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Facing river’s issues is key to a fix
TIDELAND NEWS
SHANNON KEMP
The White Oak River is polluted but with time, hard work and some changes to the way storm water is handled on development sites and personal property, the river can be restored.
Those are the conclusions of a three-year federally funded study on the troubled river.
However, citizens want the state, especially through the N.C. Department of Transportation, to do a little more to get the lower White Oak River back in shape.
More than 20 people attended an informational forum at White Oak Elementary School Monday night where the results of a study on the sources of bacteria in the White Oak River were presented along with implementation steps to restore the river.
Citizens suggested the state consider dredging and opening up waterways to create better tidal water flow in the lower White Oak. That lack of tidal movement leads stagnant water, which was a factor in the high bacteria levels.
One speaker suggested opening a new channel by the Flying Bridge Restaurant to allow more flow.
Because the forum was not a state public hearing, comments and names were not taken. Any comments will have to be e-mailed or sent by mail to DOT, which will have to consider all comments as part of its requirements to clean up the river and explain why it did or did not implement the suggestions.
During the informational meeting, Frank Tursi, Cape Lookout Coast Keeper for the N.C. Coastal Federation, explained why the study was conducted.
“The White Oak River is on a list of impaired waters … and 42 percent of the river is permanently closed to shellfishing and there are several other areas that close to shellfishing after one inch of rainfall,” Tursi said.
Two-thirds of the 11,000 acres of the White Oak River are considered impaired and no longer meet the state’s water quality standards for shellfish waters.
Tursi explained that the federal Clean Water Act section 303 (d) says a state cannot walk away from waters that are impaired and don’t meet the state’s water quality standards. The state must conduct a total maximum daily load study in order to set pollution reduction goals that would restore the impaired waters.
A TMDL study shows what the maximum amount of pollution a waterway can hold and still meet the water quality standards.
The federal standard for shellfish waters is 14 colonies of bacteria per 100 milliliters of water.
Tursi said, 89 percent of the more than 200 samples exceeded the federal health standards for shellfish waters and all of the samples taken from the Boathouse Creek watershed near Western Carteret Park exceeded the standard. Some samples were hundreds and thousands of times higher than the standard, he said.
Tursi said the primary source of the bacteria is wildlife.
In order to reduce the amount of bacteria getting into the river, the flow of polluted bacteria must be stopped because the source of the bacteria cannot be eliminated, Tursi said.
“The normal programs in place now that deal with stormwater runoff will not bring it back up to standards,” Tursi said, and that’s where the implementation suggestions come into play.
Chris Roessler with Michael Baker Engineering explained the suggestions for each of the watersheds sampled during the study – Dubling Creek, Boathouse Creek, Hills Bay Embayment and the watershed at the bridge on NC 24 going into Carteret County.
Roessler said the water around the bridges showed low bacteria levels because the tides constantly flush out the bacteria whereas other areas like Boathouse Creek do not get a fresh supply of water and the water sits and basically stagnates – keeping the bacteria longer.
“For Dubling Creek, a reasonable amount of effort can restore the water quality there … but it will take more time and effort to restore Boathouse Creek,” Roessler said.
Suggestions for the Boathouse Creek area include pet waste disposal sites to keep bacteria from pets from getting to the water, level spreaders and filter strips that filter and reduce the polluted water before it gets to the river, wetland features and swales in backyards to filter and reduce the amount of polluted water, rain gardens and education.
Roessler said it would cost about $1 million to implement all the suggestions for Boathouse Creek and the lower White Oak River watersheds.
The public asked why that $1 million couldn’t go toward dredging waterways to get water flowing back into the Boathouse Creek area.
Tursi explained that $1 million was a low amount in the scheme of things. He also said dredging costs can be upwards of $10 million and disposal sites for the dredged sediment become a problem.
“We are trying to control the amount of bacteria going into the water in the first place,” Tursi stressed. “If you keep it from getting into the river you staunch the problem … once (the bacteria) gets into the water you can’t do anything about it.”
However, the state does not have a law that enforces the implementation of the suggestions, Tursi said. If anyone does not want to follow the rules, they don’t have to.
However, DOT is required to fix the problems they are causing and are currently in the process of fixing storm water outfalls that put storm water runoff from NC 24 into the river.
But the Environmental Protection Agency needs to approve the TMDL study and the implementation steps proposed to fix the water quality problems. As part of the approval process, DOT will receive comments from the public.
Tursi encouraged the citizens who made suggestions during the forum to send written comments before the deadline.
Written comments on the White Oak River study will be accepted through March 18.
They can be e-mailed to adugna.kebede@ncmail.net.
Comments can be mailed to the N.C. Division of Water Quality’s Planning Section, Attention: Adugna Kebede, 1617 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C., 27699.
The study results can be viewed at www.nccoast.org.
The White Oak River is polluted but with time, hard work and some changes to the way storm water is handled on development sites and personal property, the river can be restored.
Those are the conclusions of a three-year federally funded study on the troubled river.
However, citizens want the state, especially through the N.C. Department of Transportation, to do a little more to get the lower White Oak River back in shape.
More than 20 people attended an informational forum at White Oak Elementary School Monday night where the results of a study on the sources of bacteria in the White Oak River were presented along with implementation steps to restore the river.
Citizens suggested the state consider dredging and opening up waterways to create better tidal water flow in the lower White Oak. That lack of tidal movement leads stagnant water, which was a factor in the high bacteria levels.
One speaker suggested opening a new channel by the Flying Bridge Restaurant to allow more flow.
Because the forum was not a state public hearing, comments and names were not taken. Any comments will have to be e-mailed or sent by mail to DOT, which will have to consider all comments as part of its requirements to clean up the river and explain why it did or did not implement the suggestions.
During the informational meeting, Frank Tursi, Cape Lookout Coast Keeper for the N.C. Coastal Federation, explained why the study was conducted.
“The White Oak River is on a list of impaired waters … and 42 percent of the river is permanently closed to shellfishing and there are several other areas that close to shellfishing after one inch of rainfall,” Tursi said.
Two-thirds of the 11,000 acres of the White Oak River are considered impaired and no longer meet the state’s water quality standards for shellfish waters.
Tursi explained that the federal Clean Water Act section 303 (d) says a state cannot walk away from waters that are impaired and don’t meet the state’s water quality standards. The state must conduct a total maximum daily load study in order to set pollution reduction goals that would restore the impaired waters.
A TMDL study shows what the maximum amount of pollution a waterway can hold and still meet the water quality standards.
The federal standard for shellfish waters is 14 colonies of bacteria per 100 milliliters of water.
Tursi said, 89 percent of the more than 200 samples exceeded the federal health standards for shellfish waters and all of the samples taken from the Boathouse Creek watershed near Western Carteret Park exceeded the standard. Some samples were hundreds and thousands of times higher than the standard, he said.
Tursi said the primary source of the bacteria is wildlife.
In order to reduce the amount of bacteria getting into the river, the flow of polluted bacteria must be stopped because the source of the bacteria cannot be eliminated, Tursi said.
“The normal programs in place now that deal with stormwater runoff will not bring it back up to standards,” Tursi said, and that’s where the implementation suggestions come into play.
Chris Roessler with Michael Baker Engineering explained the suggestions for each of the watersheds sampled during the study – Dubling Creek, Boathouse Creek, Hills Bay Embayment and the watershed at the bridge on NC 24 going into Carteret County.
Roessler said the water around the bridges showed low bacteria levels because the tides constantly flush out the bacteria whereas other areas like Boathouse Creek do not get a fresh supply of water and the water sits and basically stagnates – keeping the bacteria longer.
“For Dubling Creek, a reasonable amount of effort can restore the water quality there … but it will take more time and effort to restore Boathouse Creek,” Roessler said.
Suggestions for the Boathouse Creek area include pet waste disposal sites to keep bacteria from pets from getting to the water, level spreaders and filter strips that filter and reduce the polluted water before it gets to the river, wetland features and swales in backyards to filter and reduce the amount of polluted water, rain gardens and education.
Roessler said it would cost about $1 million to implement all the suggestions for Boathouse Creek and the lower White Oak River watersheds.
The public asked why that $1 million couldn’t go toward dredging waterways to get water flowing back into the Boathouse Creek area.
Tursi explained that $1 million was a low amount in the scheme of things. He also said dredging costs can be upwards of $10 million and disposal sites for the dredged sediment become a problem.
“We are trying to control the amount of bacteria going into the water in the first place,” Tursi stressed. “If you keep it from getting into the river you staunch the problem … once (the bacteria) gets into the water you can’t do anything about it.”
However, the state does not have a law that enforces the implementation of the suggestions, Tursi said. If anyone does not want to follow the rules, they don’t have to.
However, DOT is required to fix the problems they are causing and are currently in the process of fixing storm water outfalls that put storm water runoff from NC 24 into the river.
But the Environmental Protection Agency needs to approve the TMDL study and the implementation steps proposed to fix the water quality problems. As part of the approval process, DOT will receive comments from the public.
Tursi encouraged the citizens who made suggestions during the forum to send written comments before the deadline.
Written comments on the White Oak River study will be accepted through March 18.
They can be e-mailed to adugna.kebede@ncmail.net.
Comments can be mailed to the N.C. Division of Water Quality’s Planning Section, Attention: Adugna Kebede, 1617 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C., 27699.
The study results can be viewed at www.nccoast.org.
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