Environmental groups host water quality workshop

Local development might bring more money to Chapel Hill’s economy, but it also brings more pollution to its streams — a problem residents and scholars are working to address.

Environmentalists will hold a workshop Saturday to address water quality issues in the area and discuss how Chapel Hill 2020, a comprehensive plan meant to guide future growth, can work to solve them.

Julie McClintock, the president of Friends of Bolin Creek, said development makes pollution from storm drains worse.

And Michele Drostin, who works with the UNC Institute for the Environment, said pollutants like car fluids that stay on paved surfaces are washed into storm drains when it rains.

As more surfaces become paved, there is less ground for the storm water to soak into and more polluted water reaches streams.

“Storm drains drain directly into the nearest stream,” Drostin said. “A lot of people think that water goes to the waste water treatment plant, but it does not.”

Chemicals are not the only problem, as yard soil, leaf matter and other natural materials are also harmful, Drostin said.

“Way too much of that soil and organic matter getting into the stream can affect water quality and aquatic habitat,” she said.

McClintock said development can continue — it just needs to be approached carefully.

Wendy Smith, Chapel Hill’s stormwater management and environmental education coordinator, said the first step to reversing poor water quality is educating the public on the problems facing local waterways.

To that end, residents can learn more about water quality problems at Saturday’s presentation, which Friends of Bolin Creek and UNC’s Institute for the Environment have planned.

“What we’re trying to accomplish with this is to bring the data forward so people understand what’s going on, so people will be motivated to know what can be done to fix it,” McClintock said.

The event will include children’s activities and discussion.

Smith said regardless of whether they attend, residents can still protect local streams.

She said residents can have their soil tested to reduce the use of excess fertilizer and wash their cars at car washes, which use treated water.

“We need to understand where sources of pollution come from, she said. “We work with citizens so they can understand how their actions affect waterways.”

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