Industrial Contaminants in Pittsboro’s Drinking Water
PFAS (“forever chemicals”) and 1,4 Dioxane are industrial pollutants discharged into the Haw River, Pittsboro’s water supply, from industries upriver in Greensboro, Burlington, and Reidsville. Long term exposure can lead to cancers, high blood pressure, fertility issues, and many other serious health concerns.
What are the solutions?
Short Term: The Town of Pittsboro is providing safe FREE water through Chatham Marketplace to all Pittsboro water customers, including residents of Chapel Ridge. Town water customers can receive free water at Chatham Marketplace’s treated water dispenser in their grocery store. The store uses reverse osmosis to purify the water. Present a coupon code to the store’s cashier (found on your water bill, or call the Town of Pittsboro 919- 542-4621 to receive it. Customers should provide their own container to fill with the treated water ( store has a limited supply of containers to purchase). Chatham Marketplace is located at 480 Hillsboro St. Pittsboro (in Chatham Mills) and are open 8 am to 8 pm (open 10 am on Sundays).
Long Term: The Town of Pittsboro is installing advanced treatment in its drinking water treatment plant to be completed July 2022.
Long Term: Haw River Assembly, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center has brought legal challenges to force Greensboro and Burlington to investigate the industrial sources of PFAS and 1,4-Dioxane in their wastewater streams so that action can be taken to stop it. Read more at https://hawriver.org/river-issues/industrial-contaminants/
Powerpoint Presentations from Pittsboro Forum August 26, 2021
General Information about PFAS
What are the Hardison Amendments? Do they impact what the state can or cannot do? Link
What is the actual data coming from surface water samples in Pittsboro? PFASdata (1)
What can DEQ do right now, without legislation? One-Pager_DEQ Asks (1)
What can our elected officials do? Legislator Talking Points
Still have more questions or resource needs? Send an email to Haw Riverkeeper, Emily Sutton, at emily@hawriver.org.