THE HACK PAGE 



"The Back Page" is an update 

 on Sea Grant activities — on 

 research, marine education and 

 advisory services. It's also a good 

 place to find out about meetings, 

 workshops and new publications. 

 For more information on any of 

 the projects described, contact the 

 Sea Grant offices in Raleigh 

 (919/737-2454). 



The state's laws 

 regarding septic tanks 

 are once again under fire, 

 both from those who 

 would relax them and 

 from those who believe 

 they should be more 

 strict. (The June/July issue of 

 Coastwatch reported on the debate 

 over the use of septic tanks on barrier 

 islands.) Under pressure from several 

 coastal communities, the state 

 legislature recently dropped a provi- 

 sion, favored by the Division of Health 

 Services, that would have set a max- 

 imum sewage flow of 1200 gallons per 

 acre, per day for conventional septic- 

 tank installations. 



The provision represented an at- 

 tempt to define the minimum amount 

 of soil area needed to treat effluent 

 safely. But many coastal residents and 

 developers objected that the measure 

 stifled new growth. Most residential 

 septic systems in the state have been 

 required to provide treatment for 150 

 gallons of effluent per day, per 

 bedroom. The 1200-gallon measure 

 would have allowed only eight 

 bedrooms, or two typical beach houses, 

 per acre. Many coastal developments 

 have been laid out for twice that num- 

 ber of houses per acre. 



Bobby Carlile, an NCSU soil scien- 

 tist, is conducting a Sea Grant research 

 project investigating the performance 

 of septic tanks on barrier islands. 

 Carlile has joined other scientists and 

 sanitarians on a committee formed to 

 recommend to the legislature alter- 

 natives to the 1200-gallon rule. The 

 committee will recommend revision 



that would increase the minimum area 

 of drain field required for conventional 

 septic systems, and would decrease the 

 per-bedroom rate to 120 gallons a day. 

 The legislature will hear their recom- 

 mendations this fall. 



Research by Carlile and others has 

 shown that, in the porous, sandy soils 

 of barrier islands, untreated sewage 

 from conventional septic tanks can 

 leach into shellfish beds and 

 groundwater supplies. In previous Sea 

 Grant studies, Carlile designed several 

 advanced septic systems, employing 

 low-pressure pumps, that performed 

 well on some marginal coastal soils and 

 helped make development possible on 

 sites once classified as unsuitable. His 

 current project is designed to deter- 

 mine whether these new designs might 

 also offer some relief for the problems 

 on the sandy barrier islands. 



Lundie Mauldin, 

 UNC Sea Grant's 

 marine education 

 specialist, was elected 

 president of the National 

 Sea Grant Association's 

 marine education com- 

 mittee. She will coordinate next year's 

 marine education program for the 

 national meeting in Washington, D.C. 



Mauldin is also taking a position on 

 the Board of Directors for the 

 National Marine Education Associa- 

 tion. She stepped down in October as 

 president of the Mid-Atlantic Marine 

 Education Association. Ned Smith, 

 director of the N.C. Marine Resources 

 Center at Bogue Banks, succeeded 

 Mauldin as president. 



While not serving on national com- 

 mittees and boards, Mauldin is often 

 traveling across North Carolina 

 teaching more folks about coastal 

 creatures, plants and processes. A re- 

 cent program at the Catawba County 

 Museum of Science in Hickory found 

 Mauldin explaining the "World of 

 Squid," in a program complete with 

 slide show and samples of cooked 

 squid. 



A few weeks later, Mauldin was dis- 

 cussing the pros and cons of "Eating or 

 Being Eaten by Sharks" in a program 

 at the N.C. Museum of Natural 

 History in Raleigh. Mauldin identified 

 some of the sharks found off the North 

 Carolina coast, then fried up a sample 

 to show her audience it's far better for 

 people to eat sharks than vice versa. 



Public facilities interested in 

 Mauldin's programs can contact her at 

 UNC Sea Grant, 105 1911 Building, 

 North Carolina State University, 

 Raleigh, N.C. 27650-5001. The 

 telephone number is (919) 737-2454. 



River herring popula- 

 tions have dropped in 

 the Chowan River dur- 

 ing recent years. To get a 

 handle on the cause of 

 these declining popula- 

 tions, Bob Sniffen, a Sea 

 Grant researcher from East Carolina 

 University, is looking at the river her- 

 ring at an early age (larval) to see what 

 factors might affect their survival. 



Sampling in Catherine Creek, a 

 tributary of the Chowan River, Sniffen 

 learned that larval river herring con- 

 centrate about 25 feet from the 

 stream's edge — the slower-moving por- 

 tion of the river. The larvae also move 

 with their food source, zooplankton, to 

 the surface at night and downward 

 during the day. Since rainfall was low 

 during the spring, Sniffen says the lar- 

 vae were moving further downstream 

 than usual in search of a better oxygen 

 mix in the water. 



Sniffen had hoped prevailing winds 

 and lunar tides would push Catherine 

 Creek out of its banks and into the 

 floodplains during the spring. He 

 wanted to see how this inundation af- 

 fected the larval river herring, but con- 

 ditions never materialized to create the 

 usual spring floods. 



Though the information Sniffen has 

 gleaned may seem like disjointed 

 pieces of a puzzle, put together they 

 may tell Sniffen and fisheries managers 

 the critical point in a river herring's 

 life cycle. 



