4.5 River Basins
T ABLE 4.75 SGCN in the Pasquotank River Basin
Federal/ State Status*
Taxa Group
Scientifc Name
Common Name
Acipenser brevirostrum Acipenser oxyrinchus Enneacanthus chaetodon Enneacanthus obesus Fundulus cf. diaphanus Notropis chalybaeus
FISH
Shortnose Sturgeon Atlantic Sturgeon Blackbanded Sunfsh
E/E E/E
— —
Banded Sunfsh
Lake Phelps Killifsh
FSC/—
Ironcolor Shiner
—
* See Table 4.43 in Section 4.5.3.2 for abbreviations.
population growth and development in the basin increases the risk of waterbody impair- ment (NCDWQ 2007c) .
Another major water quality problem in the basin is fecal coliform bacteria contamina- tion (afecting shellfsh harvesting). Fecal coliform bacteria contamination is primarily attributed to nonpoint source pollution associated with runof from urban areas and agri- cultural lands. Te task of quantifying nonpoint sources of pollution and developing man- agement strategies for these impaired waters is very resource intensive. Federal and state stormwater regulations and initiatives are in place to help reduce and prevent stormwater runof in developing coastal communities (NCDWQ 2007c) . Tere are 25 permitted Confned Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) in the basin, with 60 associated waste lagoons. Waste from these sites is a source of high levels of nutrients (e.g., nitrogen and phosphorus) (NCDWR 2015b) . Animal-waste lagoons and spray felds that discharge nutrients and bacteria contamination near or into aquatic environments through runof, percolation into groundwater, and volatilization of ammonia and the release of bacterial contamination can signifcantly degrade water quality and endanger health (Mallin 2003; Mallin and Cahoon 2003) . It is important to note that all waters in the state are rated as impaired based on a state-wide fsh consumption advisory for mercury contamination. Waters are assessed to determine how well they are meeting classifcation standards and are given a rating to indicate whether they meet these standards. In some cases, waters may not be assessed or rated, or data is not available for the waterbody to be rated (NCDWQ 2007c). Detailed informa- tion on water quality parameters in the basin is available online from the NCDWR Basin Planning Branch (http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/wq/ps/bpu).
596
2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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