LUMBER RIVER BASINWIDE ASSESSMENT April, 2007 CONTENTS This document provides overviews from four program areas within the Environmental Sciences Section . They may be considered chapters or individual reports. The contributions from each unit are provided in the following order. BASINWIDE ASSESSMENT –Provides basin and subbasin overviews of water quality and detailed information on collections of benthic macroinvertebrates, fish community structure, and fish tissue analyses. Biological Assessment Unit - Page 2 LAKE & RESERVOIR ASSESSMENT-Provides lake & reservoir-specific information in the Lumber River Basin, and an overview of assessment methodology. Intensive Survey Unit - Page 95 AMBIENT MONITORING SYSTEM ASSESSMENT-Provides results of analyses from DWQ fixed station Ambient Monitoring System and Coalition Data, including temporal and spatial trends of chemical, hydrological, and physical data where appropriate. Ecosystems Analysis Unit - Page 102 WHOLE EFFLUENT TOXICITY PROGRAM-Provides an overview of permits requiring (WET), compliance information, and brief summaries of actions by individual facilities and/or DWQ in response to WET limit failures. Aquatic Toxicology Unit - Page 168 BASINWIDE ASSESSMENT REPORT LUMBER RIVER BASIN NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES Division of Water Quality Environmental Sciences Section April 2007 This page was intentionally left blank NCDENR, Division of Water Quality Basinwide Assessment Report - Lumber River Basin - April 2006 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF APPENDICIES ........................................................................................................................4 LIST OF TABLES...................................................................................................................................5 LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................5 BASIN DESCRIPTION...........................................................................................................................6 INTRODUCTION TO PROGRAM METHODS.......................................................................................8 LUMBER RIVER HUC 03040203 – LUMBER RIVER...........................................................................9 Description......................................................................................................................................9 Overview of Water Quality..............................................................................................................9 River and Stream Assessment.....................................................................................................11 LUMBER RIVER HUC 03040204 – LITTLE PEE DEE RIVER ...........................................................13 Description....................................................................................................................................13 Overview of Water Quality............................................................................................................14 River and Stream Assessment.....................................................................................................14 LUMBER RIVER HUC 03040206 – WACCAMAW RIVER..................................................................15 Description....................................................................................................................................15 Overview of Water Quality............................................................................................................15 River and Stream Assessment.....................................................................................................15 LUMBER RIVER HUC 03040208 – LONG BAY/ATLANTIC OCEAN .................................................17 Description....................................................................................................................................17 Overview of Water Quality............................................................................................................17 River and Stream Assessment.....................................................................................................18 GLOSSARY .........................................................................................................................................19 NCDENR, Division of Water Quality Basinwide Assessment Report - Lumber River Basin - April 2006 3 LIST OF APPENDICIES Appendix Page B-1 Summary of benthic macroinvertebrate data, sampling methods, and criteria.................................. F-1 Fish community sampling methods and criteria................................................................................. F-2 A summary of fish community assessment data for 2002 ................................................................. F-3 Fish distributional records for the Lumber River basin ...................................................................... F-4 Water quality at 13 fish community sites in the Lumber River basin, 2006 ....................................... F-5 Habitat evaluations and stream and riparian habitats at 13 fish community monitoring sites in the Lumber River basin, 2006.............................................................................. F-6 Web links............................................................................................................................................ F-7 Fish community references................................................................................................................ NCDENR, Division of Water Quality Basinwide Assessment Report - Lumber River Basin - April 2006 4 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Waterbodies monitored in Lumber River HUC 03040203 in the Lumber River basin for basinwide assessment, 2001 and 2006........................................................................................ 2. Waterbodies monitored in Little Pee Dee River HUC 03040204 in the Lumber River basin for basinwide assessment, 2001 and 2006 .............................................................................. 3. Waterbodies monitored in Waccamaw River HUC 03040206 in the Lumber Basin for basinwide assessment, 2001 and 2006 ............................................................................................. 4. Waterbodies monitored in Long Bay/Atlantic Ocean HUC 03040208 in the Lumber River basin for basinwide assessment, 2001 and 2006 .............................................................................. LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Geographical relationships of the Lumber River basin in North Carolina and South Carolina.......... 2. Geographical relationships and physiographic regions of the Lumber River basin in North Carolina .................................................................................................................................... 3. Sampling sites in Lumber River HUC 03040203 in the Lumber River basin..................................... 4. Sampling sites in Little Pee Dee River HUC 03040204 in the Lumber River basin .......................... 5. Sampling sites in Waccamaw River HUC 03040206 in the Lumber River basin............................... 6. Sampling sites in the Long Bay/Atlantic Ocean HUC 03040208 in the Lumber River basin............. NCDENR, Division of Water Quality Basinwide Assessment Report - Lumber River Basin - April 2006 5 BASIN DESCRIPTION The Lumber River basin lies along the North Carolina/South Carolina border at the southeast corner of the state (Figure 1). It is composed of four major drainage areas or watersheds: the Lumber River, the Little Pee Dee River headwaters, the Waccamaw River, and the coastal area rivers. The basin extends about 150 miles from the Sand Hills ecoregion in southern Moore and Montgomery counties to the Atlantic Ocean coastline in Brunswick County. Streams and rivers in the basin, except for the Lockwoods Folly and Shallotte Rivers, flow southwest into South Carolina and are tributaries of the Great Pee Dee River. The Great Pee Dee River flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Georgetown, South Carolina. Figure 1. Geographical relationships of the Lumber River basin in North Carolina and South Carolina. There are 2,283 miles of freshwater streams in the basin, 90% of which are supplementally classified as swamp waters. There are also 4,800 acres of waters along the coast that are classified as salt waters, about 90% of which are classified as SA. Most of the basin is forested (about 60%) or in agriculture (about 30%). The basin encompasses an area of 3,343 square miles in all or part of 10 counties including Brunswick, Columbus, Bladen, Robeson, Cumberland, Hoke, Scotland, Richmond, Moore and Montgomery. Larger municipalities include Lumberton, Laurinburg, Southern Pines, Pinehurst and Whiteville. The dividing line between the Sand Hills and the Coastal Plain is located along a subtle escarpment called the Coats Scarp, which extends through central Hoke, Scotland, and northern Cumberland counties. The Sand Hills are located northwest of the line and the Coastal Plain is located to the southeast (Figure 2). Recent ecoregion delineations for North Carolina further subdivide the coastal plain, providing a basis for assessing differences in biological communities and water chemistry attributes. NCDENR, Division of Water Quality Basinwide Assessment Report - Lumber River Basin - April