4.5 River Basins
Tere are no interbasin transfers between the Chowan and other river basins. Water with- drawals occur primarily for agricultural purposes (NCDWQ 2007a) . Nonpoint pollution sources that degrade water quality include agriculture, animal operations, urban development, forestry operations, stormwater discharge, rural residential development, hydrologic modi- fcations, and septic systems. Point pollution sources in the basin may include municipality wastewater treatment plants, industrial facilities, and urban and industrial stormwater systems. Two of the fve counties in the basin are expected to experience growth rates in excess of 10% by 2020. As the counties in the Chowan River Basin continue to grow along the inner waterways there will likely be a loss of natural areas and an increase in the amount of impervious surface associated with new homes and businesses (NCDWQ 2007a) . Sea level rise has the potential to dramatically alter North Carolina’s coast and estuary sys- tems. Coastal infrastructure, residential properties and industry are threatened and water quality conditions will change (NCDWQ 2007a) . 4.5.7.5 Recommendations Conservation priorities that apply statewide to all river basins are presented in Section 4.5.3.3. Priorities identifed in the Chowan River Basin are shown in Figure 4.14 and a list of the priority 12-digit HUCs is included in Appendix J.
Basin Specifc Recommendations Surveys. General surveys are needed to complete primary distributional status for SGCN and other priority species (see Appendix G).
• Aquatic Snails—conduct baseline distribution surveys for all species.
• Crayfsh—conduct a baseline distribution survey for Cambarus sp. C .
• Fishes—determine distribution of priority species (e.g., Bridle Shiner, Blackbanded Sunfsh, and V-lip Redhorse).
• Mussels—determine distribution of priority species (e.g., Yellow Lampmussel, Alewife Floater, and Eastern Pondmussel). Monitoring. Long-term monitoring is critical to assessing species and ecosystem health over time and gauging the resilience of organisms to a changing climate. Studies should include identifcation of population trends, as well as assessment of impacts from conserva- tion or development activities. Tese eforts will inform future decisions on how to manage
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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