"We wanted to create this place, 

 make it a celebration of the river. " 



- Jay Levine 



"You're privileged to live on the coast, 

 but with privilege comes responsibility." 



- Pat Donovan-Potts 



From Students to Sturgeon: 



Lilly 



o u g h n 



wavering line of children — mucking through a path in the marsh to collect critters 

 for a lesson in marine biology — mirrors nearby reeds swaying in the wind. The 9-foot 

 stalks of marsh grass are vibrant with rustled chatter. They form a coastal jungle around 

 the young group. 



The group's leader, Pat Donovan-Potts, is a marine biologist, teacher, role model 

 and friend. 



Donovan-Potts makes sure the children do not stray from the well-beaten path. 

 She aims to teach, while ultimately conserving the resources that aid the learning process 

 — resources such as the swaying grass, the mucky wetland bottom, the darting fish 

 and the quietly lapping waters of Wilson Bay. 



SWIMMING IN SLUDGE 



It wasn't long ago that Jacksonville's faulty wastewater treatment plant poured layers 

 of sewage sludge over all life in the 1 26- acre bottom of Wilson Bay. Built in the 1940s, the 

 treatment plant was unable to keep up with population growth and ran out of compliance. 



The plant's 27-foot biotower — designed to remove bacteria, nutrients and chemicals from 

 the city's sewage sludge — was an engineering failure. 



As a result, the nutrients, chemicals and bacteria — particularly fecal coliform — were not 

 adequately removed from the sludge. Fecal coliform are bacteria found living in colonies within 

 the guts of warm-blooded animals, where the bacteria aid in digestion. 



Partially treated at best, the sludge was then discharged into the bay. 



Shellfish sanitation officials in the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources 

 (DENR) closed the bay to recreational and commercial uses for 10 years because of high levels 

 of fecal coliform. 



When a water body contains high fecal levels, humans should avoid direct contact. Fecal 

 bacteria are not only harmful disease carriers, but also are an indication of other pathogenic 

 bacteria that render swimming, boating and harvesting offish or shellfish a danger to public health. 



Excessive nutrient loading also triggered eutrophication, the process where excessive 

 aquatic plant growth depletes dissolved oxygen in the water. If this natural process is accelerated 

 by human activity, it may lead to algal blooms, low dissolved oxygen levels and fish kills. 



In addition to the treatment plant, various other sources may have contributed to the bay's 

 degraded water quality, including flooded hog farms, trash dumped along the shoreline and 

 pollutants carried in stormwater. 



The New River, which feeds Wilson Bay, was deemed one of the worst rivers in the 

 state by the N.C. Division of Water Quality (DWQ) in 1991. The bay alone was described as 

 "ecologically dead" and "nutrient sensitive." 



Continued 



COASTWATCH 7 



