In Pitt County, North Carolina, sediment traps constructed as 

 part of the channelization of Chicod Creek were filled the first 

 year. No effective method for dealing with this problem has yet 

 been devised. Merchants Mill Pond acts as a 600 acre sediment trap 

 for upper Bennett's Creek. As such, it is undergoing slow filling 

 and eventual conversion to a bog. Already fishing and boating have 

 been affected, with the shallower water and high levels of nutrients 

 from agricultural runoff and livestock operations causing a lush 

 growth of aquatic plants. 



Should the park ever be able to acquire a portion of land 

 around the whole mill pond, it will be possible to raise the water 

 level, effectively deepening the pond and reducing the present 

 problems. However, there is a limit to which the water can be 

 raised without affecting some of the important wetland forest 

 communities. Park trails and some facilities would have to be 

 relocated. This course of action might be effective for the next 

 50 to 100 yrs with the present rate of sediment input. Evidence 

 from Chicod Creek suggests that the huge input of sediment from 

 channelization would defeat these efforts, and destroy much of the 

 natural qualities of Merchants Mill Pond. 



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