Haw River Assembly protects the Haw River Watershed.
This includes nine hundred and twenty miles of streams feeding into the Haw along the 110 miles of the river, the 14,000 acres of Jordan Lake, and the plants, animals, and people who depend on the river. We work as advocates to stop pollution through our Haw Riverkeeper, and are building a watershed community that supports clean water through our outreach, education and water quality monitoring programs
Join or Donate Today!
Learn About Current Watershed Issues
Contact us at info@hawriver.org 919-542-5790 P.O. Box 187 Bynum NC 27228
Haw River Clean-Up-A-Thon - March 18, 2023
Join us on Saturday, March 18 for our big annual clean-up by volunteers on the Haw River and creeks throughout the watershed. Learn more and register your team, or how you can join in at https://hawriver.org/river-cleanup/
Let’s get the trash out before it harms our waters and wildlife!
Saturdays on the Haw
January 28th, 2023 Want to learn more about how to advocate for issues that are important to you? Join us at the Greensboro Kathleen Clay Library from 9:30- 11:30am for an Advocacy Training: learn how to write effect comment letters and get involved in local issues Contact Emily Sutton at emily@hawriver.org for more information.
February 11, 2023 Help stabilize river and stream banks by joining us for a Saturday of live staking! Volunteers should be prepared by wearing gloves and appropriate close-toed shoes. Interested? Registration in advance is required: here. What is live staking? Learn more about it.
March 11, 2023 (10AM – 12PM) Looking to start a River Watch team? Join us for a stream monitoring training! New teams require a training and can sign up here. Existing teams are welcome to join in to review some of the basics – just email emily@hawriver.org.
Haw Riverkeeper News: 1,4 Dioxane Update
The NC Environmental Management Commission met in January to receive an update from state agencies on 1,4 dioxane sampling and levels of ongoing pollution in the larger Cape Fear River basin.
1,4-Dioxane is a likely human carcinogen and has been found in groundwater at sites throughout the United States. The physical and chemical properties and behavior of 1,4-dioxane create challenges for its characterization and treatment. It is highly mobile and does not readily biodegrade in the environment. -EPA technical fact sheet
Most notable, Greensboro’s draft permit, which has not yet been released for public comment, will have final discharge limits of 0.54 ug/L for a monthly average. This is based off of the more protective narrative limit of 0.35ug/L of 1,4 dioxane. We anticipate industrial polluters and regulated entities to push back hard against this permit limit, so we will need as much public engagement as possible to hold this limit. Reidsville, Burlington, and High Point will also have regulatory limits on their permits, which are currently being drafted. The other 13 permits with 1,4 dioxane attention do not include limits, but require monitoring.
The comment period for Asheboro’s draft permit has been extended until January 27th. Southern Environmental Law Center has submitted comments on our behalf, along with our friends downstream at Cape Fear River Watch. The extension comes after submitted comments from the City of Reidsville criticized the agency’s authority to set 1,4-dioxane limits.
“As for substantive matters, the Division’s inclusion of an effluent limitation for 1, 4- dioxane based on a 0. 35 μg/L standard in water- supply waters is arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable, and in excess of the Division’ s and the Agency’ s statutory and regulatory authority.”
Comments can be submitted to DWRPublicNotices@lists.deq.nc.gov
Additional information on the permit can be found at this LINK.
Discussion of latest Pittsboro PFAS Information
Haw Riverkeeper held a public meeting in Pittsboro Oct. 20,2022 with scientists who have worked on the issue of PFAS in the Haw River and Pittsboro. Particularly important were the results of a Cape Fear Basin blood sample study led by Dr. Jane Hoppin of NCSU that showed Pittsboro participants had higher levels of PFAS than those in Fayetteville and Wilmington, all higher than the national average. She discussed what these levels mean for health impacts. You can read more about the results at https://genxstudy.ncsu.edu/
The forum was recorded on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/hawriverassembly
Haw River Assembly's Awarded one of 15 "Transforming the Triangle"Awards by Triangle Community Foundation!
We are so honored to be the recipient of this $50,000 special grant from Triangle Community Foundation, who have long been supporters of our work for clean water. The grant was awarded to “to support 15 of the many nonprofits in our community exhibiting exceptional resiliency in transforming the Triangle for the better, every day.” You can read more about the grant and all recipients HERE.