Roanoke River Watershed History

Roanoke River Watershed
Map Sourced from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:RoanokeRiverWatershed.png

The USGS Geographic Names Information System includes many historical names that the Roanoke River has gone by including; Hocomawananch, an Indian name; Roenock by the European settlers in 1670. It has been labeled as Occaneechi River on Col. Cadwallader Jones’ map; and named as Staunton River on a 1727 survey map of the VA-NC state boundary line. The Native Indians and early explorers knew the infamous river as the “River of Death” due to spring floods that had taken many lives. The flood plain as it runs through North Carolina spans widths as wide as 5 miles (NCEE, 2013). After severe flooding in the 1940’s, several dam and reservoir projects were implemented in the 1950’s-60’s to help control flooding (NCEE, 2013).

The Roanoke River begins at the convergence of the North Fork Roanoke River and the South Fork Roanoke River within Montgomery County. The river then flows in a southeast direction through Salem and Roanoke. It is dammed twice in Virginia, the first time at Smith Mountain Dam, creating Smith Mountain Lake and again creating Leesville Lake. At the Virginia-North Carolina border, the Roanoke River is impounded with John H. Kerr dam creating the expansive Kerr Lake. In North Carolina, Roanoke River is dammed creating Lake Gaston and also again forming Roanoke Rapids Lake before it flows into the Albemarle Sound.

Today the Roanoke River provides water to more than one million people for many uses including drinking water, farm irrigation, fishing and boating (American Rivers, 2011). It is an economically important resource drawing thousands of anglers each year, as it “boasts a world-class striped bass fishery” (American Rivers, 2011).  Biologically, the Roanoke River is very diverse, its soils enhanced from flooding in the bottom portion of the watershed. The Roanoke River National Wildlife Refuge is heralded by the Nature Conservancy as “one of the last great places”; an undisturbed area of expansive forested wetlands along the Roanoke River fall line to the sound.

Much of this bounty was placed at risk due to threats of uranium mining in a Roanoke River tributary. The Roanoke River even made American Rivers Most Endangered Rivers in 2011 due to the potential risk environmental degradation from uranium ore mining. The mining process leaves radioactive and contaminated waste that remains for centuries, undermining heath of local watersheds.

Ongoing challenges in the watershed come from population growth; demand for water is projected to increase by 55% through 2020 (NCEE, 2013)! Stormwater runoff and pollution from agriculture, forestry and construction are causes of aquatic habitat destruction and impairment. High levels of dioxin, selenium and mercury have been found in the watershed, creating fish consumption warnings in the watershed (NCEE, 2013).

American Rivers. 2011. Roanoke River Report. Sourced 10/14/14: http://www.americanrivers.org/endangered-rivers/2011-report/2011endangered-roanoke/

North Carolina Environmental Education (NCEE). 2013. Roanoke River Basin. Sourced 10/14/14: http://www.eenorthcarolina.org/images/River%20Basin%20Images/final_web_roanoke.pdf