4.5 River Basins
T ABLE 4.88 Water quality classifcation and rating information for the White Oak River Basin
Percent (Basin Waters)
Percent (Basin Waters)
Percent (Basin Waters)
Freshwater Miles
Freshwater Acres
Coastal Acres
Classifcations
Total Basin Waters*
1,571
— <1 —
3,777
— —
140,104 90,651 65,574
— 65 47
HQW ORW
3
—
—
110
3
Percent (Monitored Waters)
Percent (Monitored Waters)
Percent (Monitored Waters)
Freshwater Miles
Freshwater Acres
Coastal Acres
Use Ratings
Total Named Waters
320
— 24
3,886 3,755
— 97 — —
143,902 91,331 49,344
— 63 34 <1
Supporting Impaired Not Rated
77 11 —
3
— —
— 73
29
No Data
232
131
3
3,199
2
* Total Basin Waters estimated from National Hydrography Dataset (NHD), April 2015 (EPA 2014b) .
Tere are 46 permitted CAFOs in the White Oak River Basin, with 63 associated waste lagoons. Most are located in the northwestern portion of the basin along the New and White Oak rivers. Waste from these sites contains high levels of nutrients (e.g., nitrogen and phosphorus) in addition to fecal coliform bacteria and any chemical compounds, such as antibiotics or hormone products used in commercial feeding operations (NCDWR 2015b) . Animal-waste lagoons and spray felds that discharge 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 human and animal health (Mallin 2003; Mallin and Cahoon 2003) . Te National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program controls water pollution by regulating point sources, such as industrial, municipal, and other facili- ties that discharge pollutants into surface waters. Point source water pollution can include toxic compounds and elements such as ammonia, chlorine, and mercury. Individual per- mits are written to address the specifc design and applicable water quality standards to an individual facility, while general permits authorize a category of discharges within a geo- graphical area (EPA 2015) . In the White Oak River Basin there are 37 individual NPDES per- mits and 14 general permits (NCDWR 2015f, 2015e) . Four of the individual permits are for major discharges from industrial processes and commercial facilities or municipal wastewater treatment plans that discharge one million gallons per day or more. According to an NCDENR dam inventory (NCDEMLR 2014) , there are relatively few man-made impoundments in the basin. Tose present can physically alter instream habitat, change
633
2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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