Cape Fear Watershed
The state's largest watershed gets a majority of its water from the Cape Fear River, supplying water for roughly 1.5 million residents. (6)
The Cape Fear River Basin is the only watershed that is entirely contained within North Carolina's borders. The Deep River, Haw River, and Rocky Rivers converge in Chatham County to create the Cape Fear River. The Cape Fear River ends near Southport, North Carolina and empties into about 32,000 acres of estuary, where the southern portion contributes to the Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway. (6)
The basin covers roughly 9,300 square miles and " includes all or portions of 26 counties and 2000 population of about 3.6 million is projected to grow to roughly 5.2 million by 2020." (6)
Best known for the Hollywood film noir by the same name, the Cape Fear River is aptly called this due to its location "at the southern tip of Smith Island, the site of dangerous shoals." (3)
The Cape Fear River is 191.08 miles long and has a watershed covering more than 9000 square miles. It is a blackwater river that flows from central to southeastern North Carolina. From the formation of the Cape Fear River to its mouth, the altitude changes from 161 feet to 13 feet. (1)
Tributaries | Counties | Main Cities |
|---|---|---|
Gulf Creek | Chatham | Moncure |
Buckhorn Creek | Bladen | Wilmington |
Parkers Creek | Brunswick | Greensboro |
Avents Creek | Columbus | Durham |
Hector Creek | Cumberland | Chapel Hill |
Neills Creek | Harnett | Fayetteville |
Dry Creek | Lee | |
New Hanover | ||
Pender |
The Cape Fear River contains a fifth of the state's population and is the state's most industrialized river. (1)
Counties that are a part of the Cape Fear Watershed.
The Cape Fear River is integral to the success of industrialization and the agricultural sector. For example, Duplin and Sampson counties have the largest swine operations in the state, with 4.4 million hogs and pigs due to their use of the River. "These operations are estimated to produce 40 percent of the state’s total wet swine waste, creating major hazards for the communities that have been living with these operations and problems for the Cape Fear." (1)
Though the Cape Fear River is mainly used as a source for drinking water, it is also used to be the only inland commercial navigation. However, barges have not been on the river in more than a decade due to its largely disruptive navigation locks that facilitated barge traffic. "The locks significantly alter the river from Fayetteville to the tidal zone impairing ecological functions of the lower river and are major impediments to fish, blocking access to the habitat of migratory fish." (1)
Overall, the River is vital for its many ecological services: food and water sources, industrial services, transportation, and recreation.
This map focuses on Smith Creek, Burnt Mills Creek, and the Northeast Cape Fear River.
A watershed within a watershed:
Because the Cape Fear River watershed covers such a large area, this map will focus on Smith Creek, Burnt Mills Creek, and the Northeast Cape Fear River. There are many permitted dischargers in the area. Still, the five that are located closest to their water sources are Smith Creek Boatyard, Corbett Plywood Corp., AAI Pharma Services Corp., United Parcel Service, and the Wilmington International Airport. (4)
Water Body: | Type: | Condition: | 303d Listed: | Uses: | Plans for Restoration: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Burnt Mills Creek | Stream | Impaired | Yes | Aquatic Life | No |
Smith Creek | Stream | Good | No | Aquatic Life Swimming Boating | No |
Northeast Cape Fear River | Estuary | Good | No | Aquatic Life Swimming Boating | No |
Latest information is from 2022. (4)
Discharger: | Permit Type: | Permit Status: | Violations within 3 years: | Inspections in the last 5 years: | Formal Enforcement Action in the last 5 years: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Smith Creek Boatyard | General Permit Covered Facility | Effective | No | Yes | No |
Corbett Plywood Corp. | General Permit Covered Facility | Effective | No | No | No |
AAI Pharma Services Corp. | General Permit Covered Facility | Effective | No | Yes | No |
United Parcel Service | General Permit Covered Facility | Effective | No | No | No |
Wilmington Intl. Airport | General Permit Covered Facility | Effective | No | No | No |
5 closest permitted dischargers near one of the 3 bodies of water listed. (4)
Water Quality
The Cape Fear River's most prevalent environmental issue is pollution, from both point and nonpoint sources. Nutrient runoff from farms and urban areas, river bank erosion combined with suspended solids are especially damaging to the River's water quality. There was an increase in suspended solids from Hurricane Florence in 2018.
PFAS
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a manmade chemical mainly used for water resistant or nonstick materials. Once released into the environment, these "forever chemicals" are extremely difficult to remove and can cause adverse and even fatal health effects. (5)
Chemours discharging waste into the Cape Fear River, where it flows downstream.
Chemours, a subsidy of DuPont, has been faulted with the dangerous release of PFAS, particularly GenX, into the Cape Fear River. Contaminating both the water and aquatic life, the effects have been extremely toxic.
In 2019, "Chemours, N.C. DEQ and Cape Fear River Watch signed a consent order, which required Chemours to, among other things, develop and execute a PFAS remediation plan for contaminated air, soil and water for the lower Cape Fear River Basin communities that were affected." (2) Though Chemours has been ordered to clean up the community, there is still a long way to go.
Declining Fish Populations
The decrease in water quality coupled with bridges and dams blocking fish from swimming upstream to spawn, which has led to smaller fish populations. Aquatic habitats have been damaged or destroyed from commercial building and pollution. As a result, "NOAA helped form the Cape Fear River Partnership in 2011." (7) This partnership is made up of "federal, state, local, academic, utility, businesses, and non-profit partners working toward restoring and demonstrating the value of robust, productive, and self-sustaining stocks of migratory fish in the Cape Fear River." (7)
The Cape Fear River is an expansive river, providing a crucial water source for over a million people. Caring for its water quality is not only an important environmental issue, but a human rights one as well; everyone deserves access to clean water.
