1. science
2. ecology
3. pollution

November, 2014
economic
continued from page 1
Water Resources, this results in poorly treated
sewage being discharged into the Rocky River
– especially after heavy rains.
Removing Excessive Nitrogen
From Siler City Wastewater
Discharges:
An additional water quality problem concerns
elevated nitrogen levels in the Rocky River
below Siler City. Nitrate-nitrite levels have
declined approximately 90 percent since the
closure of the Pilgrims Pride and Townsends
chicken processing plants. However the NC
Division of Water Resources has noted …
“excess nitrogen is still affecting water quality in Loves Creek and [the] Rocky River. Any
process changes you can make to reduce Total
Nitrogen will help improve water quality”.
This observation has been documented
by a major nitrogen study undertaken by the
NC State University Department of Marine,
Earth and Atmospheric Sciences released in
August, 2014. This study notes: “These data
show that the Siler City Wastewater Treatment
Plant is the only major nitrogen source in the
Rocky River Drainage Basin during times of
base flow.”
These nitrogen discharges have resulted
in elevated levels of “chlorophyll a” in the
Rocky River below Siler City at the Woody’s
Dam impoundment. As a result, this section of
the river has been listed by the NC Division of
Water Resources as being impaired because it
fails to meet water quality standards..
A reopening of chicken processing and
similar industrial activities is very likely to
raise nitrogen levels even higher in this and
other areas of the Rocky River below Siler
City. This could cause the Rocky River down
to the Deep River to again be clogged with
algae. Should this happen, the river will fail
to meet designated Class C secondary recreational standards that require water quality
sufficient to allow wading, boating, fishing
and healthy fish populations. As noted below,
avoiding this outcome will require the use of
nitrogen removal technologies by Siler City.
In an effort to reduce these nitrogen discharges, the NC Division of Water Resources
has signaled that Siler City should prepare
itself for tight nutrient limits. These limits
are being promoted by the U.S. Environmental Protection agency.
Increasing Low Dissolved
Oxygen Levels Below the
Charles Turner Dam:
The NC Division of Water Resources has
determined the Rocky River from the Charles
Turner Reservoir down to Varnell Creek below
U.S Hwy. 64 is “impaired” due to low dissolved
oxygen levels. Low oxygen levels are caused,
in large part, by inadequate releases of water
from the Charles Turner Dam and by inadequate oxygenation of the releases that are
made. The result is damage to aquatic life forms
that depend on adequate levels of oxygen …
such as fish.
This impaired status exists even though
Siler City is withdrawing 50 percent or less
of the 4,000,000 gallons a day (GPD) permitted by the NC Division of Water Resources. If
the megasite is developed, water withdrawals
from the Rocky will likely reach the permitted
4,000,000 GPD level. Once this occurs, flows
will decrease and oxygen levels in the Rocky
River between the Charles Turner Dam and
Varnell Creek probably will decline further.
The problem of low dissolved oxygen levels
often is worse below Highway 64 at Loves
Creek. Here, discharges of Siler City wastewater cause low oxygen levels to decline even
more – especially when untreated wastewater
is discharged due to I&I problems.
Accordingly, Siler City wastewater discharges can be considered to be in violation
of the Clean Water Act provision that states a
river receiving wastewater discharges must
have assimilative capacity sufficient so as to
be able to absorb the wastewater discharges
without being degraded below established standards. Years of data show that dissolved oxygen
levels in this section of the Rocky receiving
discharges from the Siler City WWTP are
chronically below the required 4 mg/l. These
low dissolved oxygen levels represent a serious
lack of assimilative capacity.
This problem of low dissolved oxygen
levels raises the question as to whether the
Rocky River, at present, can legally support
9
Chatham County Line
the water withdrawals anticipated by the Siler
City Megasite and other job creation efforts.
As global warming proceeds this question and
the need to locate water sources other than the
Rocky River will become much more evident.
Cleaning Up the “Impaired”
Siler City Reservoir:
The NC Division of Water Resources has designated the upper Siler City reservoir as being
“impaired” due to excessive levels of “chlorophyll a” – an indicator of excessive nutrients
including phosphorus and nitrogen. As such,
the reservoir fails to meet state water quality
standards for drinking water supplies. This
problem results from storm water runoff from
area lawns, fields and pastures carrying nutrients such as organic nitrogen into streams that
feed the reservoir. Remedies for this problem
include the use of best management practices
such as stream buffers and fencing livestock
so they cannot wade into streams.
Sooner Than Later
As we continue moving into a hotter, more
turbulent world, the importance of protecting
our water resources will become more evident
— not only in California and the southwest,
but also in North Carolina and the southeast.
Unfortunately, the State of North Carolina —
under current leadership — has chosen to
SILK HOPE
B ENE F I T
O
B I NGO
Food • Drinks • Desserts
NEXT BINGO
Nov. 6, 20, Dec. 4
(1st, 3rd, & 5th Thursdays each month)
Silk Hope Community Center
DOORS OPEN: 5:30 PM Total Prize
EARLY GAME: 6:30 PM Money Over
$1,100!
REGULAR GAME: 7:15 PM
4221 Silk Hope Road, Siler City
www.silkhopenc.org • 919.663.0331
The Silk Hope Ruritan Club will donate funds from
BENEFIT BINGO to local schools, scholarships, teacher supplies,
and aiding and improving the community.
ignore this reality. Accordingly it has abolished
the Division of Water Quality and reduced staff
by approximately 40 percent.
As a result, state efforts to protect the Rocky
River have declined. These efforts under Democratic Party leadership were barely satisfactory, perhaps a C-. Now, under Republican
leadership these efforts are even worse, perhaps a D-. As such, if the Rocky River is to support long-term job creation efforts, Chatham
County, Siler City, the Chatham Economic
Development Corporation, and private parties need to undertake the five initiatives discussed above. The Rocky River and all those
dependent on it will be better off if this occurs
… sooner than later.
DIANA KAREN
JIM
HALES HOWARD CRAWFORD
Sonny Keisler, a Chatham resident and
environmental activist, is a retired real estate
developer, tree farmer and university faculty
member who has taught management and
environmental policy courses.
ExpErt, FriEndly
door rEpair
Door Repairs • Weatherproofing
Door adjustments • Replacements
Garage Doors • Lock changes
Residential • Commercial
LoCaL RefeRenCes
Robert sprenger | 919.444.1533
www.fixyourdoors.com
We Get the
Word Out!
Chatham County Line
Your Communit y
Ne wspa pe r
Your Team For
Open Government
Chatham citizens, our team will:
b Discuss issues openly in
Commissioner meetings,
instead of behind closed doors
b Respect and encourage
citizen involvement on
committees, once more
b Engage community voices
on issues at meetings
b Encourage dialogue and
involvement with minority
communities in Chatham
b Commit to an open, citizenfocused Land Use Plan for
Chatham
b Honor agreements with other
boards, and not negotiate in
secret with political allies to
the detriment of Chatham
residents
b Fully fund innovation in our
public schools instead of
penny-pinching. Since 2010
Chatham County Schools have
lost 52 Instruction Assistant
positions and class sizes
have increased.
It’s not IF we’ll grow,
but HOW we’ll grow.
We’re committed to thoughtful
planning for Chatham’s future.
VOTE DEMOCRAT
COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
✔ Diana Hales
DISTRICT 3
✔ Jim Crawford
DISTRICT 4
✔ Karen Howard
DISTRICT 1
Vote Early thru Sat. Nov. 1
Election Day: Tues., Nov. 4
6:30am–7:30pm
Got Questions?
Call the Board of Elections
919-545-8500
Paid for by Diana Hales for Commissioner Committee