Cape Fear River Basin
By: Jonathan Horutz Nicole Hamm
Description of River Basin:
The Cape Fear River Basin's mouth is at the Atlantic Ocean and the headwaters are the Deep River and the Haw River. There is 6,584 miles of streams and rivers. The population of the Cape Fear River Basin is 2,072,305 people. Fayettville, Wilmington, Cape Fear River, Haw River, and the B. Everett Jordan Dam all use the Cape Fear River Basin.
Storm water runoff is on of the non-point source pollution. It makes the water unsuitable for various aquatic species. Another non-point pollution is fertilizers and animal waste in runoff. This comes from lawns, urban developed areas, farm fields, and live-stock operations. A point source pollution is the locks and dams that the Corps of Engineers build and maintain. These dams ensure a minimum channel dept of 8 feet at the Cape Fear River. Another point source pollution is that there are oyster beds in the tidal basins and sludge from the industries gets washed into the beds. This damages and destroys the oyster beds.
We can reduce non-point pollution by reducing the use of fertilizers, pesticides, and other chemicals. We can get rid of dams or help the fish get repopulated in different areas to help reduce point source pollution.