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Sustainable farmers are not taking days off during this challenging time, working harder than ever to get food to their communities. They are going above and beyond to supply healthy produce and meats through Community Supported Agriculture, and taking all precautions at markets and farm pick ups. We’re seeing the fragility in our food systems. Industrial models of animal production require packaging and processing plants where people work shoulder-to-shoulder and have seen many Tconfirmed cases of COVID-19.

Shop at your  local Farmer’s Market –  get locations and contact info for local farmers with on-farm pick-ups  HERE and support them in their efforts protecting our environment and waters.

Make your holiday dinner sustainable!

Our Chance to Speak Out for Stronger PFAS and 1,4-Dioxane Standards for our Waters!

This is a process that only happens every three years, and is our opportunity to push the state to set stronger protections for surface waters. 1,4- Dioxane is on the list of new standards being proposed. The proposal is to set an standard for 80 ug/L for non-water supply watersheds and 0.35ug/L for water supply watersheds.  Setting a standard of 80 ug/L will not be protective enough to meet the downstream standard of 0.35ug/L in a continuous, interconnected river system. In the Haw, Greensboro discharges into a non-water supply watershed, but just miles downstream, Pittsboro pulls from a water supply watershed. Confusing? Yes! This is the same water body and these designations should be set to protect the most sensitive use downstream. 

E.Coli is also on the list of new standards. Currently the proposal is to set an E.Coli standard based on the 2012 EPA recommendations, but only for 19 counties in Western North Carolina. This is unacceptable. This standard should be applied statewide to protect all North Carolinians who swim, fish, and play in our state’s waters.  What is missing from this list of proposals is PFAS. There are currently no proposals to set a surface water standard for PFAS. North Carolina has gained national attention due to the PFAS crisis in our state, and it’s past time for our state agencies to set protective standards for PFAS as a class for our surface waters. 

Get our Talking Points HERE Registration info HERE

Isaiah is the chef and a co-owner of The Eddy, a cozy pub tucked on the banks on the Haw River in Saxapahaw, N.C. The Eddy serves dishes like summer ratatouille with spicy duck merguez sausage, purchasing almost every box of produce and side of meat from local farms that share its commitment to the area’s soil and water. 
He serves as a reminder to all of us that we can work from where we are, whether it’s in our state legislature or behind a bar, and lead in a way that protects our waters and builds up our neighbors.

Read the full post here http://hawriver.org/riverkeeper/

See the USGS river flow prediction here.  The river is dangerous during high water due to strong currents and pollution from stormwater and sewage overflows. Sewer overflows from upriver cities such as Greensboro and Burlington are common in heavy rain events. The Haw River has claimed the lives of paddlers and swimmers over the years.  Don’t swim when the water is high, and for paddlers, check the river gauges and river level safety information HERE.