3.5  Cape Fear River Subbasin 03-06-18
Includes the South River and Big Creek
Municipalities: Cities of Dunn and Roseboro

 
LCFRP Station Codes (DWQ #):  SR (62)
DWQ/UNCW ambient monitoring site(s):  none
Waterbody:  South River
Location:  Harnett, Cumberland, Bladen and Sampson Counties.
 South River upstream of confluence with the Black River
Lat/Lon:  N    35.15600   W  78.64013  (SR)
               

Use Support Ratings, from NCDENR, DWQ (Cape Fear River Basinwide Water Quality Plan, July 2000): 
Freshwater Streams
Fully Supporting:                   165.9 mi.
Partially Supporting:             0.0 mi.
Not Supporting:                     0.0 mi.
Not Rated:                              113.7 mi.

        This subbasin is located on the inner coastal plain and includes South River and Black River (Little Black River), both major tributaries of the Cape Fear River.  Land use is primarily agriculture in the form of animal operations (mostly hog farms).  Most streams are slow moving black-water swamp streams.  There are three permitted dischargers within this subbasin.  (NCDENR, DWQ Cape Fear River Basinwide Water Quality Plan, July 2000)

        The South River (7.2 miles from source to NC 13) and the Little Black River (from Dunn to I-95) were both rated as partially supporting (PS) in the 1996 plan.  Neither river was sampled by DWQ because of low flow conditions, each is currently not rated (NR).  Both remain on the state’s year 2000 303(d) list.  Portions of the South River are not impaired; however, because of fish consumption advisories, this 70.9-mile segment is on the 303(d) list.  (NCDENR, DWQ Cape Fear River Basinwide Water Quality Plan, July 2000)

        All the waters of the subbasin are affected by nonpoint sources.  The Nature Conservancy has acquired a 295-acre tract in the Black River Watershed Outstanding Resource Waters (ORW) to demonstrate how the riparian buffer protects the river from nonpoint source pollution.  (NCDENR, DWQ Cape Fear River Basinwide Water Quality Plan, July 2000)

UNC-Wilmington – Center for Marine Science, LCFRP
Station Names:  SR
Data collection:  since February 1996
Sampling relevance:  Below City of Dunn, hog operations in watershed  

    
                          SR - below the Mingo Swamp

        South River (SR) was found to be poor quality for dissolved oxygen concentrations.  The North Carolina State Standard of 5.0 mg/L was not met 42% of the time, and the swampwater standard of 4.0 mg/L was not 33% of the time.  The lowest levels were found in late summer and early fall, with October of 2002 having the lowest value of 0.4 mg/L.  The mean for this site for 2002-2003 was 5.8 mg/L.  The values for the 2002-2003 dissolved oxygen concentrations are represented graphically in Figure 3.5.1.

        This site was found to be good quality for chlorophyll a, with only one sample exceeding the 40 mg/L North Carolina State Standard.

        SR was rated as fair quality for fecal coliform bacteria concentrations, exceeding the NC State Standard of 200 CFU/100mL in 25% of all samples.  The highest concentrations were in September and October 2002, measuring 500 CFU/100mL and 560 CFU/100mL respectively.

        This site was found to be good quality in terms of turbidity, with no samples above the 50 NTU North Carolina State Standard.  This site had a mean turbidity value of 9 NTU for the 2002-2003 monitoring period.

Figure 3.5.1   Dissolved oxygen concentrations (mg/L) for South River (SR) for 
the 2002-2003 monitoring period.  The line shows the North Carolina State 
Standard of 5.0 mg/L and the dashed line shows the NC State Standard for 
swampwater of 4.0 mg/L.