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

Mon Sep 3 14:07:25 EDT 2012

Melissa,
In the U.S. we don't have a scarcity of inputs, we have an abundance, and a propensity to use them. To me it is even more important for Durham and other cities in the States to have a "urban sustainable production policy".
In Cuba, inputs into the urban environment was the number one consideration when implementing the urban AG program. They needed the food but not at the ecological expense of the health and environment of the people & cities. You can only farm by sustainable methods in the urban, sub and peri urban in Cuba its the law. 
(there are now 33,000 urban farms hiring 480,000 people in a country the size of Pennsylvania - 90% of vegetables consumed in Havana were sustainably produced in Havana) 
Those are numbers we would love to see matched in Durham (and the States). It is what NEEM takes folks to see in October and December 2012 and upcoming 2013 CU delegations. 
Jeff
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Melissa Rooney 
  To: A Wandering Feast 
  Cc: Durham Enviro ; INC 
  Sent: Monday, September 03, 2012 12:10 AM
  Subject: Re: [Durham INC] [durhamenviro] Re: Letter: Water Protection Needs Higher Durham Priority (Herald-Sun, Nov 2000)

  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

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