Pasquotank River Basin
By Noah Fowler and Kayla Hackler
Location
The Pasquotank river basin is located in the North Carolina outer banks. A small part of the headwaters is located in Virginia and the rest is located in the outer banks. The mouth leads into the Dismal Swamp Canal.
Miles and population
The Pasquotank is 474 miles with ten river basins. The population of the area is 118,913 people.
Describing the river basin
It contains many tributaries such as the Alligator, Perquimans, Little, Yeopim, and North rivers. Too much copper and mercury in the water can cause the water to become toxic and give fish copper and mercury poisoning. Poisoning of fish tissue is the causes of impairment in the river. Mercury is a common element that becomes toxic if there is too much of it. This pollution is a non-point source, which means it has no obvious source of pollution. Another non-point source is the storm water discharge. Trash from streets can be moved by the rain into the drain pipes that flow into the water. The point source's are waste water treatment plants and storm water systems. A way to fix storm water discharge is to not litter. A way to fix waste water treatment is to allow the drainage to discharge at a different location.