Overview

The WNC Recreational Water Quality program was developed by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Division of Water Resources Asheville Regional Office (ARO) for the purpose of monitoring water quality in heavily recreated waterbodies in western North Carolina. Based on current resources and strategies, the state-funded initiative leverages and enhances existing monitoring programs, expands water quality analytical methods and evaluates the use of models to estimate bacteria levels to supplement water quality sampling.

Program updates 

Continuation of the French Broad E. coli estimator, partnership expansion

For the 2025 season, DWR's Asheville Regional Office will continue to serve out, in partnership with environmental and conservation organization Mountain True, the E. coli estimator for the French Broad River near Pearson Bridge in Asheville. The estimator will continue to provide an near real-time estimate of the E. coli value and can be found online: French Broad at Pearson Bridge E. coli estimator.

In addition, DWR staff are working with Mountain True, the Swannanoa Watershed Action Network and the Watershed Association of the Tuckasegee to enhance water quality monitoring and data analysis. Staff are looking forward to potential expansion of the partnerships and monitoring network with local county health departments with added monitoring in new river basins.

For more information on E. coli, please visit DWR’s Asheville webpage and the Frequently Asked Questions link. North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services' guidelines for recreational water illnesses are available online: Avoiding Recreational Water Illnesses. 

Icon to inform recreational users of water monitoring sites

The WNC Recreational Water Quality icon will be used to identify locations in DWR's monitoring program. Data or information with this icon will have been vetted through the program. Staff plan to increase signage at monitored locations to inform recreational users where sites are monitored by DWR, and how to access relevant water quality data.

New testing method for water quality analysis 

DWR's Asheville water testing laboratory plans to begin using dPCR, or digital polymerase chain reaction, technology for water quality analysis. PCR technology amplifies nucleic acid to allow rapid (3-4 hours) testing for E. coli and other fecal material markers such as HF183, the human DNA marker. DWR staff are looking to employ this technology eventually throughout the region to reduce analytical time and enhance source tracing.