Recycle Your Empty Aluminum Cans for a Good Cause

For several years, the North Chatham Volunteer Fire Department Station No.1 (located at 45 Morris Road just across 15-501 from Village Way) has been accepting donations of empty used aluminum cans, which they sell for recycling. The proceeds go to a fund to buy child car seats for needy families in Chatham County. 

Photo and story suggestion by Fran DiGiano

To support this worthy recycling program be sure to bring ONLY ALUMINUM CANS!  

To donate, drive around the left side of the fire station to the back of the building, where you can then drop your empty aluminum cans into the top of the large wire cage sitting on the small trailer parked there. 

Your thoughtful recycling donations will be sure to help families in the County who cannot afford to purchase car seats for their children without this form of support. 

Cleaning Jordan Lake Shoreline / March 19, 2022

By Fran DiGiano, Clean Jordan Lake Shoreline

Clean Jordan Lake has organized 5 trash cleanups in past annual Durham Creek Week celebrations. Our event on March 19, 2022 was the second on Third Fork Creek where it crosses MLK Parkway. Our goal to remove trash from feeder streams before it can reach Jordan Lake. Trash gets flushed into these streams after rainfalls, the runoff being accelerated by impervious surfaces in urbanized areas such as Durham.

About 28 volunteers removed 50 bags of trash and 7 tires on three cleanup tracks covering both sides of the creek. Challenging conditions included brier patches, rocks, stream crossing and even wading to grab trash for the most ambitious of the volunteers. A limb saw and brush cutters were needed to clear a path to the creek down a steep embankment to remove an island of trash- see last photo. Trash was hauled by yard carts and by a clever system of using kayak to ferry bags across the creek back to meetup point. All the track captains did a fantastic job of handling volunteers. If interested in receiving notifications of future cleanups, please join meetup.com/helpcleanjordanlake.

Huge Heat Rise at Both of Earth's Poles Alarm Climate Scientists

Heatwaves at both of Earth's poles alarm climate scientists

Startling heatwaves at both of Earth's poles are causing alarm among climate scientists, who have warned the "unprecedented" events could signal faster and abrupt climate breakdown. Temperatures in Antarctica reached record levels at the weekend, an astonishing 40C above normal in places.

Solar Installers Say Duke Energy Plan Would Hurt Rooftop Business

March 11, 2022. Click the green headline to hear and read the story broadcast by WUNC-FM 91.5

A group of North Carolina solar installers is challenging Duke Energy's proposal to change the way rooftop solar owners are paid for electricity. They say it would hurt business and hamper the state's climate change efforts. The 15 companies spelled out their objections in a letter Thursday to Gov.

Current Solar panel owners would also lose important energy credits from their Duke Emergy electric bills.

Jordan Lake Water Treatment Facility Project to Begin

The Western Intake Partnership announces the start of Phase 1 of the Jordan Lake Water Supply Project.

Post Date: 03/02/2022

The Western Intake Partnership announces the start of Phase 1 of the Jordan Lake Water Supply Project. The Western Intake Partnership, made up of Chatham County, the City of Durham, and the Town of Pittsboro, was formed in 2014 to focus on securing a long-term regional water supply together for the communities they serve. In 2020, following extensive study, the Partnership decided to move forward with a plan to withdraw and treat water from Jordan Lake and deliver it to partner water systems.

Jordan Lake is a vital regional resource. It is a popular place for recreation, supplies water to surrounding communities, controls flooding and water quality, and helps conserve fish and wildlife habitats. Now the lake will provide the growing communities of the Western Intake Partnership with a reliable source of clean drinking water, while protecting the reservoir's other uses.

During Phase 1 of the Jordan Lake Water Supply Project, the Partnership will identify and investigate facility location and pipeline route alternatives, determine the capacities required, evaluate treatment process alternatives, evaluate and select the governance model for the Partnership, and conduct an environmental review process. This process is expected to continue through 2024. In future phases, the project is expected to begin construction in 2027 and be completed by 2031.

The project includes:
• A new water treatment facility, intake facility, and pump station on Jordan Lake near the Vista Point recreation area, and finished water transmission pipelines/booster pumping.
• A water supply pipeline to deliver water from the intake facility to a new water treatment facility.
• A water treatment facility on currently owned property near Jordan Lake.
• Drinking water transmission pipelines to deliver water to Partner distribution systems.

Beginning the week of March 7, consultants associated with the project will begin work on a site being considered for the proposed water treatment facility. Their work will include a field survey, preliminary geotechnical investigations, and environmental resource surveys such as wetland and stream delineations. The site being considered is owned by Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA) in the vicinity of Jordan Lake.

OWASA is engaged with the Western Intake Partnership but is not a member. OWASA is currently working to finalize a decision on how to meet its long-term water supply needs.

Information about the project can be found at www.WesternIntakePartnership.com.

NEW Fearrington Environmentalists Blog Launched February 27, 2022

Fearrington Green Scene participant Gus Reed has created a valuable new environmental blog. Check it out, participate, and watch the content as it grows. https://fncenv.blogspot.com/