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The Hotlist keeps our legislators up to date on whate environmental legislation is important for our community, provides more information on key issues, and lets our decision-makers know what votes might be scored on the Legislative Scorecard.

March 11, 2009 : Jordan Lake -------------------------------------------------

It all comes down to the lake. 

The Jordan Lake watershed stretches from Greensboro east to Durham and Apex. It is home to nearly a million people, with more arriving every day. Each year, the lake receives over 12 million visits from people coming to the lake to swim, fish, sail, or just watch herons and eagles soar over the water. In addition, Jordan Lake is a source of drinking water for over 100,000 people.  

We’ve not taken good care of the lake. Rain that falls anywhere in the watershed, and wastewater discharged into upstream creeks, eventually flows down to Jordan Lake. High levels of pollution – from wastewater plants and from runoff – are causing algal blooms and extreme chemical conditions in the lake. The problem isn’t limited to the lake itself; virtually every town upstream has a creek that has been damaged by pollution.  

We can fix this. The federal Clean Water Act requires that everyone who contributes to the problem help solve it by reducing the pollution going into the lake. The NC Environmental Management Commission has proposed a package of rules that will require upgrades at a number of wastewater treatment plants, and will require better controls of runoff from new and existing development. The Rules Review Commission then approved these rules at their November 2008 meeting.  Now it is up to you to make sure that these rules are adopted so that this critical drinking water resource is protected from further degradation. 

Get the Facts about the Jordan Lake Rules

Opponents of the Jordan Lake Rules have been spreading misinformation about the need, cost, and fairness of the rules.  In the Triad, the myths are crafted to make residents fear the rules and downplay how necessary they are to cleaning up the Lake. The most persistent of these misrepresentations are shown here along with the facts, but there are more myths & facts at www.cleanjordanlake.org. 

MYTH:  The science is misleading; the Lake and streams aren’t really that bad but faulty models make them seem dirtier than they are.
FACT:  The Jordan Lake model was approved by both the NC Environmental Management Commission and the EPA.  Both bodies allowed that any model is going to have some flaws but that the model in question is sufficient to make policy decisions. A study funded by dischargers on the Haw River was found to be inconsistent by a private laboratory. The proof is in the lake, algal blooms and fish kills are happening with alarming frequency. 

MYTH: Jordan Lake was set up to have nutrient problems and now upstream communities have to foot the bill.
FACT: Nutrient concerns were expressed when the lake was being constructed but the reasons for constructing the lake were sound, to provide drinking water, recreation and most importantly flood control, decreasing annual damages by 66% (US Army Corps of Engineers).  The reasons behind the construction of the lake do not change the fact that there is a federal and state mandate to clean it up; this mandate would exist even if it was not a drinking water supply. 

MYTH: The Jordan Lake Rules are harmful to economic development and will devastate local economies.
FACT: Under federal law, with or without the Jordan Lake Rules, Burlington and Greensboro will need to upgrade their sewage treatment plants. That is likely to force their water systems to raise rates. Apart from this, it is not clear that the rules will have any impact on the economy of the Triad, except to potentially make it a more attractive place to live, as the rules could help clean up urban streams and tributaries throughout the watershed. Many of these streams are on the EPA’s impaired water list along with Jordan Lake. 

MYTH: Local Governments will be forced to condemn private property of homeowners who do not comply.
FACT: This myth is meant to scare the pants off homeowners and it is quite effective but completely false. The flexibility of the rules means local governments have lots of tools at their disposal and will not have to turn to condemning homes to reach nutrient reduction targets. 

MYTH: The Jordan Lake Rules will impose extraordinary costs that will cripple local economies.
FACT: Greensboro and Burlington do face costs to upgrade their wastewater treatment plants; other water systems will not need to upgrade their plants for years to come, if ever. Astronomical cost estimates are a result of inflated DWQ numbers released in 2002 for a different purpose. The inflated numbers assume that local governments will choose the most expensive approach to meeting runoff reduction targets- construction of big stormwater detention basins-without regard for practicality. The rule is flexible enough for each municipality to implement the water quality practices that meets their needs and budget. Most of the rules are no different than the current Phase II rules that currently cover the watershed. 

MYTH: The Jordan Lake Rules are the “most restrictive rules ever issued.”
FACT: This is certainly not true if you measure the step up from current rules; other parts of the state have taken greater steps in a single rule or set of rules.  The rules are far more stringent (but achievable) on Durham and the Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWSA) then they are for Greensboro and Burlington. Smaller systems in the watershed will not need to upgrade anytime soon. All waste water plant upgrades are required by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), however, with or without the rules.  The bulk of the rules differ very little from the rules in the Neuse (1999) and Tar Pam (2003) rivers.  Many Local governments in the watershed already enforce stronger riparian buffer rules on their own. 

MYTH: The rules will significantly drive up water and sewer fees because they require wastewater plant upgrades in 5 years.
FACT: Any water system upgrade will cost ratepayers more. Greensboro and Burlington were mandated to upgrade their waste water treatment plants by 2002 under the Clean Water Responsibility Act passed by the General Assembly in 1997. These upgrades have not happened.  The EPA has approved the requirement for upgrades by 2011. If the Jordan Lake rules pass in 2009 the upgrades will have to take place by 2014. Without the Jordan Lake Rules, Greensboro and Burlington still have to upgrade their water systems, and should have done so years ago. Other areas will not even have to upgrade.   

MYTH: The Triad has a small impact on the Lake but it bears the most of the burden for cleaning it up.
FACT: The federal Clean Water Act requires that Jordan Lake- all of it-be cleaned up. The Haw River Arm of the Lake was declared impaired independently of the New Hope Creek Arm. The pollution reduction target for the Haw River Arm is due to inputs from the Haw River Watershed and would be the same if the New Hope was impaired or not.  The Haw River must reduce nitrogen by 8% while the New Hope Arm must reduce nitrogen by 35%, almost 4 times as much. The Jordan Lake rules ask the Haw governments to do their part and no more than their part. Controlling pollution will benefit the lake but also the communities throughout the Haw watershed, as impaired streams in Alamance and Guilford counties begin to recover, too. As the proposed rules are considered in the General Assembly this year, there is sure to be more misinformation out there.  

To keep up to date on the real facts and get involved, visit www.cleanjordanlake.org.

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