Part 3 in the Series: Celebrating 40 years of the Clean Water Act

By Heather Jacobs Deck, RIVERKEEPER®

Part 4 in the Series: Celebrating 40 Years of the Clean Water Act

The Tar-Pamlico River Basin, the fourth largest in the state, supplies water to a population of greater than 400,000 people residing in 16 counties. Water use in the river basin is, for the most part, evenly split between those whose source of drinking water comes from the ground and those who depend on the mainstream of the River itself. 

There are two significant federal laws that have helped to reduce the contamination of water supplies across the country. The first was the passage of the Clean Water Act (CWA) that sought to reduce pollutant discharges to clean up water supplies. Two years later in 1974, Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) to provide important federal oversight that has led to great reductions in drinking water contaminants. The SDWA complements the Clean Water Act by requiring the assessment of the quality of and risks to public drinking water supplies. Before the passage of the CWA and SDWA, one-third of household tap water samples exceeded federal limits for certain chemicals. Now, according to a 2012 EPA report, 90.7% of U.S. community water systems met "all applicable health-based standards" in 2011.

The three central goals of the Clean Water Act are to ensure that every body of water is swimmable, fishable and drinkable. Over the years, many have become concerned over the quality of their tap water that may come from the Tar River or the groundwater below. Some have even chosen to turn to more expensive bottled water instead.  In this article, we'll explore the third goal, drinkable, and determine if the Tar-Pamlico River is meeting this target.

Sources of Information &Responsible Agencies

As I began to research this article, it became painfully clear that there is no central database or repository of information on the quality of drinking water supplies for North Carolina citizens. Information is, in some ways, cryptic and hard to follow. For those that are connected to public supplies of water, from a municipality or water corporation, the best source of information is from that entity itself in the form of annual reports. For those that obtain their drinking water from private groundwater wells, you are ultimately responsible for the safety of that water supply. However, in 2006, the North Carolina General Assembly passed legislation that required local health departments to initiate programs for permitting, inspection and testing of private drinking water wells. If you are concerned about the quality of your private well, your local health department will test your well water for a fee.

In reality the quality of our drinking water is tied to the quality of the source as well as the removal of contaminants once they reach our drinking water treatment plants. When it comes to the quality of our drinking water sources, the NC Division of Water Quality (DWQ) is the main agency responsible for the health of our surface and ground water resources. Other agencies play important roles as well. We know that air emissions, like ammonia that fall under the jurisdiction of the Division of Air Quality, can impact the quality of our rivers. The Department of Environmental Health is responsible for on-site (e.g. septic systems) permitting. The Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources is now responsible for ensuring that our groundwater supplies aren't contaminated by the newly legalized hydraulic fracturing for natural gas extraction.

The protection of our drinking water supplies falls under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, but its programs are split between several divisions. The Division of Water Quality is responsible for managing the standards and classifications of all surface water supply watersheds. Rules were developed that required all local governments that have land use jurisdiction within water supply watersheds to adopt and implement water supply protection ordinances, maps and management plans. The Public Water Supply Section, under the administration of the Division of Water Resources, is responsible for the regulation and oversight of public water systems or those systems which provide piped drinking water to at least 15 connections or 25 or more people 60 or more days per year.  

Quality of Tar-Pamlico Community's Drinking Water

The Towns and Cities of Louisburg, Rocky Mount, Tarboro, and Greenville all consume water taken from the Tar River. The City of Washington and Beaufort County's water supply comes from the Castle Hayne Aquifer.  Some communities in the river basin receive their drinking water via an inter-basin transfer. For example, the City of Oxford's water supply is Kerr Lake, in the Roanoke River basin. Portions of Pitt County located in the Tar River basin are supplied by ground water wells and surface water from the Neuse River Basin.

As mentioned above, without the time and resources to conduct what I would consider to be equivalent to a thesis I cannot determine if all drinking water supplies in the River basin are meeting health based standards. Almost all water supplies will contain certain amounts of contaminants, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are a health risk. 

While it is difficult to summarize the quality of all public water supplies in the basin, we can ascertain and summarize the quality of the source of our surface drinking water supplies. 

Pollutants impacting Water Supplies

-          Pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and organic waste chemicals have all been found in low levels in the Tar River. Drinking water plants can remove some, but typically not all of these chemicals, although a 2009 study revealed that Tar River drinking water plants removed most of the chemicals.  Data on the Tar River indicates very low levels of these contaminants that, based on federal standards, do not currently pose a health risk. 

-          Both harmful and non-harmful algal blooms, triggered by nutrient pollution, can contaminate drinking water with taste, odor, or toxic compounds. These types of blooms are more likely in a reservoir or lake than a running river. The upper Tar River has seen an increase in organic nitrogen pollution over the past 10 years, although algal blooms have typically been found in the Pamlico River, downstream of surface water supply intakes.

-          Sediment pollution can carry with it heavy metals and other pollutants and can also interfere with drinking water treatment. Sediment pollution has been indicated recently as a problem in the upper Tar.

-          Microbial (bacteria) pollution poses a risk. However, data on the Tar River notes that this risk is low and public water supplies are adept at removing this risk.

-          An emerging risk for the upper Tar River, especially well water users, is the possibility of hydraulic fracturing to extract natural gas. This process injects water, sand and chemicals into the ground to break, or fracture, rock to release the natural gas. Research in other parts of the country has shown that fracking can contaminate groundwater and surface water supplies.

The health of our groundwater supplies are much more difficult to track. It isn't until pollutants directly contaminant well water or streams fed by groundwater that we begin to investigate the source. The majority of the groundwater information we have is related to quantity, or water level, and in coastal areas the potential for salt water intrusion.  Microbial and nutrient, especially nitrogen, pollution can be very dangerous for the health of well water users. 

Summary

Access to clean and adequate supplies of drinking water is just as important for public health as it is for the economic health of the region. There are numerous factors involved in providing a clean and healthy water supply to communities. The most important step is to protect our water supplies from pollution that can result in risks to human health or carry a hefty price tag in order to treat sufficiently to avoid health risks.  This is where the results of the Clean Water Act can be identified. Over the past 40 years, the CWA has been successful in greatly reducing water contamination from industrial and municipal wastewater discharges. Funding via CWA programs has also led to many successful stream and river restoration projects that have improved the quality of our waters.

So before you dole out $1.25 for a bottle of water, remember this! Most bottle water comes from the same source as our tap water, from lakes, rivers, or springs. Tap water providers are slightly more regulated and are required to test the quality of their drinking water supply daily, sometimes several times a day depending on what they are sampling for. As a consumer, you are more likely to know exactly what is found in your tap water via required consumer reports. If any contamination is found, you would be notified immediately. Bottled water providers are not required to provide this same level of information.  So drink up and remember, a clean Tar-Pamlico River means a healthier water supply for you and your family!

 Happy 40th, to the Act that Changed Everything

By Jerry Eatman, President of Board of Directors

This October, we officially celebrate the forty year anniversary of the Clean Water Act (CWA), a law that has halted or mitigated environmental degradation on a monumental scale.  In the last few newsletters we have highlighted the direct influence that the CWA has had on the Tar-Pamlico watershed. We do not have to look too hard to see just how important this legislation has been for our water here at home.   

Industrial discharges. The severity of the issue was highlighted by images of rivers on fire and sludge spewing out of industrial drain pipes. These images were impossible for even the most skeptical lawmakers to ignore when presented with the need for effective legislation. The resulting CWA, which had great bi-partisan support, has been arguably one of the most effective environmental protection laws ever passed. It has been the key to providing ordinary citizens with the legal right to pursue big polluters. The stories of citizen involvement to save rivers and streams using the CWA are part of the lore of the modern environmental movement. It may be time for another surge in activism much like the surge prompted by the images of burning lakes and streams.   

Despite great improvements in the technology of pollution control, and a vastly greater understanding of climate science, we still face many of the same water challenges today that we faced in decades past.  Our environmental protection laws have not tracked our scientific progress. The more we know about the threats to our environment the less our lawmakers want to face these threats. The aggregate impact on our waterways of agricultural runoff from an unregulated poultry industry is every bit as devastating as an industrial polluter spewing toxins out of a giant pipe into the river; but it lacks the compelling imagery. Our lawmakers here in North Carolina have found it way too easy to dismiss environmental protection regulations as unnecessary "red tape" and to roll back decades of protection of our waterways that most citizens had come to take for granted. Our laws generally have become reactive rather than proactive, favoring corporations over people, causing the U.S. to fall from the forefront of environmental protection.

As we learned from the success of citizen action under the CWA, it sometimes takes an outrageous injustice or a series of outrageous injustices to galvanize ordinary citizens into effective action. The billions of dollars being spent in a systematic assault on state and federal environmental protection laws and agencies by financially bloated big polluters should present to the average citizen an image every bit as grotesque as the burning rivers of the 1960's.  Citizen activism is now the last hope to prevent a rollback of 50 years of bipartisan support for clean air and clean water. Successful citizen activism is inspirational, and we can see that in the success of the recent student-led anti-coal campaign at UNC.

Progress has been made in the last few years in addressing the University's continued dependence on coal. Much of this progress is the direct result of the persistence of local students and activist groups.  UNC has a coal plant on campus which could function for another 40 years. Yet, through very basic grass-roots activism, the students and their coalition partners at UNC were successful in receiving a pledge from the University to be "Coal Free" by 2020.  The significance of these efforts does not stop at the University level.  With the pending enactment of the "Stop the War on Coal Act", which would strip the EPA of its ability to monitor coal emissions and would change the Clean Water Act as we know it, it is apparent that future restrictions on degradation of our waterways will have to be imposed from "the ground up" by citizen action.

Surely if a handful of students can cause UNC to take a giant step away from its dependency on coal, groups like PTRF can find the common ground in our communities on which to build a citizen-business partnership for the preservation of our waterways. Rather than dealing with bipartisan bickering on the State or National level, we can work together on the local level to reach compromises and commitments with those who are in a position to have an impact on the future of our waterways.   

RIVERKEEPER ® Update

By Heather Deck, PTRF RIVERKEEPER ®

Proposed Creedmoor Wastewater Treatment Plant

The City of Creedmoor continues to move forward on an alternative to build a new wastewater treatment plant and discharge to the upper Tar River in Granville County. A draft environmental assessment is expected before the end of the year. PTRF has been meeting with city and state agency officials, as well as local concerned citizens in efforts to encourage the city to find a more suitable alternative that does not result in a new direct discharge of wastewater to the upper Tar River. It is PTRF's official position that we will not support a new direct discharge to the upper Tar River. Several alternatives exist for the city, including remaining with their existing wastewater provider that discharges to the Neuse River basin, where the town is located. This region of the River is considered extremely important by state and federal resource agencies. Several endangered and threatened species of mussels, plants and other animals reside in this region of the Tar River.

Martin Marietta Proposed Mine

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc, is seeking to build a marine limestone mine in the Upper Blounts Creek watershed and discharge an average of 12 million gallons per day of ground and stormwater to Blounts Creek. The company has submitted additional documentation to the Division of Water Quality. They have also applied for their water withdrawal permit from the Division of Water Resources. No public hearings have been set by either agency to date, but PTRF and many concerned citizens have already asked for a public hearing. A hearing will be set by the Division of Water Quality, and PTRF anticipates the Division of Water Resources will also conduct a public hearing before any permits are issued.  For up-to-date information, please visit our website at: http://www.ptrf.org/proposedmine.php

Nash County Poultry Slaughterhouse

In August, Sanderson Farms officially announced that Nash County will be the location of their next poultry slaughterhouse. Nash County Commissioners, on a 5-2 vote, passed an inducement package that includes a $1.2 million land gift as well as tax breaks. Lawsuits by the City of Wilson and the Nash County Landowners Association over the land's re-zoning process are still active. A new lawsuit was filed in September that correctly points out that Nash County failed to hold a public hearing before purchasing the land that is to be deeded to Sanderson Farms. The County, attempting to right that wrong, held an after-the-fact public hearing on October 15, 2012.

A new slaughterhouse will open the floodgates for new chicken houses in the Tar-Pamlico River watershed. Approximately 500 new houses, resulting in 90 million chickens and 175 million pounds of waste produced annually will be located within a 50-mile radius of the slaughterhouse.  The Tar River currently struggles to absorb the nutrient polluted runoff water from a variety of sources, including our swine and poultry industry. This new large influx of an essentially unregulated industry does not bode well for the future health of the Tar-Pamlico and PTRF will continue to devote a significant portion of our advocacy actions to prevent this situation from occurring.

Urban Stream Renewal

In collaboration with East Carolina University researchers, PTRF has completed a watershed restoration plan for Meeting House Branch, an urban stream impaired by polluted stormwater runoff. The excess stormwater runoff has caused erosion and flooding that has impacted many homeowners living along the stream. The restoration plan has identified more than 20 locations where stormwater best management practices, such as created wetlands or rain gardens, may be implemented to reduce both pollution impacts and impacts from large amounts of stormwater. Now that the restoration plan has been completed, PTRF and ECU will look for funds to implement the recommendations in the plan in collaboration with the City of Greenville and interested landowners. 

Make the World Your Oyster at Least for One Night!

By David Emmerling, Executive Director

Make our incredible North Carolina oysters the focus of your world for one wonderful evening. It doesn't get any better than enjoying one of the true gifts of nature on a beautiful fall evening with people who love the salty, sweet delicacies. Good food, good music, and good company combine to make an incredible evening! Are you tempted and wondering where this type of event can be found? The Pamlico-Tar River Foundation's Oyster Roast offers all of that and more!

Added to all the goods listed above, we have a great live band and the real icing on the cake is the great beer from our own eastern North Carolina Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery. You can also add to the mix a silent auction that can help you get a jump on Christmas shopping. So let's review: good food, music, company, and craft beer - THAT IS AS GOOD AS IT GETS!

Stop whatever you are doing and clear your calendar for the evening of November 10, 2012 and join friends and neighbors in celebrating our oysters and ensuring that the monitoring, protection, and restoration of our river continues. How can you not want to treat yourself to this fun, and care for the river all at the same time?

Remember! I will be taking roll and you better be there. I am looking forward to seeing you and enjoying this marvelous evening with you.

All the best to you and yours!

Amazing Menhaden

By Peter Boettger

Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus)

Primarily filter feeders on plankton and decaying plant matter, menhaden are thought to be 2nd only to oysters in their capacity to help maintain overall estuarine health.  As oysters became decimated along parts of the Atlantic coast during the 20th century, menhaden have become even more important as filters.  Runoff from nonpoint sources such as farms, heavily fertilized golf courses, and suburban lawns loads nitrogen and phosphorus into coastal waters. Nitrogen and phosphorus stimulate the growth of algal blooms that block sunlight and inhibit growth of oxygen producing bottom vegetation. The blooms eventually sink to the estuary bottom, where they are decomposed by bacteria that further consume oxygen from the water, leaving "dead zones" where fish and other creatures cannot survive.  By ingesting algae and other phytoplankton, menhaden are capable of removing a significant percentage of the excess nitrogen and phosphorus that cause algal overgrowth.

Menhaden are also the principle source of forage for many popular sport and commercial fish, which rely on juvenile menhaden for the bulk of their diet.  Accordingly, they are highly valued as live or cut bait by rod and reel fishermen.   Menhaden are an oily fish, packed with tiny bones, not considered desirable to eat by most humans.  Yet the catch along the Atlantic coast has regularly exceeded the tonnage of all other species combined. They are cooked and reduced to fish meal and oil.  The meal is dried, ground up, and incorporated as a high-protein feed component for livestock and pets.  The oil can also be used to make omega-3 fatty oil, a dietary supplement said to fight heart disease.

Purse seining was the traditional method of deploying a pair of long row boats, in which as many as forty men hauled and closed a net around a school of fish.   The bottom of the net was pulled shut to form a "purse" so that thousands of pounds of fish could not escape.  A large hose was then lowered into the churning school and the fish are vacuumed into the hold of a mother ship.  As of May 2012 this practice was banned in North Carolina waters.

Photo courtesy of the image collection of the Mariners' Museum, Newport News,VA

To make the back breaking work go easier, the men sang what were called "chanteys" to coordinate their movements.  A leader sang out the first line of the song alone, to be answered with another line sung in harmony by the rest of the crew. The idea was that the harmony synchronized the men and their effort on the same chord at the same time.  Songs were barrowed from various sources, including hymns and gospel songs, blues and barbershop quartet songs, and were often improvised.  In 1989 a group of  retired black fishermen called the Menhaden Chanteymen recorded a dozen traditional work songs of the coastal Carolina menhaden fishery, titled "Won't You Help Raise 'em", and received the North Carolina Folk Heritage Award. The memory of purse seining will live on through its music.

By Kelly Jochim, Outreach & Development Coordinator

Outstanding candidates were nominated to be considered by the membership for election to the PTRF Board of Directors this year.  The good thing about having excellent candidates is that we are assured of their dedication to protecting the river.  All the nominees care about our river and are committed to help and be involved with our important work.

Two board members returned to their spots on the board and one new board member was elected as the final ballots were tabulated at the PTRF annual membership meeting.  The new member elected to the board was Steve Stadelman, and Lisa Clough joins us as appointed by the board to fill an unexpired term.

Steve Stadelman

Steve has lived in the Cedar Creek watershed of the upper Tar River for the past 17 years near Youngsville, North Carolina where he and his family enjoy exploring the watershed and kayaking.  Steve believes PTRF does a very impressive job of protection, education, and advocacy for our watershed, and he is pleased to have the opportunity to work on the Board to contribute to these efforts and the challenges ahead of us.

Steve has had the opportunity to pursue a college education and achieve degrees in Agronomy, Geology, and Anthropology.  For the past 18 years he has worked as an environmental professional for a biotech company in Franklin County, and much of his work is to develop and implement better environmental practices.

He is a frequent, non-traditional, guest educator for the schools in Franklin County.  He teaches several natural science topics and most often soils, geology, wetlands, and water quality; and last year, he began his pursuit of certification as an environmental educator through the NCDENR Office of Environmental Education. Steve is also a Master Gardener volunteer in Franklin County, and he enjoys sharing the joy of gardening with others. 

Lisa Clough, Ph.D.

Lisa Clough is currently the Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Research at East Carolina University (ECU), as well as an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology. She joined the Board because she believes PTRF plays a critical role in a sustainable eastern NC- as an advocate for the Tar-Pamlico River, PTRF does things that the Federal, State, and Local agencies can't do- and Lisa wanted to be a part of that.

Lisa received her BA from Wesleyan University (Middletown, Connecticut) with degrees in both Biology and Earth and Environmental Sciences.  She earned a PhD in Coastal Oceanography from Stony Brook University. Lisa came to ECU, and went on her first Arctic cruise, in 1993.  In 1994 she was on a research cruise to the North Pole- that cruise was the first time a US surface ship had reached the North Pole.  In addition to these and other Arctic oceanographic research cruises, she has also done extensive work in the coastal zone of Alaska.

In 2009 she went to the National Science Foundation in Arlington, VA to manage the Antarctic Integrated System Science (AISS) Program.  As part of her AISS duties she spent two months in Antarctic, going to the South Pole for the first time in 2009. Lisa's research interests include benthic (bottom) ecology and interdisciplinary research in the Arctic, Antarctic, and coastal North Carolina.

Tim Kelley, Ph.D.

 Tim is a Professor of Environmental Health Sciences Program at ECU. He received his PhD from the University of Georgia in Ecology. He conducts research, teaches and is active in public service. He is published and received grants on topics related to wetlands, water quality, animal waste management, and wetlands restoration. Water quality and environmental health are a passion and he looks forward to the opportunity to serve the members of PTRF and aid in monitoring and protecting our Tar-Pamlico River.

Emilie Kane, Ed.D.

Emilie has lived in the Pamlico-Tar basin since 1972, where she spent many hours on the river and creeks canoeing, boating, fishing, swimming, and enjoying nature along with her family. Protection of the special natural environment and water quality of the Pamlico-Tar watershed for future generations is Emilie's primary concern. For the past 30 years PTRF has been the most important voice for stewardship of this watershed, and we must keep it strong.

Emilie received her education from Cornell, ECU, and NC State University. She been a teacher, spent time conducting ecological research, and worked 21 years in grant and contract administration. Emilie has been a member of PTRF since 1985. During her previous terms on the Board of Directors, she served as president and secretary, and has also served on the PTRF Advisory Council and the Scientific Advisory Committee.

Volunteering at PTRF: A Letter to our Membership

By Micah Robertson

My name is Micah Robertson and I am a student at ECU in the college of business. This summer I had the opportunity to volunteer at the Pamlico Tar River Foundation. There were a lot of opportunities for me to help out and also a lot of different topics to learn about. I started working on Wednesday afternoons in the office; calling members, filing papers, and sending out information. I live in Washington now so this was a great way for me to interact among the people here. This was not only great for PTRF but also for me; learning about the river, helping take care of the river, and eventually I taught others about how to conserve and not pollute our water. On Saturdays I would get up and head down to havens garden where the PTRF puts on youth kayaking trips. We first go over safety and get all kids a kayak. Then head down the river to teach them about buffer systems, show them osprey nest and always ended the day with a relaxing swim. It just put a smile on my face seeing those kids having so much fun.

My overall experience at PTFR has been really enjoyable. The employees are always so friendly, kind, and happy you are there. The biggest thing is that you're getting to make a difference in your local environment and community, which is what, is so great about volunteering at PTRF. I hope to get to continue to help out every chance I get (river clean-up day, advertise at ECU), and I hope that if you are interest you would come and see what the PTRF has special to offer you.

Sincerely,

Micah Robertson

East Carolina University

WATERKEEEPER®'S Carolina Update

By Erin Riggs, Associate Executive Director

It has been a busy summer and early fall for WATERKEEPERS® Carolina.  Our advocacy work on mercury was in full swing during the EMC's Mercury TMDL decision-making that occurred over the July and September meetings.  WKC submitted comments and a letter to the EMC expressing our concerns and hopes for the TMDL process.  The TMDL was approved at the September meeting, which is a good thing, but our mercury work continues.  We have more challenges ahead of us in trying to influence upcoming decisions that will affect water quality determinations by the state; we will be submitting more comments, and making sure that protection of our waters stays at the forefront of these decisions.  Stay tuned for updates in a few months to see how those decisions go.

Even as I write this, we are busily drafting the content for the WKC website which is tentatively set to launch November 1.  The site will promote the pages of all of the RIVERKEEPERS® as well as inform the public of our work, hot topics, and current developments in laws and policies affecting our waters.  The page is linked to our social media, will showcase photos of the beautiful watersheds throughout North Carolina, and will provide resources for people interested in working on issues in their home watersheds.  We are very excited about having it up and running.  Be sure to check it out in November!

We are excited about a connection WKC has made with the Duke Environmental Law Society this fall to get some Duke Law students engaged in legal research related to WKC advocacy work.  We are looking forward to making that a long-term relationship with the Environmental Law Society and to the research the students will provide for us in the next couple of months.  Additionally, in the next few months, we will be engaging in creation and distribution of some new and up to date educational materials related to our nutrient and mercury work, so look for those to better educate yourself on these important issues.

Finally, we are continuing our work with pharmaceuticals through OMC and will be enhancing and expanding the water quality component specifically as it relates to stormwater and drinking water treatment.  We are excited by the progress we have made with the medicine drop events, and hope that by adding more energy to water quality work, we can strengthen the policy language that WKC is currently working on with other OMC stakeholders.

We are grateful for all of the support we have received in starting things off, and feel confident that our work will continue to grow.