BYNUM, N.C. — The city of Greensboro's wastewater treatment plant illegally discharged high levels of 1,4-dioxane, a likely carcinogen, into the Haw River again, according to Haw River Assembly.

The amount of 1,4-dioxane in the most recent discharge on November 3 was 767 micrograms per liter, which is more than 2,100 times the EPA's and State Health Advisory's goal for surface water, which is .35 micrograms per liter.

This is just one of the several illegally discharged items from the Greensboro plant. There was one discharge in July 2021 and another in August of 2019. This is the drinking supply for the town of Pittsboro and other downstream communities along the Cape Fear River. 

Emily Sutton is the Haw Riverkeeper for the Haw River Assembly in Bynum. She said this is a reoccurring issue that should worry people.

“It should concern everyone who pulls drinking water from the Haw or from Jordan Lake or from the stream in the Cape Fear River. It’s our right to have clean, safe drinking water. And the fact that a handful of polluting industries are taking that right away from us is not right," Sutton said.

"So it’s the job of the state and it’s fallen on the organizations like ours and lower downstream in the Cape Fear watershed, Cape Fear River Watch, to really hold these polluters accountable,” she added. 

On behalf of the Haw River Assembly, Southern Environmental Law Center reached a settlement on December 18 with the city of Greensboro and North Carolina regulators to further limit 1,4-dioxane discharges from its wastewater treatment plant.

The settlement also requires the Department of Environmental Quality to investigate sources of 1,4 dioxane pollution in the Cape Fear River Basin, including the Haw River, and report actions it takes to reduce those amounts. 

We reached out to the city of Greensboro about this issue and it says it's covering the cost of rush 1,4-dioxane analysis for the town of Pittsboro and is working hard to find the sources. The city says it appreciates the cooperation of the industries in Greensboro.

For more information on the city's 2021 settlement agreement you can visit their website.