4.5 River Basins
4.5.9 Hiwassee River Basin 4.5.9.1 River Basin Description
Te Hiwassee River is part of the Mississippi River System, with headwaters that begin in Georgia. Te Hiwassee River fows generally to the northwest through North Carolina and into Tennessee, where it joins the Tennessee River. Te North Carolina portion of the basin is located entirely within the Mountain ecoregion. Major tributaries in the basin include the Valley River, Nottely River, Tusquitee Creek, and Brasstown Creek. Tere are approxi- mately 2,068 miles of freshwater streams and 10,583 acres of impoundments and reservoirs in the basin (NCDWR 2015j; USGS n.d.) . Te Valley River and Brasstown Creek are the largest streams that are not impounded in the North Carolina portion of the basin. Te main stem Hiwassee and Nottely Rivers are regulated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for the production of hydroelectric power, with three large impoundments that form the Chatuge, Hiwassee, and Apalachia reservoirs. • Chatuge Reservoir straddles the North Carolina/Georgia line and impounds the Hiwassee River. Te North Carolina portion of the lake is situated in the southwestern portion of the state in Clay County. It provides food damage reduction, hydroelectric power generation, augmentation of water fows for navigation downstream, and numer- ous recreational opportunities (TVA 2015) . Te shoreline is surrounded by development and its proximity to four major cities in four diferent states likely contributes to its pop- ularity for vacation homes. • Hiwassee Reservoir impounds the Hiwassee River to create a 22-mile long reservoir in Cherokee County, NC. Te reservoir provides hydroelectric power generation and food damage reduction, as well as several recreational facilities for camping, fshing, and boating (TVA n.d.) . • Apalachia Reservoir is downstream from Hiwassee Reservoir and the powerhouse is operated as run-of-river (little or no water storage provided). Most fow from the dam is diverted through a pipeline from the dam to the Apalachia Powerhouse 8.3 miles downstream in Tennessee before it is returned to the river channel. Minimum fows are released from the dam to the channel downstream, which crosses the state line less than a mile from the dam. Te reservoir has very little private shoreline development and no commercial recreational facilities (TVA n.d.) . Te Hiwassee River Basin covers approximately 644 square miles, making it one of the smaller basins in the state. Based on 2011 National Land Cover Dataset information, land use in the basin was estimated to be 85% forested, 7% urban or developed, 5% agricultural, 2% grassland, and less than 1% wetland (MRLC 2011). Te Nantahala National Forest covers
550
2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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