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/

Chatham County (NC) 2022 Household Hazardous Waste Events

 

2022 Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Recycling Dates 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

No Business Waste and No Trash Allowed

The Household Hazardous Waste events for 2022 will take place on the following Saturdays:

• March 19
• April 23*- fourth Saturday due to Easter
• May 21
• June 18
• July 16*
• August 20
• September 17
• October 15
• November 19*

*The Sheriff's Office will be on-site during these HHW events to conduct a medicine take back. 

Location: Solid Waste & Recycling Main Facility

28 County Services Road

Pittsboro, North Carolina 27330

The next Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) event will be Saturday, March 19, 2022 from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. HHW events are a way for residents to dispose of hazardous materials safely. Decals are not required, but residents will need to show their NC Driver License with their current address. HHW is only for households; no hazardous waste from businesses will be accepted.

At HHW events, the county accepts such items as oil-based paints, solvents, stains, bleach, aerosols, cleaners, pesticides, brake fluid, fluorescent light bulbs, propane tanks, etc. For a complete list, please visit the Household Hazardous Waste webpage or contact the Solid Waste & Recycling Division at 919-542-5516 or recycle@chathamnc.org

New Latex Paint Limit

Since 2021, residents will only be allowed to bring 20 gallons of latex paint cans to each Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) event.

Approximately 60% of all the material brought to HHW events is liquid latex paint. It is the most costly item we collect in total. Yet, latex paint is only hazardous when in a liquid form. Latex paint can easily be dried out and thrown away with your regular trash. This new paint limit will help Solid Waste & Recycling save our budget to handle more hazardous wastes.

Residents can bring 20 gallons of latex paint cans per HHW event. If you have a 1 gallon paint can that has half a gallon of paint in it, it will count as 1 gallon. Feel free to combine partial cans of paint, as long as they are all latex paint. Please note that this new rule only applies to latex paint. Any other type of paint (oil-based, spray, etc.) cannot be hardened, so residents should bring it to an HHW event and there is no limit.

Latex paint can be safely dried out and put in with your regular trash, whether at the 12 Collection Centers (current decal required) or in your curbside trash. It does not have to be completely solidified– more like a paste; as long as the latex paint can no longer run out of the can.

To dry latex paint:

• Take off the lid and let it sit outside in a covered area, so it does not get rained on.
• Add kitty litter, sand, or sawdust.

Instead of drying it up, you can also paint something, then throw that item away once the paint is dry.

Do not bring dried paint cans to HHW events; throw them away in your regular trash. Attendants at the Collection Centers may ask to check that the paint is dry.

HHW events are held the third Saturday of each month, March through November.

Chatham County Residents—How to Recycle Specific Items

Do you have questions about what can properly be thrown into your recycling (or a public) recycling bin or whether that item should be placed in a trash bin?  To learn how to properly recycle a wide range of items, see these guidelines provided by the Chatham County (NC) Recycling Center.

After Action Report of the FHA/GREEN SCENE October 16, 2021 Annual Fall 3-in-1 Recycling Event

Greetings,

First, a big THANK  YOU to Pam, Maggie, Gene, Beryl, Leigh, Jon, Mark, Maarten, Marilyn, and Bill for your time and energy this past Saturday morning, as well as for some of the pre-event preparations.  Needless to say, we couldn't have made it happen without your support.
Thanks, too, to Susie Eckblad for posting the publicity posters in all the community mail kiosks.  And, of course, to Amy Ghiloni, on behalf of ReMax United Realty, for her generous financial sponsorship.

Your pooled effort resulted in the removal of 5,400 pounds ( two and three quarters TONS ) of unwanted, shredded, paper from our file cabinets, garages, and attics.  That paper is on it's way to a facility in Georgia that will convert it into "toilet tissue"   -    some of which just might find it's way back into our community in that much-valued form.

The Chatham County Sheriff's people collected more than 45 pounds of "unwanted medications."  That may not sound like a lot    -    until you do some math ( as I did ) and figure out that that is more than 22,000 pills.  Pills that won't be flushed down the toilet to contaminate Jordan Lake, or put in the garbage to contaminate a land fill.

And, by checking   -    and re-charging when necessary    -    dozens of community fire extinguishers, the folks from the United Fire and Safety Equipment Company have helped to make Fearrington a safer place to live.

So now you can all relax and enjoy the upcoming Holidays    -    and get ready for our next "3-in-1" Event on the third Saturday in May, 2022 (May 21st).

THANK  YOU, again, for your help !

Jason Welsch
Moderator, Fearrington Green Scene
914-806-4852 ( Cell Phone )

An Invitation from Francis DiGiano

It’s gratifying to see membership grow to almost 100! Our goal is to inform neighbors of the shoreline about the mission of Clean Jordan Lake (cleanjordanlake.org), a small nonprofit with no paid staff. We want to restore beauty to protect wildlife and improve recreational value.

In 12 years, 8,400 volunteers have participated in over 600 trash cleanup events, resulting in removal of18,400 bags of trash and a startling 4,800 tires (see https://www.cleanjordanlake.org/cleanuptotals). No agency of local or state government can do this for us. Should you have interest in a leadership role, we currently seek a few Board members willing to devote on average about 4 hours per month. Small nonprofits depend on Board members not only for advice but for project management. Our needs include:1) fund raising to buy a pontoon boat for surveillance of trash and ferrying of volunteers during cleanup evets; 2) management of existing Google Sheets, Google Data Studio and GIS to keep track of the where and when of rash cleanups (see RESULTS page at cleanjordanlake.org); 3) management of social media; and 4) outreach to elected officials and staff in the 8 counties of the lake’s watershed to foster trash prevention programs.

Please Reply to vanmurray@cleanjordanlake.org, President of Clean Jordan Lake, if interested.

Rocky River Heritage Foundation Volunteers Clean-Up

CH@T: Rocky River Heritage Foundation's volunteers conduct clean-up effort

Environmental and volunteer organizations routinely devote hundreds of hours every month to keep lakes and rivers in North Carolina as pristine as possible. This week, we speak with Pamela Hawe, a member of the Rocky River Heritage Foundation; foundation members and other river organizations recently completed Chatham's first "Creek Week" program, working to clean a portion of the Rocky River.