Neuse River Notes

The Article

Stretching 248 miles from the Falls Lake Reservoir Dam in the Piedmont to its mouth at Pamlico Sound, the Neuse River is the longest river in North Carolina. At its mouth, it is the widest river in America—six miles across. It’s not surprising that such a broad-reaching river has touched the lives of so many people. In the 1990s, however, floods, blooms of algae, fish kills and a toxic aquatic organism weaved a tale of woe along the Neuse. In response to these problems, lawmakers and champions of the river hope to begin a chapter of redemption for the 2-million-year-old Neuse. The Neuse River Basin, whose other major tributaries include Crabtree, Swift, and Contentnea creeks and the Eno, Little and Trent rivers, is one of only four river basins that lie entirely within the state’s boundaries. The Neuse once began at the confluence of the Eno and Flat rivers, but now spills from Falls Lake Reservoir Dam above Raleigh. At New Bern, it turns brackish, widens and travels sluggishly as it becomes a 40-mile-long tidal estuary that empties into the southern end of Pamlico Sound. The Neuse River Basin is North Carolina’s fourth largest basin and contains roughly one-sixth of the state’s population. Since it feeds one of the nation’s largest and most productive coastal estuaries ( Albemarle-Pamlico), the Neuse has played a prominent role in the state’s fishing history. The Albemarle-Pamlico estuary system is a nursery for 90 percent of the commercial seafood species caught in North Carolina. The rivers and streams of the Neuse River Basin are spawning areas for shad, herring, striped bass, and other anadromous fish—species that live as adults in the ocean but migrate upriver to spawn in freshwater. At the beginning of the 20th century, these spring migrations on the Neuse River produced more catches of shad than any other river in the state. Other important recreational and commercial species include catfish, bass, flounder, blue crabs, shrimp, and oysters. The Neuse River Basin is home to many species of freshwater mussels and two rare aquatic snail species. Two of these mussels, the dwarf wedge mussel and Tar River spinymussel, are federally listed as endangered. The Neuse River Basin is also home to many Aquatic Significant Natural Heritage Areas. These are areas deemed ecologically significant by the N.C. Natural Heritage Program because they represent the waters that are of most importance to North Carolina’s biodiversity and have a significant amount of rare species present. The Eno River contains the only known North Carolina population of the rare panhandle pebblesnail. Another significant animal resident is the Neuse River waterdog (Necturus lewisi), an aquatic salamander that is found nowhere else in the world outside the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico river basins. Also called the Carolina mudpuppy, this large salamander grows to 11 inches long. A rare fish, the Carolina madtom, lives only in the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico basins. Other rare fishes in the basin include the Roanoke bass, Carolina darter and shortnose sturgeon, a federally listed endangered species. Other federally listed basin residents include the leatherback sea turtle, Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle, West Indian manatee, and red-cockaded woodpecker. The Neuse River Basin also boasts an unusual geological formation. In Lenoir County, the Neuse has carved a 100-foot canyon—a unique feature on a coastal plain river. The towering bluff of sedimentary rock is the showpiece of Cliffs of the Neuse State Park southeast of Goldsboro. A big threat to water quality in the lower Neuse River are large quantities of nutrients, especially nitrogen, contributed primarily from nonpoint sources. Nonpoint pollution comes from a large, diffuse area. Fertilizers and animal waste—washed from lawns, urban developed areas, farm fields, and animal operations, particularly swine operations — contribute 60 percent of the nitrogen and phosphorus overload. The same nutrients found in those wastes can be beneficial to aquatic life in small amounts, but too many nutrients can contribute to excess growth of aquatic plants (such as algae) and low levels of dissolved oxygen. Aquatic animals need dissolved oxygen to survive. To a significantly lesser degree, water quality in the Neuse River Basin is being affected by point source pollution from the more than 400 sites that are allowed (by state permit) to discharge treated wastewater into streams and rivers. The situation on the lower Neuse and other eastern North Carolina rivers spurred the state legislature in 1997 to enact a statewide moratorium on the creation of new hog farms so researchers can investigate their effect on water quality and examine alternative technologies to better handle their waste. The crisis also prompted significant new state laws and regulations in 1998 intended to reduce nitrogen inputs to the Neuse by 30 percent within five years. The “Neuse rules” are among the first comprehensive management strategies in the country to include mandatory measures for both point and nonpoint sources of nutrients. The rules require property owners to protect 50-foot strips of land covered with trees, shrubs and other vegetation—known as riparian buffers—along streams, rivers, lakes, and estuaries. Deeprooted plants prevent soil erosion and filter out nutrients in runoff that would otherwise flow into streams. Further, certain industries and municipalities must jointly reduce their point source wastewater discharges into the river. Ten major cities in the basin must now limit stormwater runoff in new developments, and measures to reduce nitrogen runoff are required on farms, golf courses and other large areas of fertilized land. To learn more about the current Neuse rules and how they affect you, visit the following website: http://portal.ncdenr.org/ web/wq/ps/NPS/Neuse. Although nutrient pollution has been the most publicized issue, population growth and accompanying development contribute to increased stormwater runoff throughout the basin. As pavement and lawns replace natural forests and woodlands, rain and melting snow race over land more quickly, carrying pollution and entering streams at a high speed. The Triangle (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill region) was home to about 370,000 people in 1970; that population has now surpassed 1 million. The population in Wake County alone increased by over 45 percent between 2000 and 2010 and is projected to increase another 30 percent between 2010 and 2020. By 2020 Wake County is expected to have over 1 million residents. Government officials and residents will be challenged to reduce existing sources of water pollution and ensure that population growth does not contribute to new problems. Meanwhile, individuals can strive to decrease erosion and runoff from their property and to improve the quality of runoff by reducing the use of fertilizers, pesticides and other potentially harmful chemicals. Environmental EDU During the summer and fall of 1995, millions of fish died and washed ashore along creeks and rivers of the lower Neuse River. As a result, a Senate Select Committee on Water Quality and Fish Kills was created to coordinate an investigation into the status of North Carolina waters. This committee realized that people needed to know more about how river basins function so that they could make sound decisions on issues that influence water quality. The committee invited the Office of Environmental Education to develop an environmental education strategy aimed at helping the people in the Neuse River Basin to become better aware of their connection to the river basin. To heighten public awareness of river basins, N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources worked with N.C. Department of Transportation to install river basin highway signs in the Neuse River Basin to inform travelers that they live in a river basin. Signs have now been placed in all 17 of the state’s river basins through funding from the Federal Transportation Enhancement Program. State transportation maps also highlight North Carolina’s river basins. The educational initiative that began in the Neuse River Basin is now a statewide Adult Environmental Education program designed to reach adults who are not in the traditional classroom. The program promotes the idea that an individual’s personal choices and daily actions have environmental consequences. It encourages people to explore these connections, makes better environmental decisions and participates in governmental processes that influence the health of the environment. To learn more, visit www. eenorthcarolina.org. The River Basin education program has also reached thousands of school children across the state. Although originally developed for the general public, approximately 49 percent of all river basin orders are from K-12 teachers who use the materials to teach North Carolina students about the hydrosphere, river basins, and local watersheds. Since the creation of this program, over one million river basin publications have been ordered and distributed to help teach North Carolina students and residents about our precious water resources. -STOP- https://files.nc.gov/deqee/documents/files/neuse.pdf

Physical Features

248 miles long 100 feet deep the widest mouth in America (6 miles) 2 million years old 40 miles of estuaries

Species In It

Catfish Bass Flunder Blue Crabs Shrimp Oysters Pan-Handled Pebble-Snails Neuse River Water Dogs Carolina Mud Puppies Carolina Mad Toms The Carolina Darter Roanoke Bass Shortnose Sturgeon Leatherback Sea Turtles Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles West Indian Manatees Red-cockaded Woodpeckers

Pollution

The river is being affected by more than 400 point source polluters 10 cities are starting to prevent storm runoff10 cities are starting to prevent storm runoff Nutrient Pollution Population Growth Pavement/Lawns replace woods so More runoff to carry pollution

Protections

Government officials are trying to fix it Neuse Rules protection of 50ft strips of trees, bushes, and shrubs (riparian buffers) along bodies of water such as rivers, creeks, and streams. Local Water Cleanup Litter Cleanups The big NC Sweep

Education

1995 millions of fish dead River basin highway signals (to indicate basins) State maps (to indicate basins) Education Initiative Adult Environmental Program K-12 have time cut out for learning about it  49% of education is for K-12