Carolina and Virginia cooperated to reduce 

 the pollutant load from Union Camp, and 

 the paper plant began storing its waste for 

 the eight months of the year when river flow 

 is low, discharging only between December 

 and March. 



In 1979, implementation of the Nutri- 

 ent Sensitive Water classification placed 

 nutrient limits on wastewater treatment 

 plants discharging to the river. As a result, 

 major municipalities began spraying their 

 discharges onto land as a form of irrigation. 

 This was the only means of reaching the 

 strict nutrient limits of 3 parts per million 

 (ppm) total nitrogen and 1 ppm phosphorus. 

 With land available and reasonably afford- 

 able to most of the major municipalities that 

 bordered the river, this was a feasible 

 solution. Land application of wastewater 

 had previously been tried only in experi- 

 mental demonstration projects in North 

 Carolina. 



Land application of wastewater 

 enables microbial communities in the soil to 

 break down and transform nutrients and 

 other pollutants before they reach the river. 

 It is difficult to quantify the nutrient reduc- 

 tion that resulted from this change, but 

 estimates show that the contribution from 

 municipal sources in the North Carolina 

 portion of the basin are down from about 20 

 percent of the total load to around 1 percent. 



Despite aggressive measures to deal 

 with point source pollution, regulators soon 

 realized that more effort was needed to 

 solve the problem. With forests, wetlands 

 and agriculture comprising the primary land 

 uses in the river basin, and agricultural 

 runoff and animal waste contributing an 

 estimated 80 percent of the total nitrogen 

 and phosphorus flowing to the river, 

 nonpoint sources of pollution had to be 

 reckoned with in order to solve the bloom 

 problem. 



In 1982, the N.C. Department of 

 Natural Resources and Community Devel- 

 opment (now the N.C. Department of 

 Environment and Natural Resources) 

 developed the Chowan/Albemarle Action 

 Plan and the Chowan River Water Quality 

 Management Plan. The Chowan River plan 

 called for a 30 to 40 percent reduction in 



phosphorus and a 15 to 20 percent reduc- 

 tion in nitrogen. The plan included limits on 

 both nonpoint and point sources of pollu- 

 tion. 



Agricultural Best Management Prac- 

 tices (BMPs) became an important compo- 

 nent of the water quality improvement plans 

 for the Chowan River. Farmers were asked 

 to voluntarily establish BMPs to reduce 

 erosion and nutrient loading from their 

 crops and animal facilities. A three-year 

 study concluded that farmers in the basin 

 needed education and technical assistance 

 because they had not adjusted the applica- 

 tion rates of fertilizer to take into account 

 the nutrient-rich animal waste they were 

 also applying to their crops. 



In 1985, with funding from the North 

 Carolina legislature, the Agricultural Cost 

 Share Program was implemented in the 

 Chowan River basin. The program was 

 designed to provide technical and financial 

 assistance to farmers who implemented 

 BMPs. The BMPs were intended to reduce 

 erosion, properly manage and improve land 

 application of animal wastes, improve 

 fertilizer application in relation to crop 

 needs to reduce excess nutrient loading, and 

 ensure proper handling and disposal of 

 pesticides and reduce their use. 



Farmers began testing their soil, using 

 conservation tillage, splitting applications of 

 fertilizer and establishing grass in water- 

 ways and field borders to prevent erosion. 

 In some cases, hogs had to be removed 

 from swamps, but most animal farmers 

 only needed better storage and training in 

 the proper land application of animal waste. 

 Drainage and irrigation systems also were 

 improved throughout the basin to reduce 

 subsurface movement of nitrogen to surface 

 waters. 



Over a five-year period, the state made 

 809 agreements with farmers in the 

 Chowan River basin to address nonpoint 

 source problems on 63,655 acres of land. 

 An estimated 123,244 tons of soil erosion 

 has been prevented annually as a result. 

 Forty-eight million gallons of animal waste 

 have been applied to crops rather than 

 stockpiled in feedlots or overflowing 

 lagoons. 



Documenting Success 



In 1990, regulators began compiling the 

 figures on the nutrient loads and chlorophyll- 

 a levels in the river since the Chowan River 

 plan was put into effect in 1982. They found 

 substantial reductions in nutrient loads, 

 achieved primarily through eliminating 

 wastewater treatment plant discharges, 

 closing the Tunis fertilizer plant and imple- 

 menting the agricultural BMPs. Calculations 

 revealed that phosphorus had been reduced 

 by 29 percent and nitrogen by 22 percent. 



Consistent monitoring in the river at 

 several stations revealed seasonal fluctua- 

 tions in levels of phytoplankton growth 

 through the mid-1980s, accompanied by a 

 downward trend in growth from the 1980s to 

 the present. Near Colerain and Edenton, the 

 areas previously most plagued by algal 

 blooms, summer chlorophyll levels remained 

 high until 1991 but have since dropped 

 significantly. 



Today, the Chowan River is much 

 healthier than it was in the 1970s. There has 

 been a notable decrease in the duration and 

 frequency of algal blooms. Tourism thrives 

 in Edenton. Though overfishing threatens the 

 river herring industry, striped bass and white 

 perch fisheries have improved steadily since 

 the early 1980s. 



Volunteers from the Arrowhead Prop- 

 erty Owners Association continue to monitor 

 the water and collect data but they are much 

 happier with the river's health. "This last 

 summer was beautiful," says Howard. 

 'There was some spotty cover in spring but 

 no penetration into the water column." 



Scientists and regulators are also 

 pleased with their progress. "The results 

 speak for themselves," says Paerl, the UNC- 

 CH researcher. The Chowan River is a case 

 where "science translated into management 

 and policy." 



With the implementation of the Neuse 

 River Nutrient Reduction Rules in August 

 1997, the Neuse River should also begin the 

 journey to improved health. The Neuse 

 River basin could take more than 20 years to 

 flush out the nutrients already stored in its 

 soils and sediments, but the Chowan's 

 rebirth teaches patience and hope. Water 

 quality improvement takes time. □ 



COASTWATCH 23 



