NC DEQ — Asheville Regional Office
Surface-water concerns including pollution, wastewater, spills, fish kills, unusual discoloration, and other possible water-quality issues.
Phone: 828-296-4500
State & Regional Contacts
Primary contacts for river and water-quality concerns
For suspected pollution, fish kills, sewage, spills, unusual discoloration, or other possible surface-water concerns, these agencies are the best place to start.
NC DEQ — After-Hours Emergency Response
Environmental incidents occurring outside normal business hours, including spills or other urgent water-quality concerns.
Phone: 800-858-0368
NC Wildlife Resources Commission — Inland Fisheries
Fish and aquatic wildlife concerns, including unusual fish behavior or other fisheries-related observations.
Phone: 919-707-0220
Local Assistance
Avery, Mitchell & Yancey Counties
Local emergency-management and environmental-health contacts can help with active spills, hazardous materials, wells, septic systems, and local environmental-health concerns.
Avery County
Emergency Management
Active spills, hazardous materials, and local emergency coordination.
828-733-8210
Environmental Health / Toe River Health District
Private wells, septic concerns, and environmental-health questions.
828-733-6031
Mitchell County
Emergency Management
Chemical spills, hazardous materials, and other local emergencies.
828-385-0911
Environmental Health / Toe River Health District
Private wells, septic concerns, and environmental-health questions.
828-688-2371
Yancey County
Emergency Services
Fuel spills, hazardous-material incidents, and other local emergencies.
828-678-1085
Environmental Health / Toe River Health District
Private wells, septic concerns, and environmental-health questions.
828-682-6118
Emergency Situations
Call 911 for an immediate threat.
If there is an active hazardous spill, fire, strong chemical exposure, immediate danger to people, or another urgent threat to life or property, call 911 first.
Before You Make Contact
Helpful observations to note
If it is safe to do so, gathering a few basic observations can help responders understand the situation more quickly.
Location & Timing
Note the exact location, nearest road or bridge, access point, landmark, GPS coordinates if available, and the date and time.
Photos & Video
Take clear photos or video from a safe location. Wide shots showing the surrounding area can be as useful as close-up images.
Water Appearance
Note whether the water appears muddy, milky, oily, foamy, unusually colored, unusually clear, or otherwise different from normal conditions.
Odor
Note any unusual smell such as sewage, fuel, chemicals, sulfur, or another strong odor.
Fish & Wildlife
Note whether fish or other wildlife appear dead, distressed, concentrated in one area, or behaving unusually.
Possible Source
Note whether a pipe, ditch, culvert, drain, outfall, construction site, or other possible source is visible.
Extent & Movement
Estimate how much of the waterway appears affected and whether the condition seems to be moving downstream.
Weather Conditions
Note recent rain, flooding, dry weather, construction runoff, or other conditions that may provide useful context.
Is It Still Happening?
Note whether the condition appears ongoing or whether it had already stopped by the time you observed it.
Safety First
Do not put yourself at risk to document a condition.
Do not enter the water, approach an unknown spill, touch an unknown substance, or handle dead or distressed wildlife just to gather additional information.
About Toe River Watch
Toe River Watch observes and shares. Agencies investigate.
Toe River Watch helps document and share observable river conditions across the watershed. It does not determine whether a condition is pollution, identify who caused it, conduct water-quality testing, or replace the appropriate government or emergency-response agency.
When possible, suspected water-quality problems should be reported directly to the appropriate agency listed above.