Dock at the The Haw River Canoe & Kayak Company on April 26 in Saxapahaw, North Carolina
Along a stretch of the Haw River known for tubing, swimming and quiet afternoons on the water, a different kind of presence has drawn concern in recent months. It’s one that residents say they can smell before they see.
Community complaints about foul odors near the Saxapahaw Wastewater Treatment Plant prompted advocates to begin testing the river. What they found, according to the Haw River Assembly, were levels of Escherichia coli bacteria so high that some samples exceeded what laboratories could measure without dilution. Emily Suttion, riverkeeper with the Haw River Assembly, said the results were unprecedentedly high…