Hearing Thursday on Falls Lake Pollution Plan

Do you care about the safety of the water you drink? If so, you should plan to attend a public hearing in Raleigh Thursday on the town of Butner’s plan to increase the amount of pollution it releases into Falls Lake, the capital city’s main source of drinking water. The hearing will take place at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences at 11 W. Jones St.

This is the second public hearing on the plan to be organized by the N.C. Division of Water Quality. The first, held in Butner in late September, drew an overflow crowd, with dozens of concerned citizens turned away at the door by order of the fire marshal. Many stayed and listened to the proceedings through the windows.

Seeking to expand its sewage-treatment plant, Butner – a town that's dominated by state and federal institutions and overseen by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services – wants to buy pollution credits from a Pamlico County utility to increase by about 61,000 pounds its discharge of nitrogen into a stream that feeds Falls Lake. The Environmental Protection Agency has said the discharge would be the largest nutrient pollution transfer for water ever proposed in the United States.

It’s more than a little ironic that the state agency charged with guarding the public’s health is pushing a plan that could actually put citizens’ health at risk, but that’s exactly what’s happening. The Neuse River Foundation and the city of Raleigh have raised numerous concerns about the plan’s impact on Raleigh’s water supply. A study sponsored by the Upper Neuse Basin Association found that Falls Lake is already showing signs of nutrient pollution damage from upstream discharges and polluted stormwater runoff. In the lake’s upper reaches, concentrations of chlorophyll-a, a sign of algae growth, already exceed state standards.

Some species of algae are harmful to human health, causing digestive and nervous-system problems. In addition, algal blooms can lower levels of oxygen and lead to fish kills, which would further damage water quality. And employees and customers of marinas on the lake complain that existing levels of algae stink and are putting a damper on recreational activities.