Jordan Lake

B. Everett Jordan Lake, a 13,900-acre reservoir south of Chapel Hill and Durham, is a major source of drinking water, a popular recreation site, and a treasured natural area for residents of the Triangle. To protect this vital resource from polluted runoff and other threats to water quality, the entire lake is bordered by buffers that must be kept free from high-density development.

Even with this protection, parts of Jordan Lake suffer from high levels of nutrient pollution caused by urban and suburban stormwater discharges, runoff from agricultural lands, and effluent from wastewater treatment plants in the reservoir’s watershed. The result: destructive algae blooms that can lead to oxygen-starved dead zones and fish kills.

Defending Reservoir Buffers

SELC is using a combination of legal, legislative, and regulatory measures to protect Jordan Lake from multiple threats, including pressure from a developer to redraw the boundary of the protective buffer based on a flawed survey process. Conveniently, if Durham County gives in to this pressure, it would free up a tract of land targeted for a high-density project comprising 1,300 residential units and 600,000 square feed of commercial and retail space. It would also set a dangerous precedent that could affect how reservoir buffers are established statewide.