Not all algal blooms are considered harmful, but the right mix of warmth and nutrients can yield a funky blue-green slime that is potentially toxic to humans, their pets and marine life.
water quality
Researcher to Study Eastern NC Lakes
A UNC researcher is set to study water storage in eastern North Carolina lakes with the help of state residents and NASA.
Officials Eye Water Quality As Floods Recede
Rivers have crested and begun to recede in the week and a half since rain from Hurricane Matthew inundated the eastern part of the state, but officials are unsure about the nasty stuff that’s heading downstream.
Estuaries: Protection and Restoration
North Carolina’s valuable estuaries face a number of threats and water quality has been diminished by pollution and development, but efforts to protect and restore these coastal areas could yield big returns.
There’s a New Sheriff in Town
Larry Baldwin, the new Crystal Coast Waterkeeper, intends to keep an eye out for polluters and other threats to coastal waters in and around Carteret County.
Oyster Workshop: A Meeting of the Minds
Experts gathered in Beaufort to talk about the best ways to restore and enhance North Carolina’s oyster populations and water quality.
Some WWII Wrecks Could Still Leak Oil
Thirty-six sunken merchant ships — many sunk by German U-boats during the Battle of the North Atlantic — may still contain oil and could threaten marine resources.
Budget Cuts Threaten Cleanup at Old Base
A would-be beach access that Dare County has eyed since the Coast Guard abandoned its oceanfront base in Buxton eight years ago is apparently still a distant dream, as environmental cleanup of contaminants has yet to begin.
Students Get Dirty for Oysters, Clean Water
Students at John T. Hoggard High School in Wilmington braved nasty weather last week to get their hands dirty and help create cleaner waters and a more stable shoreline at Oak Island.
Protecting Those Special Places Along the Coast
The N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund has spent about $255 million along the the N.C. coast. Here are just a few of the places that money has protected.
From Polluting Sewer Plant to City Showcase
Riverworks at Sturgeon City in Jacksonville is a memorial to how one community pulled together to reverse the devastation caused by years of dumping sewage into Wilson Bay.
Major Restoration Project Takes Shape in Hyde
Farmers in Hyde County are joining environmentalists to in a massive effort to improve water quality and hydrology, protect wetlands and create shorebird habitat.
Mine Discharge Could Affect Blounts Creek
Martin Marietta Materials wants to pump about 9 million gallons of water a day from a proposed limestone quarry in Beaufort County into a creek that feeds the Pamlico River.
Federal Cuts Threaten Beach-Testing Program
North Carolina would likely have to cut by more than half the number of coastal swimming beaches that it routinely tests for contamination if the EPA follows through with a plan to eliminate federal grants for the monitoring.
