Healing Waters: The Recovery of the Haw River

Healing Waters: The Recovery of the Haw River Public Deposited

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Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to present an in-depth look at the environmental recovery of the Haw River. From decades of poor environmental practices, including chemical dumping and mismanaged suburban growth, the Haw River was laid waste in the 1970s. But thirty years later, the river has experienced a remarkable turnaround. Pollution levels are at their lowest in decades, having been reduced by more than half from the amounts found in the early 1980s. This thesis examines the causes of that reversal, the subsequent efforts to maintain and preserve the environmental health of the Haw River basin, and the social and economic impact the river's recovery is having on municipalities within its watershed.

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