activity and the sediment can collect in crevices and holes that are potential habitat for aquatic insects and trout eggs.
The NC Sedimentation Pollution Control Act of 1973 requires the following of development near general waters and EMC designated trout streams:

No land-disturbing activity during periods of construction or improvement to land shall be permitted in proximity to a lake or natural watercourse unless a buffer zone is provided along the margin of the watercourse of sufficient width to confine visible siltation within the twenty-five percent (25%) of the buffer zone nearest the land-disturbing activity. Waters that have been classified as trout waters by the Environmental Management Commission shall have an undisturbed buffer zone 25 feet wide or of sufficient width to confine visible siltation within the twenty-five percent (25%) of the buffer zone nearest the land-disturbing activity, whichever is greater.

See the "Red Book" to understand the rules and regulations for these streams.

River Hazards

River hazards are areas in the river that can be a risk for recreation.

US Geological Survey Stream Gages

The United States Geological Survey USGS set up stream gages along rivers in North Carolina to monitor water levels and flow. The first USGS stream gauge in the eastern United States is located on the French Broad River in Asheville, NC.
Visit the US Geological Survey's Daily Streamflow Conditions website for more information.

HQW and ORW Watersheds

High Quality Water and Outstanding Resource Water Management Zones are the watersheds of streams considered as having excellent (high) water quality or those designated as an outstanding resource. These streams are classified by the NC Division of Water Quality. The buffer around these streams must be one mile wide, or extend to the watershed divide, whichever comes first. Point and non-point source pollution management strategies are applicable to these waters.
See the NC Division of Water Quality's "Red Book" to learn the rules and regulations for these streams.

Water Supply Watersheds

Water Supply Watersheds are areas in which development directly affects a water supply intake. This USGS file classifies the protected and critical areas and stream classifications for areas around water supply watersheds. It enables users to identify the areas that have special restrictions for building and development based on water supply intakes. For more information about Water Supply Watershed protection, see Chapter 2 (308 kB downloadable Microsoft Word document) of the French Broad River Basinwide Water Quality Plan and the Tennessee Division of Water Supply Web pages.

Surface Water Intakes

Various businesses take water directly from sources of surface water. Quantities of water withdrawn below 500,000 gallons per day are not monitored by the NC Division of Water Resources. Contact the NC Division of Water Resources at 828-251-6208 or the TN Division of Water Supply at 615-532-0191 to ensure up-to-date information and learn about any changes in regulations.
For a list of Surface Water Intakes, see Chapter 2 (308 kB downloadable Microsoft Word document) of the French Broad River Basinwide Water Quality Plan.
Tennessee data are available from the TN Division of Water Supply.

Benthos Monitoring Sites

Benthic macroinvertebrates are those organisms without a backbone that live at the stream bottom and are visible to the naked eye. They include insects as well as snails, clams, crayfish, and mussels. These species are monitored as important indicators of water quality for several reasons. Benthic macroinvertebrates fill an essential link in the food chain, they tend to be relatively stationary and therefore are exposed to specific areas of pollution, they have very specific set of requirements needed to survive so some species will be able to handle pollution and others will not, and they are relatively easy to sample and identify.
These data are collected by the Environmental Sciences Branch of the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Division of Water Quality and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Water Pollution Control.
The Southern Appalachian Volunteer Environmental Monitoring (SAVEM) program also monitors benthic macroinvertebrates at several locations. More specific information about the North Carolina portion of the watershed is available in the French Broad River Basinwide Assessment Report (3.1 MB downloadable Microsoft Word document).

Water Quality Monitoring Sites

Water quality monitoring sites are locations where water quality data are collected on a routine basis and analyzed for presence of various chemicals. These data are collected by the Environmental Sciences Branch of the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Division of Water Quality and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Water Pollution Control.

Community Monitoring Sites

Community monitoring sites are locations that are monitored by community volunteers. There are several networks set up to do this in the French Broad River Basin. They include the Volunteer Water Information Network (VWIN), which is run through University of North Carolina-Asheville Environmental Quality Institute, and the Southern Appalachian Volunteer Environmental Monitoring (SAVEM) program of the Southern Appalachian Man and Biosphere (SAMAB) foundation. Through these networks citizens can take an active role in monitoring water quality in their neighborhood and become more aware of how actions in their own backyard can affect the health of streams.
Contact RiverLink for more information on how you can get involved in these and other monitoring programs (828-252-8474).

Fish Sampling Community Sites

The NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources has set up digital fish community sampling sites, funded by the Clean Water Management Trust Fund, to enhance water quality assessment. These data would provide a representative sample of the fish community in a given stream and could be used as a water quality indicator when analyzed with respect to water quality monitoring, chemical and physical properties, and identification of benthic invertebrates and algae. Other agencies also administer fish sampling programs throughout the French Broad River watershed. These include the
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA),
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Environmental Sciences Branch of the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Division of Water Quality, and
the Fish Community Surveys of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Fisheries Management Division.
More specific information about the North Carolina portion of the watershed is available in the French Broad River Basinwide Assessment Report (3.1 MB downloadable Microsoft Word document).
Contact RiverLink if you would like to participate in a fish sampling project (828-252-8474).