Haw River Assembly urges state probe of Saxapahaw plant pollution

Haw River Assembly is pressing state regulators to step into the Saxapahaw wastewater fight after sampling found E. coli in the Haw River at more than 12 times the level Open Water Data considers safe. The group says the discharge problem has stretched across months and threatens people who use the river for recreation in Alamance County.

North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality says wastewater discharges to surface waters require an NPDES permit. In a March 11, 2022 public notice, DEQ said B. Everett Jordan & Son-1927 LLC had requested renewal of permit NC0042528 for the Saxapahaw Plant WWTP, which discharges treated domestic wastewater to the Haw River in the Cape Fear River Basin. That notice also listed BOD, ammonia nitrogen, fecal coliform, oil and grease, dissolved oxygen, total nitrogen, total phosphorus and total residual chlorine as water-quality-limited in that stretch of river.

DEQ public information officer Laura Oleniacz said the agency had been in touch with the operator and owner of the Saxapahaw Wastewater Treatment Plant about permit violations. She said the current permit does not include fecal coliform limits and is up for renewal, with the renewal application under review. DEQ also documented similar readings on March 2, including fecal coliform above state water-quality standards.

The health concern matters because Haw River Assembly says its Swim Guide monitors recreational access points for E. coli, and some sample locations regularly exceed EPA recommendations for recreational exposure. The organization says its watershed includes 920 miles of streams feeding the Haw along 110 miles of the river, a system it has worked in since 1982.

The river also remains a visible part of community life in Saxapahaw. Haw River Assembly’s April 10 newsletter highlighted its annual Haw River Island Ramble there and a May 2 Haw River Festival, underscoring how closely the town’s recreation and identity are tied to the waterway. The Alamance County Environmental Health Department had not immediately replied, and the plant owner had not publicly responded as DEQ’s permit review continued.