Triad, Triangle, Fayetteville and Wilmington. 

 Typical of streams in urban settings, many that 

 flow into the Cape Fear have been channeled 

 or diverted into culverts. 



"We have built on them and over them," 

 McNutt says. He illustrates his point with an 

 aerial photo of a typical urban stream that 

 disappears beneath one-third of its host city to 

 accommodate development. 



Sediment from land disturbance and 

 runoff from newly constructed roads, parking 

 lots and rooftops contribute to the river's 

 pollution. In addition, more than half of the 

 state's hog operations are located in the Cape 

 Fear River basin, representing a substantial 

 potential for pollution. 



The basin approach to water quality 

 planning makes sense, because it follows 

 natural ecological boundaries, McNutt says. 

 The long-range mission of basinwide 

 management is to address the complex 

 problem of planning for increased develop- 

 ment and economic growth while protecting 

 or restoring the quality — and the intended 

 uses — of the Cape Fear River basin's waters. 



Water bodies are classified according to 

 their best-intended uses. For example, some 

 waters are classified primarily for commercial 



shellfish harvesting, others for water supplies. 

 A high quality water (HQW) supplemental 

 classification calls for special management 

 strategies to prevent degradation of critical 

 habitat or fishery nursery areas. 



The Cape Fear basin includes four 

 coastal Outstanding Resource Waters (ORW) 

 — Stump Sound, Middle and Topsail Sounds, 

 and Masonboro Sound — and one inland 

 ORW — a portion of the Black River. The 

 aquatic ecosystems in the Cape Fear River 

 basin support a variety of commercial and 

 recreational fisheries. Wetlands, estuaries, 

 blackwater rivers and rocky streams support 

 30 endangered species in the basin. 



DWQ, sister agencies and university 

 researchers gather data from about 150 

 monitoring sites to measure the river's health. 

 Data help determine how well a water body 

 supports its designated use. 



About 20 percent of the monitored 

 waters in the Cape Fear River basin are rated 

 as impaired, that is, partially supporting or not 

 supporting their intended uses. Most of the 

 impaired streams are located near urbanized 

 areas. 



To achieve its overall basinwide 

 management mission, DWQ has set short- 



term goals to identify and restore impaired 

 waters in the basin; to identify and protect high 

 value resource waters and biological communi- 

 ties of special importance; and to protect 

 unimpaired waters while allowing for 

 reasonable economic growth. 



Two-inches thick, the Cape Fear plan 

 gives a wide-angle view of the basin as well as 

 close-up snapshots of individual watersheds. 

 The idea McNutt says, is to use the plan as 

 supporting data to address local problems with 

 specific solutions. 



McNutt believes that achieving good 

 water quality involves more than adopting a 

 menu of best management practices. "Environ- 

 mentally sound reasons are needed for specific 

 actions," he says. 



Science provides key 



That's where supporting research comes 

 in. Mike Mallin and a cadre of fellow 

 researchers at the University of North Carolina 

 at Wilmington are working on a number of 

 fronts to collect long-term environmental data 

 that could help shape policy. 



While the Cape Fear is generally in good 

 condition, some areas have serious problems 

 with low dissolved oxygen and excessive fecal 

 coliform bacterial contamination. Mallin says 

 sediment and runoff pollution from urban and 

 rural development are pressing problems — 

 and the most difficult to control. 



His analysis of several tidal creeks over 

 time found a strong correlation between fecal 

 coliform bacterial counts and watershed 

 population, percent of developed area and 

 especially with the percent of impervious 

 surface coverage — parking lots, roof tops and 

 driveways. 



Impervious surfaces pose a serious threat 

 to shellfish beds since rains wash pollutants 

 that gather on hard surfaces into shellfish beds 

 without treatment. 



"We need to get a handle on land-use 

 factors — the relationship of developed land 

 with the percentage of impervious surfaces in a 

 given watershed," Mallin says. "Under 10 

 percent impervious surface, and the watershed 

 is in good shape. The quality goes downhill if 

 the percentage is greater." 



He knows that scientific data won't stop 

 Continued 



COASTWATCH 9 



