Builders will build. Rain will fall. A Fort Mill class tackles what to do next.

There was an economic downturn. There were droughts. But often enough in high-growth areas in eastern York County, construction and rain have come at the same time.

Which is a main reason why one group wants help keeping an eye on it.

“This region has some of the most booming growth in the nation,” Catawba Riverkeeper Sam Perkins said. “But development does not have to come at the sacrifice of the environment.”

The Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation monitors and reports on a host of environmental issues in the Catawba River basin. Sedimentation, most often from runoff created at construction sites where soil is disturbed, has been a top concern for years. Volunteer Covekeeper groups formed on basin lakes have set routes and service areas to watch development sites.

Still, the foundation needs more eyes on the issue.

“Our environmental enforcement agencies do not have the staffing or resources to make sure developers and polluters are in compliance,” Perkins said. “The Water Watcher training exists to train the eyes and ears of citizens so they can be a vast network able to identify, document and report problems.”

The Water Watcher program is newer than the Riverkeeper and Covekeeper roles. It requires less training. The foundation has three sessions coming up in the next couple of months, starting March 4 at the Anne Springs Close Greenway in Fort Mill. Another comes in the Lake Wylie area April 29 in Belmont, N.C. (reporting information would be based on North Carolina agencies).

“The training teaches people about the river and the sediment, erosion, scientific and legal issues around it so that someone who goes through the training afterward better has the tools to protect the water we all depend on and enjoy,” Perkins said.

If a trainee leaves wanting to do more, programs like the Covekeepers await.

“We have about 12 right now who are pretty active members,” said Lake Wylie Lakekeeper Dan Mullane, head of the local Covekeeper group. “We may have another 12 or so that have their areas that they patrol or look at regularly, but may not make all the meetings.”

Mullane said the Water Watcher program easily is the most accessible training, but also valuable even for long-time environmentalists. Regulations can change, so training gives the latest on buffer sizes, how close to the water trees can be cut down, sediment control measures and more.

“They’re able to identify something that doesn’t look right,” Mullane said.

With sites like the Palisades, McLean and new residential construction on Bonum Road bringing more homes near Lake Wylie, opportunities are there to monitor and prevent fill-in of the lake. Yet it isn’t just lakefront building.

“A lot of the development has shifted,” Mullane said. “The lake itself has been pretty much built out, but now it’s construction that’s leading into the streams and coves heading into the lake.”

It’s true of Lake Wylie and, Perkins said, of surrounding areas.

“The purview has had an interesting change as in the late 1990s and the 2000s, there was a lot of lakefront development with a lot of very potent, direct impacts on Wylie and the river,” he said. “Now, a lot of development is more set back and impacting creeks before impacting the river. It still needs monitoring, though.”

The foundation and its volunteer efforts have been around for two decades. They have trained hundreds of volunteers. The idea isn’t to beat up on builders, but to make sure they are doing what regulations require, Perkins said.

“The premise of development is simple – keep your mess on-site,” he said. “Maintain your sediment fences and basins. Be a good steward and neighbor. Unfortunately, we need a vast network of trained volunteers to help hold accountable those who do not follow the rules.”

The upcoming training runs 9 a.m.-4 p.m. March 4 at the Anne Springs Close Greenway adventure center. For more, call 704-679-9494 or visit catawbariverkeeper.org.

This story was originally published February 24, 2017 at 3:08 PM with the headline "Builders will build. Rain will fall. A Fort Mill class tackles what to do next.."