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Our Lakes at Risk: the Impact of Growth on North Carolina’S Water Quality

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Our Lakes at Risk: the Impact of Growth on North Carolina’S Water Quality Our Lakes at Risk: The Impact of Growth on North Carolina’s Water Quality NCPIRG Education Fund Summer 2005 Our Lakes at Risk: The Impact of Growth on North Carolina’s Water Quality Christine Wunsche Stephen Craig Lucas Wilkinson NCPIRG Education Fund Summer 2005 3 Acknowledgements The North Carolina Public Interest Research Group Education Fund gratefully acknowledges Amy Pickle of the Southern Environmental Law Center, Elaine Chiosso, Executive Director of the Haw River Assembly, and Bill Holman, Executive Director of the Clean Water Management Trust Fund for peer review. Special thanks to Stanback Interns, Emily Hanawalt and Eboni Bledsoe for their assistance with data and production of tables and graphs in this report. This report was made possible by generous grants from the Beldon Fund, Educational Foundation of America, Fred Stanback, and the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation. The authors alone bear responsibility for any factual errors. The recommendations are those of the NCPIRG Education Fund. The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily express the views of our funders. © 2005 NCPIRG Education Fund NCPIRG The NCPIRG Education Fund, is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to protecting the environment, the rights of consumers, and good government in North Carolina. For more information about North Carolina PIRG, call (919) 833-2070 or email [email protected]. NCPIRG Education Fund 112 S. Blount Street Suite 102 Raleigh, NC 27601 4 Table of Contents Executive Summary ............................................................................................7 Introduction ........................................................................................................9 Understanding the Data...................................................................................10 Land Use Changes in North Carolina’s River Basins ......................................12 Broad.............................................................................................................13 Lake Lure..................................................................................................13 Cape Fear ......................................................................................................14 Jordan Lake ..............................................................................................14 Catawba.........................................................................................................15 Lake Rhodhiss..........................................................................................15 Chowan.........................................................................................................16 French Broad.................................................................................................17 Waterville (Walters) Lake.........................................................................17 Hiwassee.......................................................................................................18 Lake Chatuge ...........................................................................................18 Little Tennessee............................................................................................19 Fontana Lake ...........................................................................................19 Lumber.........................................................................................................20 Lake Waccamaw......................................................................................20 Neuse ...........................................................................................................22 Falls Lake .................................................................................................22 New...............................................................................................................23 Pasquotank...................................................................................................24 Lake Phelps .............................................................................................24 Roanoke ........................................................................................................25 Lake Gaston.............................................................................................25 Savannah......................................................................................................26 Tar-Pamlico...................................................................................................27 Lake Mattamuskeet.................................................................................27 Watauga........................................................................................................28 White Oak ....................................................................................................29 Yadkin ...........................................................................................................30 High Rock Lake .......................................................................................30 Projected Land Use Changes............................................................................31 Policy Findings ..................................................................................................33 End Notes..........................................................................................................34 5 6 Executive Summary AS NORTH CAROLINA’S population continues to grow, our forests, farmlands, and open spaces are disappearing.As these areas disappear and as people move closer to our rivers, lakes and streams, water quality suffers. Between 1982 and 2002, North Carolina lost 2,568,700 acres of cropland and forestland, while it gained 1,849,800 acres of developed land. The quality of our lakes depends upon the quality of the waters that flow into it, and on the health of the land around those tributaries.A river basin is defined as “all of the land that water flows across or under on its way to a river.i”This report examines growth and development activity by river basin, and highlights lakes in many of the river basins already showing signs of pollution. During the period from 1982 to 2002: The French Broad basin lost 48.4 % of its total cropland and 8.3% of its forestland, higher rates of loss than any other river basin in the state. The Cape Fear River basin saw 14.1% of its cropland and 8% of its forestland transformed; losing 171,700 acres of cropland and 281,100 acres of forestland. Meanwhile, Jordan Lake, which serves as an important drinking water supply and favorite recreational area, is severely polluted by nutrient pollution from wastewater treatment plants and polluted runoff from surrounding development. The Neuse River basin lost a total of 21.2 % of its cropland and 8.7% of its forestland. Recent water quality data shows that Falls Lake, the primary drinking water supply for Raleigh and surrounding communities, is showing signs of pollution and may soon reach impaired status. Between 1982 and 2002, developed land in North Carolina increased by 1,849,800 million acres. The Watauga Basin saw a 230% increase in developed land, the highest change in developed land in any river basin. The Neuse River basin added 313,100 acres of development, a 123% change, the sixth highest increase. The Broad River basin added 72,200 acres of developed land, an increase of 174%, the second highest in the state. If we do not act now to prepare for this growth and loss of open spaces in the coming years, the quality of our lakes may continue to decline—imperiling our drinking water and favorite recreation spots. By the year 2027: 7.4% of forestland, equaling 1,157,592 acres will be lost. 25.4% of cropland, or 1,341,790 acres, will disappear. Developed land area in the state will increase 58.3% or 2,177,336 acres. 7 Recommendations IT IS IMPORTANT that we plan now so that North Carolinians will continue to have clean water along with growth and development. Our rivers, lakes, and streams are the places we treasure for fishing, boating, and swimming and they provide half of all North Carolinians with drinking water. Preserving water quality is vital to our health, our communities, and North Carolina’s economy—without clean water, our state will be unable to continue to support growth. Waiting until our lakes are polluted to act can be costly and have damaging effects on water quality. There are several tools our state can use to ensure that costly, time-consuming clean-up of our lakes is not needed. These tools include: 1) preserving open spaces, 2) providing our pristine waters with protection, 3) monitoring our lakes for early signs of pollution, and 4) making sure that the clean up of our already polluted lakes happens quickly. North Carolina’s leaders should take steps to: Establish permanent, dedicated state and local sources of funding to preserve and restore our streams, wetlands, floodplains, greenways, and other important lands, including full funding of $100,000,000 for the Clean Water Management Trust Fund. Protect the tributaries to our lakes before they are degraded. Improve monitoring of our lakes and report the information to the public. Cap new discharges of wastewater into our major drinking water supply lakes such as Jordan and Falls Lakes; also, quickly clean up polluted lakes. 8 Introduction NORTH CAROLINA IS home Increased pollution from run-off and waste- eutrophic. Lakes can stay at the same trophic to many
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