4.5 River Basins
regimes, and often reduce DO levels. Water withdrawals for irrigation and similar uses further change fow patterns and reduce the quality and quantity of habitat available for aquatic species (NCDWQ 2008b) . According to a NCDENR dam inventory (NCDEMLR 2014) , there are 1,289 impoundments in the basin. Streams are being impacted by excessive sedimentation and changes in hydrology and geomorphology, all due to urban development, agriculture, and instream mining (Williams et al. 1993; Etnier 1997; Neves et al. 1997; Warren et al. 2000) . Water quality is also degraded by excessive nutrient input and other chemicals from wastewater discharges and surface water runof from agriculture. Tere are 358 permitted discharges in the 21 counties of the Yadkin — Pee Dee River Basin, 46 of which are major discharges with ≥1 million gallons per day (NCDWQ 2015a) . Tere are 188 permitted CAFOs for cattle and swine production in the Yadkin — Pee Dee River Basin with 312 waste lagoons associated with the facilities. Waste from these sites contains high levels of nutrients (e.g., nitrogen and phosphorus) in addition to fecal coli- form 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 are a source of contamination from runof, percolation into groundwater, and volatilization of ammonia and the release of bacte- rial contamination. Tese sources can signifcantly degrade water quality and endanger human and animal health (Mallin 2003; Mallin and Cahoon 2003) . 4.5.20.5 Recommendations Conservation priorities that apply statewide to all river basins are presented in Section 4.5.3.3. Priorities identifed in the Yadkin — Pee Dee River Basin are shown in Figure 4.40 and a list of the priority 12-digit HUCs is included in Appendix J.
Basin Specifc Recommendations
Surveys. Priorities for distribution and status surveys should focus on aquatic snails, cray- fsh, mussels, and fsh believed to be declining or dependent on at-risk or sensitive commu- nities (see Table 4.92). Conduct distribution and status surveys for priority species such as the Brook Floater, Savannah Lilliput, Atlantic Pigtoe, and Carolina Redhorse. Monitoring. Long-term monitoring is critical to assessing species and ecosystem health over time and gauging the resilience of organisms to continued impacts to state waters. Studies should include identifcation of population trends, as well as assessment of impacts from conservation or development activities. Tese eforts will inform species and habitat management decisions. Long-term monitoring sites need to be identifed and monitoring
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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