Regional leaders, community talk water quality issues at annual French Broad watershed meeting
By WLOS Staff
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ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — Elected officials from across the region and industry leaders came together Wednesday, Nov. 8, for the French Broad River Partnership’s fifth annual meeting on the main campus of A-B Tech.
The FBRP is a collaboration of stakeholders — nonprofits, businesses and government officials — interested in water quality and economic impact of the watershed in the Western North Carolina region.
They came together Wednesday to discuss the river as it relates to the environmental and economic impact.
During the 2.5-hour program, some of the topics addressed included trash cleanup, stormwater runoff projects and sustainability. There were three moderated panel discussions featuring state and local elected officials and government, industry stakeholders and business and tourism leaders, that focused on the annual meeting’s theme, “The FBR Watershed: Intersection of the Environment + Economy.”
A topic that many echoed concerned about is how to fix the water quality issues with the French Broad River.
“Every river, especially in Western North Carolina, has issues involving environmental issues, whether it’s from farming or manufacturing, and what we’re doing in Canton is we’re identifying those problems working with our friends from DEQ,” said Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers. “The secretary advisor and her teams have done an amazing job, not just with the Pigeon River but at the French Broad. We can identify the problems and it’s okay to talk about our past, what can we do to do better with the quality.”
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