What is an Inter-Basin Transfer?
Inter-basin transfers, or IBTs, allow a community to take water from its neighbors in order to make up for a short-fall. A water transfer of this sort takes water from one naturally defined area and moves it to another, with no requirement to ever give it back. One of the problems with inter-basin transfers is the inability to account for, or even adequately evaluate, the environmental impacts in a dynamic, natural system. The Catawba-Yadkin IBT highlights a larger problem within the NC Department of Water Resources of relying on moving water around the state from water-rich to water-poor regions as a way to achieve water security. While these transfers may be appropriate in some circumstances, every effort must be taken to ensure that water resources and aquatic habitat are not compromised in the process. Additional Legal Action by South Carolina The South Carolina Attorney General has also filed suit against the water transfer. Because the suit is against the State of North Carolina
