Will Atwater

1 month ago | northcarolinahealthnews.org | Will Atwater

Allan O’Briant knows that providing clean drinking water to 125,000 customers can be a tall order. As the water treatment plant supervisor for Harnett Regional Water, he’s constantly balancing the need to disinfect the water supply with controlling potentially harmful byproducts. One of the challenges O’Briant and his colleagues face is controlling trihalomethanes, a chemical liquid byproduct that forms when chlorine, used to kill microorganisms, reacts with natural organic matter in the water.

2 months ago | northcarolinahealthnews.org | Will Atwater

Rural residents often face significant barriers to accessing health care. Power outages, challenging travel and extreme weather events — such as hurricanes, heat waves and floods — only worsen the challenges posed by limited access to clinics and medical specialists. This scenario recently played out in western North Carolina, where Hurricane Helene left many rural health care facilities inoperable.

2 months ago | northcarolinahealthnews.org | Will Atwater

On Dec. 2, 1970, with the stroke of a pen, President Richard Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency. By the end of that month — on Dec. 31 — he signed the landmark Clean Air Act into law. These actions reflected a growing federal recognition that clean air and water were vital to America’s health, economy and long-term prosperity. Nixon himself framed the moment as a turning point in national environmental responsibility.

2 months ago | benton.org | Will Atwater

When Hurricane Helene ripped through western North Carolina, tens of thousands of residents were left without electricity for days and even weeks. In Hot Springs, flooding forced the shutdown of the Marshall Substation. But Hot Springs was more fortunate than most. In 2023, Duke Energy had installed a microgrid of solar panels and lithium-ion batteries to restore power quickly in case of emergency. The system went live on Oct 2, only five days after the storm.

2 months ago | dailyyonder.com | Will Atwater

This story was originally published by North Carolina Health News. When Hurricane Helene ripped through western North Carolina, it downed power lines, leaving tens of thousands of residents without electricity for days, even weeks. Duke Energy reported “severe” infrastructure damage, including submerged substations, thousands of downed utility poles and fallen transmission towers. The company also noted that mudslides, flooding and blocked roads hampered efforts to quickly restore power.