The Haw River Assembly is a 501(c)(3) non-profit citizens' group founded in 1982 to restore and protect the Haw River and Jordan Lake, and to build a watershed community that shares this vision The scenic 110 mile Haw River is at the headwaters of the Cape Fear River Basin, and includes the Jordan Lake reservoir, providing drinking water and recreation to NC. Tributaries of the Haw River and Jordan Lake flow through Guilford, Rockingham, Caswell, Alamance, Orange, Chatham, Wake and Durham counties. Almost one million people are part of this watershed--sedimentation, wastewater, and runoff impair its waters.
Our goals are to promote environmental education, conservation and pollution prevention; to speak as a voice for the river in the public arena; and to put into peoples' hands the tools and the knowledge they need to be effective guardians of the river. Our work is made possible by the efforts and support of our members and volunteers! Please join us today.
The Haw River Assembly is licensed by the Waterkeeper Alliance as the Haw Riverkeeper program. We are proud to be part of this strong organization that champions and empowers the nearly 200 Waterkeeper programs who protect and preserve waters in the United States and throughout the world. Waterkeepers combine firsthand knowledge of their waterways with an unwavering commitment to the rights of their communities and to the rule of law. Whether they're on the water tracking down polluters, in a courtroom advocating for stronger enforcement of environmental laws, in a town meeting rallying community support, or in a classroom educating young people, Waterkeepers defend their communities against anyone who threatens their right to clean water--from law-breaking polluters to unresponsive government agencies. Read more...
Posted on: Wednesday November 11, 2009 EST
Join Us for HRA's 20th Annual Haw River Clean-Up March 20
Another anniversary for HRA! On the 20th of March, we'll be holding our 20th Annual Haw River Clean-Up-A-Thon. Join with enthusiastic volunteers who will be out picking up trash from the river banks, creeks, islands, and around Jordan Lake Volunteers work in teams at established sites near bridge crossings or other places trash has become a problem. Help us get rid of trash before it becomes a hazard to wildlife and water quality. This is our 20th annual Clean-up and it has really made a difference!
Thanks to the many Local Businesses and Individuals who sponsor the teams by making a donation to HRA to protect the river year round. Please support these generous businesses!
Click "Read more" for team locations and team leaders. Read more...
Posted on: Wednesday January 28, 2009 EST
Join in the Celebration of Durham's Creek Week March 20 - 27
The Haw River Assembly is part of a coalition with Keep Durham Beautiful and other local organizations to provide opportunities for Durham residents to discover and explore local streams and lakes through educational programs and recreational activities and to do their part to protect waterways through volunteer projects.
The week will be filled with a variety of activities including topical speakers, hands-on educational sessions, canoe/kayak training, nature walks, creek clean-ups, workshops, and more.
To view a list of Creek Week activities on waterways throughout Durham, please see the Creek Week website or contact Laura Webb Smith at (919) 560-4326, ext. 30235.
Posted on: Friday March 12, 2010 EST
About the Haw River Assembly
CAUTION to PADDLERS: The Haw River is very dangerous at high flow. Go to the USGS gauge at Bynum on this website ("Recreational info" button) to check the current river level and safety information.
The Haw River Assembly is a 501(c)(3) non-profit citizens' group founded in 1982 to restore and protect the Haw River and Jordan Lake. The Haw River is a valuable natural resource; the headwaters of the Cape Fear River Basin. The Haw River provides drinking water to many communities, important habitat for wildlife, including endangered species, and recreational and scenic areas.
Our goals are to promote environmental education, conservation and pollution prevention; to speak as a voice for the river in the public arena; and to put into peoples' hands the tools and the knowledge they need to be effective guardians of the river. We are strong coalition builders and have over 1500 members and active volunteers. We believe that to be successful we must reach out to all people in our watershed. We have strengthened our voice by working effectively with other organizations, and are members of River Network, NC Conservation Network and the NC Watershed Coalition. We work with other organizations in the Cape Fear River Basin on issues of mutual concern, including Cape Fear River Watch , the Deep River project of the Greensboro Audubon Society, and the Cape Fear River Assembly.
As it flows through urban and rural areas in Guilford, Rockingham, Alamance, Orange and Chatham counties, sedimentation, wastewater, and runoff pollute its waters. Our mission is to protect this natural resource and to build a watershed community that shares this vision.
Our major projects are the Haw River Festival, a traveling environmental education program, and the Haw River Watch Project, grassroots water monitoring of the Haw and its tributaries. In 2000 we initiated our new Stream Steward Project, involving communities and individuals in how to protect their local streams - saving the river one backyard at a time!
The Haw River Assembly activities take place every season of the year. Hikes and canoe trips, potlucks, volunteer opportunities, streamwatch outings, workshops, and a quarterly newsletter are a few of the benefits of membership. Members also provide a vital base of support for the Festival and all the Assembly's work.
All of our work is made possible by the tremendous efforts of volunteers like you! Our work is funded by member dues, individual donations, fundraising events, and by grants from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, Triangle Community Foundation, the REI Gives program of REI, and the NC DENR 319 Non-Point Source Pollution Prevention program.
Posted on: Thursday March 18, 2004 EST
What's New at the Haw River Assembly
February 6th 2010 - Indian Valley to Glencoe then to Carolina just north of Haw River, led by Joe Jacob
February 20th, 2010 – Walk at newly protected Headwaters land with Bob Brueckner and Elaine Chiosso
February 27, 2010 - Learn more about water monitoring research in our area and see some of our favorite river critters closeup, at this event for Haw River Watchers and open to the public. See the Upcoming Events page for more details.
March 20th, 2010 – 20th Annual Haw River Clean Up a Thon
2010 Update -- Judge rules in favor of Jordan Lake Developer –But It’s Not Over Yet!
Jordan Lake and democracy took a blow in the last days of 2009 in the latest round of the battle over a proposed boundary change on Jordan Lake in Durham. On December 16, Judge Howard Manning ruled in favor of Southern Durham Development (SDD) in its lawsuit against Durham. He said that the Jordan Lake watershed protection boundary line drawn in 2006 by the former Durham planning director Frank Duke is binding for the SDD property and must stand, regardless of any future action by Durham. This decision puts the land owned by SDD outside of the protected zone that heavily restricts commercial and residential development near Jordan Lake. Judge Manning also dismissed the developer’s request for damages to be paid by Durham for delaying their ability to move forward with their project. It was a win-win for the developers and the majority on the Durham Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) who have been in favor of the development. It was a lose-lose for Jordan Lake and democracy. HRA was an intervenor for Durham in the lawsuit in order to defend water quality and citizen’s rights, and our position was strongly argued by Southern Environmental Law Center attorneys.
The Durham BOCC had already voted 3-2 on October 12 to approve the boundary line change sought by the developers, but a pending lawsuit by adjacent property owners could reverse that decision. Judge Manning’s order would prevent that lawsuit, or any new action by the Durham BOCC, from affecting the new boundary line on SDD’s 751 property (although the rest of the boundary could be returned to the pre-BOCC vote location). Is this how democracy works?
We've Protected the Headwater Springs of the Haw River
The Haw River Assembly just bought the remainder of the forest that protects the source headwater springs of the Haw River. This 2 acres is part of a larger 6 acre forest under permanent conservation. We raised $4,500 from our members of the total $20,655 needed for the purchase, and borrowed the rest from our Rainy Day account. We still need your help! Click here if you can make a donation to support our purchase of the source of the Haw River. Read more...
Posted on: Thursday June 18, 2009 EST
Do You Have A Pollution Problem to Report?
Your voice counts! If you have a stream, Haw River, or Jordan Lake pollution problem to report, go to our new Report A Pollution Problem page to let local and state authorities know. Go to Pollution Reports to see problems that have been reported.
Posted on: Thursday September 07, 2006 EST
Give the Gift of a Clyde Jones 2010 Coyote T-shirt!
Haw River Festival 2010 T-Shirts -- "Coyote" by Clyde Jones
The new 2010 Haw River Festival T-shirt makes a great gift. The design by Clyde Jones shows a coyote on an adult clay (modeled by Cynthia and Elaine) or ladies chili shirt (hanging right), with bright pink (hanging left) in kids' sizes. Haw River map is on back of shirt. The adult and ladies sizes are $20 each and come in Small, Medium, Large, X-large and XX-large. The youth shirt comes in youth size Small, Medium and Large for $16 each. Add $3 per shirt for shipping.
(Send checks made out to Haw River Assembly at PO Box 187 Bynum NC 27228. Include total #, sizes and colors of shirts ordered and who to ship them to. Or call us at (919) 542-5790 to arrange a time to come by our office in Bynum to shop. Shirt designs from previous years are also available.)
Posted on: Wednesday December 13, 2006 EST
HRA Joins Waterkeeper Alliance with Haw Riverkeeper
The Haw River Assembly has been licensed by the Waterkeeper Alliance as the Haw Riverkeeper program. We are proud to be part of this strong organization that champions and empowers the 177 Waterkeeper programs who protect and preserve waters in the United States and throughout the world. The Haw Riverkeeper joins 13 other NC river and coastal Waterkeepers--the most of any state--who work to protect the Neuse, Catawba, Tar-Pamlico, Cape Fear, French Broad, Watauga, New, Yadkin, Waccamaw, and three NC Coastal Federation Coastkeepers.
The Waterkeeper Alliance has its roots in the battle by New York fishermen and environmentalists in the 1960's to stop a giant utility project on the Hudson River. With the passage of the 1972 federal Clean Water Act this first Riverkeeper group was determined to use the law's powerful citizen enforcement tools to work for clean water. This remarkable story is told in the The Riverkeepers: Two Activists Fight to Reclaim our Environment as a Basic Human Right, by John Cronin and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (New York: Scribner 1997).
The Haw River Assembly has worked for 26 years to protect and preserve the Haw River, and we believe our efforts will be greatly strengthened by joining the Waterkeeper Alliance. Elaine Chiosso, longtime lead advocacy voice and Executive Director for HRA, will be the new Haw Riverkeeper.
Posted on: Friday August 01, 2008 EST
Jordan Lake Rules Are Finally Law!
The new state rules to clean up Jordan Lake passed into law with the adjournment of the state legislature last week. Although the rules lost some strength from the original version passed by the Environmental Management Commission, the protection gained for Jordan Lake is significant. The Haw River Assembly, NC environmental organizations and downstream local governments -- especially Chatham County -- fought back hard to make sure vital parts of the rules made it through. We compromised with the opposition forces -- led by Greensboro and Durham -- to extend timelines for the rules to clean up Jordan Lake, but kept intact the important precedent that will require local government in the entire Jordan lake watershed to begin retrofits or pass new ordinances to control runoff pollution. The Lake can never be clean unless all sources of pollution are addressed. It was a long, tough seven years in the making, but with these new rules we have gained much for water quality, and not just for Jordan Lake. The Haw River and all the tributaries that carry dirty water to the Lake will be cleaner in the coming years as these rules take effect. Congratulations to all of us for hanging in there to make this happen. Read more...
The 
The Haw River Assembly is licensed by the 
Another anniversary for HRA! On the 20th of March, we'll be holding our 20th Annual Haw River Clean-Up-A-Thon. Join with enthusiastic volunteers who will be out picking up trash from the river banks, creeks, islands, and around Jordan Lake Volunteers work in teams at established sites near bridge crossings or other places trash has become a problem. Help us get rid of trash before it becomes a hazard to wildlife and water quality. This is our 20th annual Clean-up and it has really made a difference!
The Haw River Assembly is part of a coalition with 
CAUTION to PADDLERS: The Haw River is very dangerous at high flow. Go to the USGS gauge at Bynum on this website ("Recreational info" button) to check the current river level and safety information.
February 6th 2010 - Indian Valley to Glencoe then to Carolina just north of Haw River, led by Joe Jacob
Jordan Lake and democracy took a blow in the last days of 2009 in the latest round of the battle over a proposed boundary change on Jordan Lake in Durham. On December 16, Judge Howard Manning ruled in favor of Southern Durham Development (SDD) in its lawsuit against Durham. He said that the Jordan Lake watershed protection boundary line drawn in 2006 by the former Durham planning director Frank Duke is binding for the SDD property and must stand, regardless of any future action by Durham. This decision puts the land owned by SDD outside of the protected zone that heavily restricts commercial and residential development near Jordan Lake. Judge Manning also dismissed the developer’s request for damages to be paid by Durham for delaying their ability to move forward with their project. It was a win-win for the developers and the majority on the Durham Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) who have been in favor of the development. It was a lose-lose for Jordan Lake and democracy. HRA was an intervenor for Durham in the lawsuit in order to defend water quality and citizen’s rights, and our position was strongly argued by Southern Environmental Law Center attorneys.
The Haw River Assembly just bought the remainder of the forest that protects the source headwater springs of the Haw River. This 2 acres is part of a larger 6 acre forest under permanent conservation. We raised $4,500 from our members of the total $20,655 needed for the purchase, and borrowed the rest from our Rainy Day account. We still need your help! Click 
Haw River Festival 2010 T-Shirts -- "Coyote" by Clyde Jones
The Haw River Assembly has been licensed by the