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The Catawba's problems are far from solved, said N.C. Rep. Mitch Gillespie, R-Marion, who agrees with the "endangered" label. Gillespie has been a legislative leader in making it harder for communities such as Concord and Kannapolis to siphon water from neighboring river basins, such as the Catawba.

"As of yet, we've not had a good debate on it," Gillespie said.

Bill Holman, a former state environment secretary now advising a legislative commission on water issues, said other N.C. rivers share the Catawba's problems. The Neuse River's appearances on the endangered-rivers list, he said, spurred policies to reduce nutrient pollution.

"I thought it helped move the debate at that time," Holman said.

The study commission now under way is designed only to look at the state's options in allocating water. Controlling growth, Holman said, remains a local issue.

South Carolina's legislature is also debating water issues, including a bill that would regulate withdrawals from rivers and lakes. The bill's chances of being enacted before the legislature recesses in early June are uncertain, observers say.

The "endangered" designation of the Catawba helps South Carolina's claim before the Supreme Court that the two states need a fairer way to share the water, said Mark Plowden of the S.C. Attorney General's office.

"When a national organization of that size and recognition singles out that very same river, it lends a great deal of credence to what we've been saying for two years."

Most endangered rivers, 2008

Catawba-Wateree (N.C.-S.C.)

Rogue River (Ore.)

Cache la Poudre (Col.)

St. Lawrence (N.Y., Canada)

Minnesota (S.D., Minn.)

St. Johns (Fla.)

Gila (N.M., Ariz.)

Allagash Wilderness Waterway (Maine)

Pearl (Miss., La.)

Niobrara (Wyo., Neb.)

SOURCE: American Rivers

A snapshot of the Catawba

Length: 225 miles (to the Wateree River).

Water held in reservoirs: 769 billion gallons.

Power produced: 9,281 megawatts.

Water use, 2006: 420 million gallons a day.

Projected water use, 2058: 946 million gallons a day

Total shoreline: 1727 miles

Developed: 44% .

Zoned for future development: 22%.

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