The river supplies water and waste disposal to the region. Mountain Island Lake, one of its reservoirs, is Charlotte's major drinking-water source. Water quality there is good to excellent, local officials say. But the lake has also become a desirable location for new homes, and conservationists are working to protect the lake's undeveloped shoreline and tributaries. That's how it is here.
Natural resources are under pressure from a flood of new people, homes and cars.
Government and citizen groups are trying to respond - hoping they're not too late. Most of their headwaters bubble up within the county. But it's a squandered wealth of water - 85 percent of the streams aren't clean enough for human contact. The county now requires that undeveloped stream banks remain undisturbed so trees and plants can intercept pollutants washing toward the water. Smog veils those deep blue Carolina skies for much of the summer.