North Carolina’s Contaminated Haw River and Jordan Lake

By Erika Pietrzak, September 11, 2025

Jordan Lake and the Haw River, vital water sources for over a million North Carolinians, are polluted with toxic PFAS chemicals from decades of industrial waste. Despite ongoing cleanup efforts, contamination remains high, endangering both public health and local ecosystems.

With the famous Outer Banks bringing in millions of visitors each year, it is easy to overlook the many inland water systems within North Carolina. The state is home to nearly 38,000 miles of rivers and 22 natural lakes. Among these rivers and lakes are two vital systems, the Haw River and Jordan Lake. 

The Haw River flows 110 miles southeast from Piedmont, joining the Cape Fear just below the Jordan River Basin before ultimately reaching the Atlantic Ocean near Wilmington. It is a popular kayaking and fishing spot for many locals. The river supplies drinking water for nearly one million people in Greensboro, Burlington, Chapel Hill, Cary, and Durham. The River is also home to several endangered species and hundreds of different species, though it is fragmented by several dams throughout its flow. In 2014, the Haw River was named one of the Most Endangered Rivers in the United States. Since 2015, American Rivers has worked to save this vital ecosystem.

Jordan Lake, a 14,000-acre reservoir in Chatham County west of Raleigh, is a popular camping and recreation site for thousands every year. It is home to several endangered or threatened species, including the Bald Eagle, the national bird. The lake is fed by New Hope Creek from the North, Haw River from the West, and Cape Fear River from the South. The lake was made by constructing a dam in 1967 and was filled in 1982. Jordan Lake’s “conservation storage provides 94,600 acre-feet for downstream flow augmentation to benefit water quality and economic development.”

Source: NC Parks

Since the 1960s, in the waters of the Haw River and the inception of Jordan Lake, contaminants have been a major issue. With factories lining the water systems releasing pollutants like nitrogen and phosphates, algal blooms have deoxygenated these ecosystems. Textile companies in particular have been scrutinized for their contamination of the river. In January of 2023, the chemical majors Dupont, 3M, Chemours, and BASF were taken to court for “allegedly releasing highly recalcitrant and toxic Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) into the river” by the Pittsboro government.

Non-point source pollution is one of the major causes of water pollution, as no individual can be found completely responsible. As more pollutants were released into the river, they accumulated more downstream, requiring a massive cleanup to fix the issue. Though the dumping of chemicals has reportedly stopped, these chemicals have remained and accumulated in the river and lake, while industrial waste is still discharged unregulated in the Haw River. Agricultural runoff and heavy rainfall eventually release toxins into the river as well. Many dams from several decades ago have also been abandoned and creating significant drowning hazards. As a result, the systems are not considered safe for swimming.

In 2023, the Southern Environmental Law Center reached a settlement with the city of Burlington in which the city must “take significant measures to control the sources of per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) substances pollution in the city’s wastewater discharges.” The next year, North Carolina researchers published a study finding high levels of PFAS, a forever chemical, in the fish in both Jordan Lake and Haw River. Of the almost 50 samples collected, 36 PFAS types were found, with one individual sample holding 22 PFAS! One type of PFAS, Perfluorooctanesulfonic (PFOS) acid, was found in every fish sample taken. Researchers focused on the fillet part of the fish, as that is the part that most people consume. Exposure to PFAS has been proven to lower birth weights, stunt growth, cause cancers, and cause infertility. Before this study, the last look into PFAS contaminants in fish in Haw River or Jordan Lake was more than a decade ago.

Source: WUNC

The finding of PFAS within fish means that PFAS levels in the water and the prey of these fish must be quite high as well, endangering the entire ecosystem and the people who rely on them for sustenance. As a source of drinking water, the water is filtered, but does not separate or expel the PFAS, resulting in one million humans increasing PFAS contamination.

Since its creation in 1982, the Haw River Assembly has been fighting for their right to clean, safe water in Haw River and Jordan Lake. Like many problems, these pollutants disproportionately impact people of color and lower-class individuals. The Haw River Assembly defends their rights and objects to new factories, landfills, fracking, and mining implementation in these neighborhoods and others.

In 2017, the Jordan Lake One Water (JLOW) initiative was created to bolster the efforts of the Haw River Assembly and similar groups. JLOW involves “local governments, conservation groups, universities, water utilities, agriculture, and private industry stakeholders” by considering water management holistically. JLOW has since created an integrated source water management plan that develops collaborative processes to identify required changes. However, delays from the municipalities have prevented this plan from being enacted. Refusing to give up, JLOW became a nonprofit in 2022 and continues the fight for water rights in the region.

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