Clean Jordan Lake was incorporated in July 2009 with the aim of developing several new and innovative programs for litter removal on Jordan Lake and to foster elimination of the sources of litter in the future. Over 1 million visits are recorded annually to Jordan Lake State Park. Fishing tournaments, sailing regattas, pleasure boating and fishing abound. There are 180 miles of shoreline and 45,000 acres of surrounding public land to enjoy. About 250,000 citizens rely on the lake for their drinking water. Unfortunately, Jordan Lake is being degraded by trash that accompanies stormwater runoff from the 1,700 sq. of watershed and from illegal dumping near the lake’s feeder streams.. “Littering” by shoreline users adds unsightly and dangerous items including diapers, propane fuel canisters and fishing line. Aesthetic value has been diminished, wildlife habitats are being destroyed and birds and animals are being injured. Chemical residuals in aerosol spray cans could seep into the lake. Seeing this blight on the land, what confidence would you have in Jordan Lake as a water supply? CJL’s Mission
CJL was founded in July 2009 and received 501(c)(3) nonprofit status in May 2010. Its mission is to restore Jordan Lake to a healthy and vibrant aquatic resource by:
• Organizing trash cleanups events during NC Big Sweep week in Oct. and Haw River Assembly's Clean-Up-A-Thon in Mar.;
• Facilitating cleanups by various volunteer groups throughout the year;
• Offering an Adopt-A-Shoreline Program for volunteer groups to clean habitually littered shoreline areas several times per year; and
• Raising public awareness and informing local and state government agencies
So far, 2,900 CJL volunteers have removed 8,500 large bags of trash (that’s 85 tons!) and 3,400 tires. The worth of volunteer labor and donated services now exceeds $330,000. No state or local agency has the financial resources to solve this problem. CJL is thankful to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for logistic support including boats, Chatham County Solid Waste and Recycling for providing dumpsters and disposal of trash bags and Bridgestone Americas for recycling of tires. The NC Wildlife Resources Commission has cleared paths for volunteers to reach trash sites amd NC Big Sweep and NC Dept. of Transportation have provided bags, gloves and trash grabbers. An Appeal for Your Help
To tackle remote areas, boats are needed both to ferry both trash and volunteers. Go to www.meetup.com/helpcleanjordanlake for details on upcoming cleanup events. The Adopt-A-Shoreline Program is a wonderful activity for small groups. Donations at all levels are needed to defray the cost of rental storage space for cleanup supplies, liability insurance and purchase of previously owned pontoon boat to aid in ferrying volunteers and trash. Please mail your tax deductible donations to the address below. Clean Jordan Lake
P.O. Box 1766
Cary, NC 27512-1766
Van Murray, President
[email protected]
