[Durham INC] [durhamenviro] Re: Letter: Water Protection Needs Higher Durham Priority (Herald-Sun, Nov 2000)

[A Wandering Feast]

Ditto John and Melissa. 
We are on Third Fork Creek - it is polluted.
Industry should be responsible for what finds its way to our creeks  - they should be fined and the issue remediate. Preventive maintenance and Testing/fining should be happening on a schedule same as housing inspections. Johns right, the cost on the front is a lot less.

The Mayors Urban Agricultural program is a concept we have promoted at NEEM since we started. NEEM is excited about the program and potential. There should however be a requirement of sustainable production (not conventional) to prevent chemical inputs from entering the city system and watersheds.
We feel this is very important for Durham, for this new budding industry or it will eventually be abused and the environment will suffer; especially the creeks.
[Agriculture is the second largest user of water, number one is energy].
Jeff
  

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Melissa Rooney 
  To: John Schelp ; %INClistserv 
  Cc: Durham Enviro 
  Sent: Sunday, September 02, 2012 2:45 PM
  Subject: [durhamenviro] Re: [Durham INC] Letter: Water Protection Needs Higher Durham Priority (Herald-Sun, Nov 2000)





  I couldn't agree more with John here.
  Fixing every sewer leak in the city of Durham should be an urgent first priority.
  These leaks have been polluting our water resources repeatedly with little fanfare.


  If you kayak where Northeast Creek enters Jordan Lake, most days you can smell the sewage that has leaked into this area for years, and on some days you can actually see sewery froth in areas. At the same time, you can see and more often hear beavers slapping their tails and eagles and herons resting or nesting in the trees overhead. It's a sad duality.


  I would bet that fixing the sewer leaks would do more to clean up Jordan and Falls lake than any of the BMPs currently being considered.


  We should be pushing this issue with all we have.


  I realize there are practical reasons that fixing all the leaks will take time, but if it's a money issue, then we should pour money into fixing these leaks before we spend it on any other water-protection initiative.


  Letters from people besides me (and the others who often write on these issues) are very much needed.


  Please take the time to write the city council as well as the press with your concerns.


  Melissa Rooney





------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  From: John Schelp <bwatu at yahoo.com>
  To: %INClistserv <inc-list at DurhamINC.org> 
  Sent: Sunday, 2 September 2012 2:16 PM
  Subject: [Durham INC] Letter: Water Protection Needs Higher Durham Priority (Herald-Sun, Nov 2000)



  FYI, here are some recommendations we developed, after a sewer line break in November 2000. 



  All best,
  John Schelp



  Letter: Water Protection Needs Higher Durham Priority
  (Herald-Sun. December 15, 2000)

  South Ellerbe Creek flows for three miles through some
  of Durham's oldest and most densely developed
  neighborhoods (Old West Durham, Walltown, Trinity Park
  and Northgate Park).

  It is home to wild rose and blackberry bushes, wild
  pear trees, cat tails, thrush grasses and other
  wetland plants, large bullfrogs, rabbits, racoon and
  several varieties of birds -- including red tail hawks
  and great blue herons.

  After crossing under Northgate Mall's massive surface
  parking lots and Interstate 85, South Ellerbe flows
  into what was a greenbelt of forests and farms that
  separated Durham from Braggtown. It was here, on
  Thanksgiving Day, that an old 18" terra-cotta pipe
  burst, spilling 4.5 million gallons of raw sewage into
  the creek for a period nine days -- the biggest sewage
  spill in the state.

  Once detected, the City of Durham responded to the
  spill quickly and capably. However, the City of Durham
  must take responsibility for the slow detection of
  this spill of raw sewage into South Ellerbe Creek and
  the Neuse River system. The City uses automatic
  monitoring devices in the wastewater pipes to detect
  spills. But the one person in charge of monitoring the
  computer readings was out sick, so the spill went
  unnoticed.

  Durham must give a higher priority to protecting our
  public trust waters by giving more attention to this
  very important duty. The first step could be training
  existing employees as back up operators and making the
  readings public so that more people could monitor for
  leaks. The City is permitted to discharge treated
  water into the creek. For this privilege, it must show
  respect for the community and the natural environment
  and take responsibility for protecting the creek from
  such disasters.

  We also ask that the risk of spills be minimized by
  placing a priority on prevention. Inspecting
  wastewater pipes with more frequency, and replacing
  the old terra cotta pipes that are likely to crack
  over time with more durable piping, should be at the
  top of the list. The spill on South Ellerbe Creek
  could have been prevented by a system to detect and
  replace high risk pipes. Durham should be commended
  for having already mapped its wastewater system, and
  should be able to use these maps to locate pipes that
  are compromised such as the pipe on South Ellerbe
  Creek.

  Urban creeks are the most neglected and degraded
  creeks in the nation -- polluted, channelized,
  littered, and forgotten. Yet, these streams contribute
  to drinking water for urban communities, and also
  provide recreation and refuge from concrete and
  asphalt. Restored rivers help make cities livable
  again, offer many urban residents a significant
  connection to nature, and provide enormous benefits
  for public health, recreation, economic growth, and
  community pride.

  The Friends of South Ellerbe Creek and the Neuse River
  Foundation ask the City of Durham to take appropriate
  measures to protect our waterways by investing the
  necessary resources to prevent such disasters in the
  future.

  signed,

  Michelle Nowlin, Friends of South Ellerbe Creek
  and
  Heather Beard, Neuse River Foundation

  _______________________________________________
  Durham INC Mailing List
  list at durham-inc.org
  http://www.durham-inc.org/list.html






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