Description:

This is the story of the battle for Falls Lake -- Raleigh, North Carolina's drinking water supply -- created by damming the Neuse River at the Falls community. It is a tale of political haranguing, pitting newly elected Senator Jesse Helms -- with his conservative values and belief in small government -- against North Carolina's other senator, the wildly popular and perhaps more pragmatic, Sam Ervin of Watergate fame. It is also the tale of changing attitudes toward the environment and the rise of a movement that would lead to the founding of the Environmental Protection Agency and new legislation aimed at protecting our natural resources. And finally, it is the story of personal loss experienced by those whose communities were in the way of progress and are now left, in both the figurative and literal sense, at the bottom of the lake. (39 B/W historical photos included) [Contact author at janetsteddum@yahoo.com]