Description
The Haw River watershed at the southern end of the lake comprises a land area of about 1,400 square miles and the New Hope River at the northern end accounts for an additional 344 square miles. While much smaller in area, the New Hope River watershed is highly urbanized. About 720,000 people live in these two watersheds. The lake is a water supply for 250,000 people in the Triangle area.
Litter along roadsides, play toys and basketballs left behind in parks, and large objects illegally dumped are washed after heavy rainfalls either directly off the land or through storm drains into streams that eventually feed the lake. Objects as large of refrigerators, hot water heaters and tires (many still on rims) have been found along the high water mark of many remote coves, especially on the Haw River Arm of Jordan Lake.
Trash also comes from recreational use of the shoreline, especially at fishing access points and on vast areas of public land that surround the lake. With increasing urbanization, more visitors will be coming to the lake. Bottles, cans, diapers, propane fuel canisters, plastic bait containers, and fishing tackle are strewn everywhere. Littering is a habitual problem with no easy solution.
No state or local agency has the financial resources to address the trash problem. The Haw River Assembly has been conducting annual trash cleanups along the length of the Haw River for the last 23 years.
