The Swannanoa River winds through the valley that bears its name, connecting communities and shaping both the landscape and the people who call it home. When Hurricane Helene swept through the region, the river and nearby neighborhoods and businesses suffered severe impacts—including eroded streambanks and the loss of vegetated buffers—that now threaten this vital waterway and surrounding properties.
Restoring the Swannanoa River is not just about repairing storm damage—it’s about improving water quality, protecting homes and infrastructure from future erosion, and building long-term community resilience.
Why Restoration Matters
Even before Hurricane Helene, the Swannanoa River faced water quality challenges. In 2024, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality listed 25.7 miles of the river as impaired for fecal coliform bacteria and for a lack of benthic macroinvertebrates—small aquatic organisms that serve as key indicators of river health.
Streambank erosion sends large amounts of sediment into the river, smothering habitats where macroinvertebrates and fish live. Fecal coliform bacteria also attach to soil particles, allowing them to settle on the riverbed and persist far longer than they would in open water. These combined issues harm both aquatic ecosystems and the people and communities that depend on clean water.
A Plan for Recovery
Thanks to an $80,000 grant from the North Carolina Land and Water Fund, RiverLink is taking an important next step toward healing this beloved river. The grant will support the development of a nine-element watershed action plan for the Middle Swannanoa River—a 6.9-mile stretch flowing from the outskirts of Black Mountain downstream to the western edge of Warren Wilson College’s campus.
What Is a Nine-Element Watershed Plan?
A nine-element watershed action plan serves as a blueprint for restoring and protecting water quality. It identifies the sources of pollution, recommends solutions, estimates costs, and sets timelines for action. By meeting U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards, these plans also make future restoration projects more competitive for state and federal funding.
For the Middle Swannanoa, the plan will prioritize reducing streambank erosion and sediment pollution while identifying partnerships and funding sources to turn restoration goals into on-the-ground projects.
RiverLink is partnering with Wildlands Engineering to complete the plan. This effort builds on earlier work—funded by the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina—that assessed flood damage and erosion following Hurricane Helene. The new plan will expand that assessment into a comprehensive roadmap for recovery, pinpointing where interventions are most needed and how to make the river more resilient to future storms.
Partnerships: The Pathway to Recovery
Collaboration is at the heart of this effort. RiverLink is working closely with Friends and Neighbors of Swannanoa, Mountain True’s Appalachian Design Center, and Swannanoa Grassroots Alliance to engage residents and connect with landowners interested in restoration. Faculty and students from Warren Wilson College will also play a key role by collecting and analyzing water quality data to help guide future projects.
“Healthy rivers mean healthy communities,” said Renee Fortner, RiverLink’s Director of Programs. “This plan gives us the opportunity to take a collaborative, science-based approach to improving water quality in the Swannanoa—while helping property owners prevent further losses by stabilizing eroding riverbanks. We’re grateful to the North Carolina Land and Water Fund and all our partners who share this vision for a resilient, thriving watershed.”
Through science, collaboration, and community action, RiverLink and its partners are charting a healthier, more resilient future for the Swannanoa River—one that protects both the environment and the people who live beside it.