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

Mon Sep 3 00:10:38 EDT 2012

Wow. I didn't even think about the effects of excessive/inorganic fertilizer use on urban gardens (b/c I'm so excited about the idea of small, local urban gardens), but Lord knows people spend heaps of money to overfertilize their lawns. There is an initiative (via the Soil and Water Conservation District) to educate landscapers and homeowners on how little fertilizer is actually required, thereby saving these people money and saving our watersheds the resulting pollution.

Public education is great but it takes time. We need teeth as well as public education.

Melissa

________________________________
 From: A Wandering Feast <awanderingfeast at mindspring.com>
To: durhamenviro at yahoogroups.com; John Schelp <bwatu at yahoo.com>; %INClistserv <inc-list at DurhamINC.org> 
Cc: Durham Enviro <durhamenviro at yahoogroups.com> 
Sent: Sunday, 2 September 2012 4:17 PM
Subject: Re: [Durham INC] [durhamenviro] Re: Letter: Water Protection Needs Higher Durham Priority (Herald-Sun, Nov 2000)

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
>
>
>
>
>
>__._,_.___ 
>
>
>Your  email settings: Individual Email|Traditional 
>Change  settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) 
>Change settings via email: Switch  delivery to Daily Digest | Switch  to Fully Featured 
>Visit  Your Group | Yahoo! Groups  Terms of Use | Unsubscribe 
>
>
>__,_._,___
_______________________________________________
Durham INC Mailing List
list at durham-inc.org
http://www.durham-inc.org/list.html
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://rtpnet.org/pipermail/inc-list/attachments/20120902/ac97cf90/attachment.html>