Water+Quality

=__//WATER QUALITY & CONSERVATION//__=

Overview: While North Carolina is a relatively well-watered state (an average of 48 inches of precipitation a year, almost all rain), water supplies have become more and more of a concern. There are persistent local shortages (such as in the central Piedmont's river headwaters, affecting Greensboro, and in the barrier islands of the Outer Banks). Over-pumping of ground water has also been a problem in the eastern region (the Coastal Plain). Until very recently the state had one of the fastest population growth rates in the nation (the Triangle has almost tripled in population since 1970, to about 1 million), and did not have much regulation of water use. A mandate for a state water plan was passed in 1989, but not drawn up until Jan. 2001 (mandating, for example, updating of local water supply plans each 5 years). The state can also declare Capacity Use Areas where special water restrictions can be imposed. Since an extraordinary drought three summers ago, the state has passed a Drought Management Act and rates have gone up for both business and residential users. New in-ground irrigation systems are now required to be separately metered. New public building construction has to reduce water usage. As the most populous part of the state, the Piedmont (including the three Triangle cities) is of the greatest concern in terms of water quality and supply. The Neuse alone supplies over 1.3 million people (a sixth of the state's population); at the same time it is home to endangered species, such as mussels and a unique salamander that grows to 11 inches! As is all too common, water responsibilities are distributed among several state agencies, while responsibilities for the fish in the streams are shared by two other agencies. In terms of water quality, the greatest current threats are silting and nutrient enrichment (from farms, especially the massive hog industry, and from sewage systems; accounting for roughly 60% of the pollutants). In 1995, water quality first became a major public issue when a hog waste lagoon overflowed and dumped 20 million gallons into the New River, causing massive fish kills and contaminating drinking water. The state has a pair of large estuaries (Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds), which are shallow and already subject to increased warming. Since the 1990s, there have been numerous fish kills (57 from 2002 to 2006 alone!), algal blooms, and a particularly dangerous water parasite (Pfisteria) has appeared (1995), which was first researched in the state. The fish-kill incidents are so numerous in the Neuse that the state has established a rapid response team to go to the site! Once-valuable shellfish beds have also had to be closed due to pollution, which comes largely from the urbanized Piedmont as well as from the hog farms. About half of drinking water comes from the 1500 lakes, mostly large reservoirs (such as Jordan Lake, just south of the Triangle, for Greensboro), which also have seen degraded water quality from nutrient over-enrichment. Raleigh has now proposed a new reservoir on the nearby Little River, which has already raised environmentalist opposition and was just listed as the only endangered river in the state by the environmentalist group American Rivers. At the same time, there are government plans for the removal of the century-old Milburnie Dam, which, as the only dam on the Neuse below Falls Lake (the dam of which backs up the river for 22 miles), is blocking migratory fish runs for 15 miles. Four dams have already been removed since 1997, greatly increasing runs of migratory fish. There are also major problems with invasive water plants in both the reservoirs and sounds. The other half of drinking water comes from groundwater, which faces contamination issues (such as from closed landfills). Some actions are being taken in response to all these problems. The state imposed a moratorium on new hog farms in 1997, although there is a loophole whereby existing farms can still construct new waste lagoons if the existing one/s are full. The state also mandated in 1998 the "Neuse River rules", which include 50-foot forest buffers to be preserved by landowners along the river, and a 20% reduction in nitrogen levels in 5 years. The new governor, Bev Perdue, has just signed a package of restoration measures for Jordan Lake, Durham is about to raise its 5-tier water rates to pay for removing more nitrogen from its water. Groundwater quality is tightly regulated. But, topping the list of Piedmont water polluters at the moment is the Thomasville Hamby Creek Waste Water Treatment Plant, which has had 141 violations!

Organizations:
Cape Fear River Assembly -http://www.cfra-nc.org/acfra.html A nonprofit which monitors water issues in the Cape Fear drainage, the vast watershed from Greensboro down to Wilmington, south of the Neuse. It includes representatives of local governments, and reports can be found on its website, as well as a striking map of the hog farms concentrated along it!

Clean Water for North Carolina - [] - Offices in Durham (2009 Chapel Hill Rd.) & Asheville - Has web newsletters on water issues ("Clean Currents"), and used to test for lead in water (discontinued).

Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association -http://www.ellerbecreek.org/ A local group within Durham to protect an urban tributary; sponsors cleanups and has a number of small preserves.Has a very detailed website, including local history, water quality, etc.

Eno River Association - http://www.enoriver.org - One of the oldest environmental groups in the Triangle (1966). The small Eno River, which flows past Hillsborough and Durham, and supplies Hillsborough's water, was once severely polluted with textile mill dyes. Over several decades, the Association has raised money (as well as awareness) to purchase land, which has been donated to the state as parts of 5 state parks, including Eno River State Park. The Park now consists of a number of large units (totaling over 5700 acres), now important greenspace for the Triangle, and water quality has dramatically improved (it now supports 61 fish species!). The Association's main fundraiser is the Eno Festival of music, annually averaging 30,000 attendees and held at the West Point on the Eno mill site north of Durham each summer (2010 being its 31st!). The Association sponsors hikes, and the website has background information on the watershed and the Festival.

Environment NC - [] - Has particular project, "Save Jordan Lake" (own web page), along with other information on clean water issues.

"Falls Lake cleanup will be costly, contentious," a recent Raleigh News & Observer article (Mar. 7, 2010; http://newsobserver.com) which provides an excellent summary of current water quality issues and cleanup costs for Durham and Raleigh.

Haw River Assembly - http//:www.hawriver.org - A nonprofit founded in 1982 to protect the Haw (the cleanest of the Piedmont's major rivers) and Jordan Lake (fed by the Haw & Deep Rivers). It's a sister Riverkeeper organization to the Neuse group. Their detailed website includes educational information, updates on projects, a place to report pollution (the reports are posted), maps and historical information on the watershed, and ways to support specific causes. There's also a really helpful set of answers to Frequently Asked Questions, including "What fish are safe to eat from the Haw?". They also sponsor the Haw River Festival Weekend each spring in Saxapahaw.

National Weather Service - Southeast River Forecast Center - http://www.srh.noaa.gov/serfc - Has clickable map with forecasts for all watersheds! It also has links to pages with local flood & drought information.

Neuse Riverkeeper Foundation - http://www.neuseriver.org - Holds Neuse River Day, does periodic float trips & collects reports of water pollution incidents.

N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund - http://www.cwmtf.net - An independent state agency, governed by a board, established in 1996 to award grants to local governments, state agencies, and conservation non-profits to improve water quality. The grants include ones for land preservation (summarized on the website) and for stream restoration.

NCDENR Public Water Supply Section - http://www.deh.enr.state.nc.us/pws/index.htm - website with a link to Source Water Assessment and Protection (SWAP), with data on particular water sources throughout the state.

N.C. Division of Water Quality - http://portal.ncdenr/web/wq - 512 N. Salisbury St., Raleigh, within DENR- more details about permitting and water quality issues; it sets quality standards and monitors wastewater treatment plants. The website has a link to the Basinwide Planning Unit (BPU), with a map of basins (there are detailed maps of some watersheds) and water plans for each. There's another link to the Cape Fear River Basin Water Supply Plan.

N.C. Division of Water Resources (in Dept. of Environment & Natural Resources) -http://www.ncwater.org - It controls water permits. On its website is a link to the State Water Supply Plan, last updated in 2001 (with data from 1997!). There's also a link to the Local Water Supply Plans (only a handful of communities have so far complied with the 2010 update). There's another to a list of dams on area rivers (with photos), and there are details on which communities and businesses are making major water withdrawals from a given river. There's also a large groundwater database.

N.C. Division of Pollution Prevention & Environmental Assistance -http://www.p2pays.org/ - Has detailed website covering environmental permits, specifics on permissible recyclables (and where to put waste types). Has separate page (under "Water Conservation") on the 2008 Drought Management Act and its water use restrictions, as well as tips on how businesses & citizens can conserve water. Also has periodic updates on local drought conditions.

N.C. Division of Soil & Water Conservation -http://www.enr.state.nc.us/DSWC/ Set up within the Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources to encourage, rather than regulate, conservation. It includes a "strategy" for reducing nutrients in the Neuse.

New Hope Creek Corridor Advisory Committee -http://newhopecreek.org/ A website reporting progress by local governments in creating a green corridor along New Hope Creek, a tributary of the Cape Fear which passes between Durham and Chapel Hill and through Duke Forest.

North Carolina Ground Water Association -http://www.ncgwa.org/ The professional organization for water contractors; its site also has useful facts about the use of groundwater.

N.C. State University Cyanobacteria Project - http://www.ncsu.edu/wq/RTRM/dp14/dp14cc.html - Has real-time data from various Falls Lake sites north of Durham and Raleigh (the reservoir provides drinking water for half a million people), and others in the Neuse watershed, with temperatures, Ph levels, etc. It has links to brief explanations about harmful algae.

N.C. State University Water Quality Group -http://www.bae.ncsu.edu/bae/programs/extension/wqg/ A multidisciplinary team of scientists looking at non-point pollution sources in the state; has a link to the University's Stream Restoration Program.

N.C. Urban Water Consortium -http://www.ncsu.edu/wrri/uwc/index.html A cross-governmental organization set up to handle the growing water resource problems in urban areas.

N.C. Water Science Center - http://nc.water.usgs.gov - run by USGS, 3916 Sunset Ridge Rd., Raleigh - Has real-time data on the website for all the watersheds (clicking on a state map), including streamflow, water quality, groundwater, and precipitation! There are also links to scientific reports (there are centers in every state) and to a page of educational resources.

Neuse River Education Team http://www.neuse.ncsu.edu/ -A site run by N.C. State that seeks to educate the whole Triangle community about the Neuse, and strategies to deal with problems. One of its most pleasant aspects is a link to "successes," with pages on environmentally beneficial projects (such as the artificial wetland being tried by N.C. State in Johnston Co. to reduce nitrogen). However, it does not seem to be currently maintained, as many of its links are broken.

Neuse River Rapid Response Team -http://www.enr.state.nc.us/neuse/ The site has the toll-free number to summon the team (part of the Division of Water Quality) and links to related sites.

Piedmont Land Conservancy -http://www.piedmontland.org/index.php -Particularly active in preserving tracts along the Haw River on the western edge of the Triangle, which has the best water quality of any of the major rivers.Haw River State Park was authorized thanks to its lobbying in 2003.

River Net -http://rivernet.ncsu.edu/ -A site run by N.C. State University to "bring you the latest information on water quality" in the Triangle. Right now has a useful page on current water tests from various Neuse sites, but on no other rivers.

Save Water NC - http://www.savewaternc.org - the state's website for information on water conservation regulations and issues. It has many useful links.

Scorecard -http://scorecard.org/env-releases/land/site-list.tcl?fips_state_code=37&how_many=50&status=dw - A national pollution monitoring site that lists Superfund hazardous waste locations in the state, including ones that are threats to water supplies. There is a similar list on Wikipedia ("List of Superfund sites in North Carolina"). The EPA also maintains a database. All of them list the Koppers site near Morrisville as the major one in the Triangle, but it has been generally remediated.

Toxic Waters - Special series in NY Times (2009) - http://projects.nytimes.com/toxic-waters - Has point-by-point maps of water polluters in every state, including numbers of inspections, violations, & fines.

Triangle Land Conservancy -http://www.tlc.org The TLC owns several key tracts along the Deep River, a relatively unspoiled tributary of the Haw, and fosters canoeing access on what is now a state-designated paddling route between its landholdings.

UNC Water Resources Research Institute -http://www.ncsu.edu/wrri/ A research and clearinghouse institution covering water quality and resources issues throughout the region; has a site with many links.

Upper Cape Fear River Basin Association -http://www. - A board with representatives from more than 20 local governments, monitoring one of the Piedmont's largest rivers, fed by the Haw and Deep Rivers, (with its mouth in Wilmington).

Water Quality and the NC Swine Industry - http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/whpaper/WQswine.html - Web article written (1995) when the industry began its massive expansion, but still has relevant information on the specific hazards for water quality.

Water Quality in the Deep and Haw Rivers - http://ncwater.usgs.gov/projects/haw_qw - A web report (2005) by the US Geological Survey (USGS), based on 2 years of study of scattered water samples.