Cape Tear
River
NC
WHY IS THIS WATERSHED SPECIAL?
The Cape Fear River watershed, North Carolina's
largest, includes 23 percent of the state's land area and
many of the state's most actively growing urban areas.
Home to 27 percent of the state's population, the area
supports jobs in a variety of industries, including both
manufacturing and agriculture. Almost 300 point source
dischargers share the basin with more than five million
head of swine. Growth rates currently exceed the
statewide average and water usage within the basin is
expected to increase nearly 95 percent by 2020.
ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES
• Twenty percent of the basin's waters are impaired.
• Jordan Lake experiences eutrophication due to
nutrient enrichment. Excess nutrients are also a
concern all along the river and may contribute to
the low dissolved oxygen in the estuary.
• Continued economic growth can potentially cause a
variety of problems associated with urban and
suburban development, such as erosion and nonpoint
source pollution. Accordingly, communities are
challenged with striking a balance between
strengthening stormwater management requirements
and supporting economically beneficial growth.
A farmer discusses a new animal waste management system that will help reduce
nutrient runoff. (Bob Nichols)
RESTORATION ACTIVITIES
The Cape Fear River Assembly will launch a water
quality trading program in the Jordan Lake watershed
of the Upper Cape Fear River Basin. Specifically,
they will:
• Design a trading program that will identify pollution
control responsibilities, control options, types of
management practices that should be considered for
defining credits, and protocols for debiting and
crediting transactions
• Examine combining traditional land management
practices with nonstructural management practices,
such as land banking, riparian buffers, and wetland
restoration
• Create economic incentives for developers to adopt
conservation development techniques such as low
impact development, clustering, and other
approaches that preserve open space and provide
more permeable surfaces
EPA's TARGETED WATERSHEDS GRANTS
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A STRONG PARTNERSHIP
FOR CHANGE
Formed in 1 973, the Cape Fear River Assembly is a
nonprofit organization governed by a 39-member
board of directors with equal representation from
industry, agriculture, public utilities, elected officials,
and environmental and conservation interests. They are
further supported in this project by six organizations:
• Upper Cape Fear River Basin Association
• Middle Cape Fear River Basin Association
• Sampson County Friends of Agriculture
• Fayetteville Public Works Commission
• Yarborough Law Firm
• Lower Cape Fear River Program
Morth Catollna
unset at the entrance to the Cape Fear River.
"apt. Albert E. Theberge, NOAA Corps (Ret.)
"Watersheds are waters shared, a shared resource and a shared responsibility.
Accordingly, this resource can be best managed as a team effort. If the rivers were the
circulatory system in the body called North Carolina, then the Cape Fear River system
would be the coronary artery."
- Don Freeman, Cape Fear River Assembly
www.epa .gov/twg
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