3. Jeff Rich

Watershed
Part I - A Survey of the French Broad River Basin

A common misconception of a watershed is that it’s all about the water.  While water does
play a large part, the land plays an even larger role by directing the water to a common
point, such as a river or ocean. Thus Man’s treatment of the land directly affects the water
that runs over it. With this project I have highlighted this relationship between the land,
water, and man, within the microcosm of the French Broad Watershed.

In the 1950s The French Broad River was one of the most polluted in the country. A local
writer Wilma Dykema described the condition of the river as having "white scum that caps
the water's blackness for mile after mile." The river was beset with pollution from erosion,
which was caused by deforestation, pollution from heavy industry, and the rapid
development of the cities within the watershed.

The French Broad Watershed has experienced an extraordinary rebirth over the past 40 years.
The passage of the Clean Water act in 1972 put heavy limits on the pollution that industry is
allowed to discharge into the waters of the United States. As a result, the French Broad became
a much healthier watershed that now supports a thriving local ecology and provides a
recreational resource for the local community. Due to weak enforcement of the Clean Water
Act’s mandates and consistent non-point source pollution, the French Broad River is now
becoming less healthy for the first time since the passage of the Clean Water Act, which
threatens the reversal of such enormous progress.

This work shows the constant change that occurs within the watershed of The French Broad
River due to man's presence, as well as natural causes such as floods and erosion. Beginning
at the headwaters of the French Broad and following the river through Western North Carolina
into Tennessee, where it joins with the Holston River to form the Tennessee River, this project
documents the development and use of the watershed. By documenting the river itself, the
landscape of industry and homes, and the citizens who use the river and work to protect it, this
project creates a portrait of the many varied aspects that make up a watershed and ultimately
emphasizes the importance of sustainability movement that is growing in the local community
and beyond.

See more work by Jeff HERE