Stream watch news

              Fall 2001 Issue 40
Sincerely,
David Wojnowski
david.wojnowski@ncmail.net
Letter From the Coordinator
Division of Water Resources Has a New URL
Dear Friends of North Carolina Waters:
In the light of past events I want to commend those who participated in Big Sweep this year.
It warmed my heart to see so many concerned citizens spending their Saturday morning
helping to clean up their community. I believe unselfish acts of volunteerism and stewardship
are ways we can deal with our feelings of frustration, confusion and grief during this difficult
time. North Carolina is blessed with many precious natural resources, waterways being one
of the most important. It is our responsibility as Americans to respect and care for these
resources. Thank you for your help. Together we will triumph over the careless and uncaring
individuals who pollute our world.
A special thank you to Judy Bolin and all the Big Sweep county coordinators for their efforts
organizing this years event and collecting all the data!
The Division of Water Resources home page will now be found at www.ncwater.org.
The Stream Watch and Project WET Web pages can be located on the Water Resources
home page under Education & Technical Assistance, or log on directly at:
www.ncwater.org/stream_watch and www.ncwater.org/project_wet. Stream Watch
News will be available on line as a PDF file and can be opened using Adobe Acrobat
Reader.
Big Sweep has been one of the most popular activities that Stream Watchers have participated
in since Dr. Lundie Spence of NCSU’s Sea Grant Program first founded the idea back in 1987,
when it was called Beach Sweep. Cleanup of North Carolina waterways expanded inland in
1989 and the name was changed to Big Sweep. North Carolina Big Sweep is best known for
coordinating the North Carolina component of the international coastal cleanup. 100 counties
in North Carolina – as well as over 90 countries and 55 U.S. states and territories – participate
in this very important cleanup on the third Saturday in September. From 1987-2000, more than
122,000 volunteers have retrieved approximately 2,088 tons – or more than 4 million pounds – of
trash from North Carolina’s waterways.
This is just one reason why it is imperative that people keep an eye on their own waterways and
educate their communities about the importance of clean water and respect for their watershed.
Please tell others about the Stream Watch program and how they can help protect and ensure clean
water for the citizens of North Carolina.
Several Stream Watch groups teamed up with other environmental organizations to help cleanup
North Carolina waterways. A few examples are as follows:
Becky Bowers, Jennifer Sanders-Young
and Bryan Young help cleanup a Tributary
of Crabtree Creek – Neuse River Basin
Left to right: Becky Clingerman, Heather Morell,
Tabitha Brown, Dominique Donato and DJ Fish.
Tributary of Crabtree Creek – Neuse River Basin
Led by Becky Bowers with the National Association of Environmental Professionals and
the Lorax Stream Watch group, over 20 volunteers cleaned up a stretch of Rocky Branch on
the NC State campus and a tributary of Crabtree Creek near Wade Ave. in Raleigh.
NC State Lorax Stream Watchers
Rocky Branch – Neuse River Basin
Stream Watchers and Big Sweep
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Richland Creek Steam Watch, in cooperation with the Umstead Coalition, cleaned up the
area around Reedy Creek Road and the Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena.
Jean Spooner, Richard Tibbs, Elizabeth
Covalla and Andrew Both cleanup
Richland Creek – Neuse River Basin
Rod Broadbelt, Andrew Both, Jean
Spooner and Richard Tibbs
Richland Creek – Neuse River Basin
John McMillian
Clever Clovers 4-H
Stanfield, NC
The Rocky River is the main river of Stanly County. If it were polluted, we would be in
serious trouble. Some of the houses in Stanly County have wells that are near Rocky
River and could have their wells contaminated by polluted water. Recently, the Clever
Clover 4-H club of Stanfield tested the river for macroinvertebrate diversity with the help
of the Stream Watch program. What they found was appalling! The river is not in good
condition at all! The only life forms present are ones that are tolerant of pollution. While
the Clever Clovers are working diligently to clean up parts of the river, it is not enough.
With all the people moving into Stanly County we must be careful about runoff from
construction. Construction sites must have silt fences to keep runoff from entering the
river. We should be aware of other forms of pollution too. If you see a polluter it is your
duty as a citizen of Stanly County and the Earth that you should report them. If we all
play our part, we can clean up the river and make it a healthy habitat for all kinds of life
forms.
Motorists and pedestrians may report incidents of litter law violations to the N.C. DOT’s
Office of Beautification Programs by mailing or emailing Swat-A-Litterbug report cards.
Owners of vehicles observed littering receive formal notes of warning signed by the
Colonel of the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Colonel of the State Highway
Patrol reminding them that littering violations may involve a penalty of $1,000.
To receive Swat-A-Litterbug report cards, call 1-800-331-5864 or visit
www.dot.state.nc.us/~litterbug.
Swat-A-Litterbug!
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Rocky River Needs Your Help
1. Tim Dorsey, Crowders Mountain Sate Park, 522 Park Office Lane, Kings Mountain, NC
28086 (704)853-5375 crowders@vnet.net
2. Sue Glover, Wilson County Soil & Water Conservation District, sue-glover@nc.nacdnet.org
(252)237-5147 ext. 3
3. Rose Pruitt, Darlington, SC, rosepruitt@sc.rr.com (843)393-0001
4. Rene Kimray, Discovery Place, Inc. 301 N. Tryon St. Charlotte, NC 28202
scigurl@yahoo.com ph: (704)372-6261 ext. 472 Fax: (704)337-2670
5. Johnsie Hayes, Rockingham County Soil & Water Conservation District, 525 NC 65 Suite
100 Reidsville, NC 27320-8861, jhayes@co.rockingham.nc.us ph: (336)342-0460 Ext. 3
Fax: (336)361-0062
6. Victor Shane Freeman, Robeson County, Ranger644@yahoo.com
7. Randle Brim, Randolph Co. Dept. of Planning & Development, PO Box 771, Ashboro, NC,
27204, ph: (336)318-6551 Fax: (336)318-6550 rebrim@co.randolph.nc.us
8. Mir Youngquist-Thurow, ACE Education, Camp Agape 1369 Tyler Dewar Ln. Fuquay-
Varina, NC 27526, ACEed@agapekurebeach.org (919)552-9421
Agape Center For Environmental Education
9. Bambi Wilson, bmwilson@ci.durham.nc.us City of Durham, Dept. of Public Works
10. Bill Haily, bhailey@ci.durham.nc.us City of Durham, Dept. of Public Works
11. Michael Fuller, mfuller@ci.durham.nc.us City of Durham, Dept. of Public Works, 101 City
Hall Plaza, Durham, NC 27701 ph: (919)560-4326 Ext. 235 Fax: (919)560-4316
12. Kim Garrett, Mecklenburg County Dept. of Environmental Protection, 700 N. Tryon St.
Suite 205, Charlotte, NC 28202 garreks@co.mecklenburg.nc.us ph: (704)336-5595
Fax: (704)336-4391
13. Sue White, NCDENR/Division of Water Quality, Winston-Salem Regional Office, 585
Waughtown St. Winston-Salem, NC 27107, ph: (336)771-4608 Ext. 273 Fax: (336)771-4632
sue.white@ncmail.net
14. Kelly Stanton, 724 C Grove Ave. Raleigh, NC 27606 (919)859-2351
15. Heather Leser, 5607 Picnic Rock Ln. Raleigh, NC 27613 (919)783-4921
hisci_bca@yahoo.com
Thanks for getting WET! Web address: www.ncwater.org/project_wet
Congratulations to the new Project WET Facilitators
This summer 15 new Project
WET (Water Education for
Teachers) Facilitators were
certified at William B.
Umstead State Park. Thanks
go to Lori Flemming for co-facilitating
the workshop and
Superintendent Martha Woods
for hosting the workshop.
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Laurie Brokaw loading up the
water headed for New York City
North Carolina’s “Make a Splash with Project WET”
Water Festival sends bottled water to New York
Way to go Laurie ! ! !
Editors note:
Laurie Brokaw is an education specialist and
Project WET Facilitator for the City of
Asheville’s Regional Water Authority, Water
Efficiency Division. She did a wonderful job
putting together the water festival at Claxton
Elementary, located in downtown Asheville.
The students (grades K-5) had a great time and
learned a lot about water resources. Thanks to
all the presenters, volunteers and the Perrier
Group of America who made this years
“Make a Splash with Project WET” water
festival such an exciting and educational event!
The Perrier Group recently donated 42-twelve-bottle cases of Deer Park
bottled water for the NCDENR/Division of Water Resources "Make A Splash
with Project WET" Water Festival at Claxton Elementary School in Asheville,
North Carolina. This year’s annual festival was coordinated by Laurie Brokaw
with the City of Asheville’s Water Resources Department.
5
Following the tragic terrorist attacks in September, Water Department staff brought up
the idea of donating the water to relief efforts in New York City with Claxton School officials,
the NC Project WET Coordinator and the Perrier Group. The idea was embraced with
enthusiasm.
The bottled water was transported to "Hearts With Hands," a local agency working with
relief efforts, for transport to New York. According to Ken Murdock from Perrier, "It was just
the right thing to do."
Murdock has since contacted the NC Project WET Coordinator and the Asheville Water
Resources Department and offered to replace all of the bottled water for the event at Claxton
School. "We want the students, faculty, and all folks involved to know that we make values-based
decisions in this company and that's what drives our relationships," said Murdock.
Group Water body River Basin
Sunset Lake Stream Watch Sunset Lake Neuse
Beta Club of Highlands School Mill Creek Little Tennessee
Tree of Life Lutheran Church Swift Creek Neuse
Friends of Nature Swift Creek (Old Barber Mill) Neuse
Porter Family Hartsell Branch Yadkin
Williams Creek Advocates Williams Creek Neuse
Blue Heron Pottery Neuse River Neuse
Whiskey Creek Preservation
Society of North Carolina Whiskey Creek Cape Fear
Hewletts Creek Preservation
Society of North Carolina Hewletts Creek Cape Fear
Roylene Acres Walnut Creek
Protection Committee Walnut Creek Neuse
Exploris Middle School Oxford Rd. Tributary Neuse
Welcome Aboard ! ! !
Stream Watch Welcomes New Groups
The North Carolina Stream Watch program would like to
welcome the following groups who have joined our program.