Riverbend Steam Station has 9 groundwater monitoring wells, 5 of which have been polluted above federal advisory levels based on samples collected between December 06, 2010 and February 02, 2015. Groundwater at this site contains unsafe levels of manganese.
Site descriptionDuke Energy's Riverbend Steam Station is located on the Catawba River just north of Mountain Island Lake in Mount Holly, North Carolina. Mountain Island Lake serves as the primary drinking water source for the Charlotte metropolitan area. The power plant was officially retired in 2013. The Environmental Protection Agency classified the primary ash pond as a significant-hazard dam and the secondary ash pond as a high-hazard dam.
In 2014, as a result of the ash spill from Duke Energy's Dan River Steam Station, Duke agreed to excavate and relocate the coal ash ponds at Riverbend and bury the waste in lined landfills farther away from sensitive waterways. According to Duke Energy's Ash Management Plan, they expect ash removal and basin closure to take over four years after planning is complete and permits have been obtained.
For more information about the Riverbend Steam Station, visit SoutheastCoalAsh.org.