RALEIGH -- Heavy rainfall earlier this year and excessive nutrients in eastern North Carolina waterways may lead to significant water quality problems and fish kills this summer, according to a scientific panel's report released today by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
"We believe that the summer and fall of 1998 may be shaping up as one of significant water quality problems since the record El Nino rainfalls of this winter and spring have provided a strong nutrient push to the Neuse River Estuary,"stated an advisory issued by the state's Scientific Advisory Council on Water Resources and Coastal Fisheries Management. The information was presented today to the Environmental Management Commission's (EMC) Water Quality Committee in Raleigh.
"While there are currently only limited data on which to make conclusions, it appears that severe water quality problems in the Neuse River Estuary originate with excessive winter and spring rains and are exacerbated by above average rains during the summer and early fall," the report said. "The rains deliver large pulses of nutrient-rich discharge to the estuary and algae 'bloom' rapidly in response to these nutrients."
The advisory council evaluates trends and conditions of the state's water quality and provides advice to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and its appointed commissions. The council also helps foster partnerships between the state's universities and environmental agencies. The EMC is a 17-member appointed rulemaking body for water and air quality protection.
The rivers and estuaries of coastal North Carolina have experienced unprecedented nutrient increases over the last 50 years, according to the council's report, which also cited changes in watershed land use, increased human population and development and rapid growth of intensive animal operations as contributors of excessive nutrients. As a result, the state's rivers and estuaries have experienced numerous water quality problems, including algal blooms, anoxic water and fish kills, the report concluded.
Governor Jim Hunt recently announced an aggressive clean water budget plan to continue the state's fight against Pfiesteria and water pollution and to strengthen marine fisheries protection. The plan focuses on three key components -- prevention, detection and response -- to combat water pollution. The budget includes critical funding to reduce nutrients and sediments in North Carolina waterways, expand coastal recreational water quality monitoring to inland waters, support the state's river basin planning program, provide more aggressive responses to fish kills and boost the state's compliance and enforcement efforts.
Hunt's $34.9 million clean water initiative includes $2.1 million to reduce sedimentation and $4.1 million to implement the Fisheries Reform Act passed by the General Assembly last year and continued funding for fish kill rapid response teams on the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico rivers. The budget also calls for $4.5 million in Agricultural Cost Share funds to provide technical assistance to farmers and support their efforts to use best management practices (BMPs) to reduce run-off.
Last year, he signed into law the Clean Water Responsibility Act, which includes a moratorium on hog facilities, allows counties to zone large hog farms, cracks down on animal waste, and limits nutrient levels in rivers and streams. The bill also authorizes the state to develop a plan to improve the quality of North Carolina's waterways.
Hunt fought for fisheries reform, environmental education efforts, improved animal and municipal waste operations, safer drinking water and stepped up enforcement for those who violate water quality regulations. At Hunt's direction, the state's Environmental Management Commission approved a plan at the end of last year to reduce the amount of harmful nutrients being released into the troubled Neuse River by 30 percent.
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