MountainTrue

MountainTrue's Riverkeepers will continue to host river cleanups in the coming weeks. Be sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook for the most up-to-date info (@mtntrue, @fbriverkeeper, @wataugariverkeeper). Upcoming cleanups: ✔️ Asheville, NC/Buncombe County: 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. this Thursday, October 31. Learn more + register for the MountainTrue x RiverLink cleanup: https://lnkd.in/ejPYmH3j ✔️ Sugar Grove, NC/Watauga County: 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. this Friday, November 1. Learn more + register: https://lnkd.in/eYzz4fTq

❗Riverkeeper Fundraiser❗ Join Nantahala Outdoor Center at their annual Guest Appreciation Festival this weekend! NRS is generously sponsoring a raffle to win an NRS Slice, paddles and more! All proceeds benefit our MountainStrong Recovery Fund. Raffle is Friday and Saturday on the Nantahala River at NOC. Winner will be announced Saturday at 5pm. Enter the raffle: https://lnkd.in/e-dJM3vi

Check out this great opinion piece by WNC college students: https://lnkd.in/e8JdUCtF Get out & vote for a more climate resilient future! Find voting resources: https://lnkd.in/eA7GCiGX

💧The French Broad Riverkeeper continues to offer free well testing. Over 135 drinking water wells have been sampled. Processed samples produced a ~10% failure rate, indicating that the majority of wells tested by our team were not contaminated. 💧Who should test: If your well has been flooded or flood waters pooled around your well, then we recommend having your well tested for bacteria pollution. We don’t recommend testing every well and there aren’t resources to test every well, so we're asking that only wells that were flooded during Helene be tested. Where to get a well-testing kit: ✔️Buncombe County, NC - 10/29: multiple locations. Test kit pickup starting at 10 a.m., drop off samples by 3 p.m. 📍Barnardsville: Old Fire Station (1679 Barnardsville Hwy) 📍Fairview: Food Lion parking lot (1350 Charlotte Hwy) 📍Swannanoa: Blunt Pretzels (120 Alexander Pl) ✔️Henderson County, NC - 10/29: El Centro @ Jackson Park (801 4th Ave E, Hendersonville, NC). Test kit pickup starting at 10 a.m., drop off samples by 3 p.m. ✔️Madison County, NC - 10/29 : Highland Station Coffee Shop (5247 US-25 #70, Marshall, NC 28753). Test kit pickup starting at 10 a.m., drop off samples by 3 p.m. ✔️Yancey County, NC - 10/29: Rose's parking lot (120 Reservoir Rd, Burnsville, NC 28714). Test kit pickup starting at 10 a.m., drop off samples by 3 p.m.

🔬Results from the soil/sediment samples we took in Marshall, NC, the week after Helene are finally in — here’s what you need to know: Mountaintrue has taken almost a dozen water and sediment samples around the watershed at this point. We have the partial results back for one of those sediment samples from Marshall. Those results show we tested for about 135 pollutants and only two were present (isopropltoluene and trimethylbeneze). Out of those two, trimethylbeneze appears to be the one with the most health concerns. This pollutant is associated with petroleum and can present serious human health hazards. However, the scientific literature varies on what levels are problematic in sediments. We found trimethylbenzene at 23.9 ug/kg, which isn’t sky-high, but we still recommend avoiding skin and eye contact and using proper protection when working in or around the mud.

NC folks: early voting begins today and runs through November 2. Check out voting resources and important election dates: https://lnkd.in/eA7GCiGX

Well owners/havers whose wells flooded in Buncombe County and nearby surrounding areas: the French Broad Riverkeeper is offering well testing equipment to folks this Thursday, 10/17, at locations around our region! Here’s the info: If your well has been flooded or flood waters pooled around your well, then we recommend having your well tested for bacteria pollution. We don’t recommend testing every well and there aren’t resources to test every well, so we're asking that just wells that were flooded be tested. Pick up your well testing kit from 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. and return it by 3 p.m. on 10/17 at the following locations; we’ll provide you with all the necessary equipment and instructions for well sampling and we’ll have results ready the next day. ✔️ Burnsville - Roses parking lot (120 Reservoir Rd, Burnsville, NC) ✔️ Hot Springs Elementary School (63 N Serpentine Ave, Hot Springs, NC) ✔️ Fairview - Food Lion parking lot (1350 Charlotte Hwy, Fairview, NC) ✔️ Barnardsville Fire Station (100 Dillingham Rd, Barnardsville, NC) ✔️ Hendersonville - Jackson Park (801 4th Ave E, Hendersonville, NC) ✔️ Canton First Baptist Church (208 Academy St, Canton, NC)

NC folks: voter registration deadline is this Friday, 10/11! Make sure your voter registration is current & up-to-date: https://lnkd.in/gMEzZSk.

In the wake of Hurricane Helene, MountainTrue is dedicated to addressing the urgent needs of our community. Our team is already on the ground, actively clearing roads, delivering clean water, providing meals for hundreds, and reaching out to hard-hit rural communities to assess their needs. But we can’t do it alone. Your support through the MountainStrong Recovery Fund allows us to expand these crucial efforts and adapt to the ever-evolving challenges that arise daily. If you're able, please consider making a donation today to help us support the health and recovery of our region. Together, we can make a difference. bit.ly/47XPtNv

WNC farmers: check out our new farmer resource guide for critical info on funding, grants, disaster relief + more. https://lnkd.in/etMP5AzR