The Friends of South Ellerbe Creek |
Letters
on Future Land Use Map & Thanksgiving sewage spill
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| Walking along I-85 to spill site with representatives from Friends of South Ellerbe, Neuse River Foundation and the City of Durham. | Site of the Thanksgiving day sewage spill. |
Letter to City Council, County Commissioners and Planning Dept:
Thanks for your 7/10/02 letter seeking input on changing the Future Land Use Map from the existing use of Office to Low-Density Residential (case A02-09).
With its 303D status, the Ellerbe Creek watershed is listed as Durham's most polluted stream system. Protecting Ellerbe Creek near I-85/Cole Mill Road would reflect the City Council's priority to "protect natural areas."
Urban creeks are the most neglected and degraded creeks in the nation -- polluted, channelized, littered, and forgotten. Yet, these streams contribute to urban drinking water, and also provide recreation and refuge from concrete and asphalt.
The Friends of South Ellerbe Creek strongly support changing the use from Office to Low-Density Residential.
thank you,
John Schelp
Friends of South Ellerbe
Water
Protection Needs Higher Durham Priority
(Letter
to the editor, Herald-Sun. December 15, 2000)
South Ellerbe Creek flows for three miles through some of Durham's oldest and most densely developed neighborhoods (Old West Durham, Walltown, Trinity Park and Northgate Park).
It is home to wild rose and blackberry bushes, wild pear trees, cat tails, thrush grasses and other wetland plants, large bullfrogs, rabbits, racoon and several varieties of birds -- including red tail hawks and great blue herons.
After crossing under Northgate Mall's massive surface parking lots and Interstate 85, South Ellerbe flows into what was a greenbelt of forests and farms that separated Durham from Braggtown. It was here, on Thanksgiving Day, that an old 18" terra-cotta pipe burst, spilling 4.5 million gallons of raw sewage into the creek for a period nine days -- the biggest sewage spill in the state.
Once detected, the City of Durham responded to the spill quickly and capably. However, the City of Durham must take responsibility for the slow detection of this spill of raw sewage into South Ellerbe Creek and the Neuse River system. The City uses automatic monitoring devices in the wastewater pipes to detect spills. But the one person in charge of monitoring the computer readings was out sick, so the spill went unnoticed. Durham must give a higher priority to protecting our public trust waters by giving more attention to this very important duty. The first step could be training existing employees as back up operators and making the readings public so that more people could monitor for leaks. The City is permitted to discharge treated water into the creek. For this privilege, it must show respect for the community and the natural environment and take responsibility for protecting the creek from such disasters.
We also ask that the risk of spills be minimized by placing a priority on prevention. Inspecting wastewater pipes with more frequency, and replacing the old terra cotta pipes that are likely to crack over time with more durable piping, should be at the top of the list. The spill on South Ellerbe Creek could have been prevented by a system to detect and replace high risk pipes. Durham should be commended for having already mapped its wastewater system, and should be able to use these maps to locate pipes that are compromised such as the pipe on South Ellerbe Creek.
Urban creeks are the most neglected and degraded creeks in the nation -- polluted, channelized, littered, and forgotten. Yet, these streams contribute to drinking water for urban communities, and also provide recreation and refuge from concrete and asphalt. Restored rivers help make cities livable again, offer many urban residents a significant connection to nature, and provide enormous benefits for public health, recreation, economic growth, and community pride.
The Friends of South Ellerbe Creek and the Neuse River Foundation ask the City of Durham to take appropriate measures to protect our waterways by investing the necessary resources to prevent such disasters in the future.
signed,
Michelle Nowlin,
Friends of South Ellerbe Creek
and
Heather Beard, Neuse River Foundation
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