3.7  Cape Fear River Subbasin 03-06-20
Includes the Black River, Colly Creek and Moores Creek
Municipalities: Town of White Lake, Currie and Atkinson

 
LCFRP Station Codes (DWQ #):  COL (68), B210 (70), BBT
DWQ/UNCW ambient monitoring site(s):  none
Waterbody:  Creeks that drain into the Black River, draining swamp areas
Location:  Pender County, tributaries of the Black River, before confluence
with the Lower Cape Fear River
Lat/Lon:  N   34.46500    W   78.26553  (COL)  to
               N    34.35143    W    78.04927 (BBT)

Use Support Ratings, from NCDENR, DWQ (Cape Fear River Basinwide Water Quality Plan, July 2000): 
Freshwater Streams
Fully Supporting:                   142.5 mi.
Partially Supporting:             0.0 mi.
Not Supporting:                     0.0 mi.
Not Rated:                              35.7 mi.

        This subbasin is located in the coastal plain in Pender County.  The only permitted discharger within the subbasin is White Lake WWTP.  The characteristics of streams in this area are typically:  low geographic relief, low pH blackwaters, and a tendency for all but the largest rivers to stop flowing in the summer.  The Black River in this area has been classified as Outstanding Resource Waters (ORW).  (NCDENR, DWQ Cape Fear River Basinwide Water Quality Plan, July 2000) 

        Agriculture is the major land use, and nonpoint source pollution is a major problem throughout the subbasin, especially the tributaries.  Biological rating resulted in no streams being classified as impaired.  The water quality of this subbbasin appears to be generally good.  Due to the lack of flow in summer months, DWQ water quality monitoring assessments of tributaries were based on winter sampling.  (NCDENR, DWQ Basinwide Water Quality Plan, July 2000) 

UNC-Wilmington – Center for Marine Science, LCFRP
Station Names:  COL
Data collection:  February 1996 to present
Sampling relevance:  pristine swamp reference site  

 
         COL - blackwater stream, drains large swamp area 

   
      B210 - Black River, where Hwy 210 bridge passes over 

        Colly Creek was found to be good quality for dissolved oxygen concentrations.  B210 was rated as fair quality if measured by the NC State Standard of 5.0 mg/L, not meeting the standard in 25% of sampled months.  B210 was good quality for dissolved oxygen if measured by the swampwater standard of 4.0 mg/L.  BBT was rated as poor quality if using the 5.0 mg/L standard, but found to be good quality if measured by the swampwater 4.0 mg/L standard.  This area is affected by swampwater inputs and may have lower dissolved oxygen concentrations as a result of these inputs.

        Chlorophyll a concentrations were all low for the sites within this subbasin.  All stations were found to be good quality for chlorophyll a.  No sample exceeded the 40 mg/L North Carolina State Standard.

        Fecal coliform bacteria concentrations were generally low, and COL and B210 were good quality.  BBT samples were not analyzed for fecal coliform bacteria. 

        All three sites were found to be good quality for turbidity levels, not exceeding the North Carolina State Standard of 50 NTU.