Jurisdiction Map Here is a map of the White Oak-New Riverkeeper's area of responsibility. The purple area indicates exclusive area, the pink area indicates shared area with
Cape Lookout Coastkeeper , and the blue area indicates Cape Lookout Coastkeeper's exclusive area of responsibility.
Cape Lookout Coastkeeper is a program of
North Carolina Coastal Federation and we are most pleased to be working with them to protect the waters of the lower White Oak River.
Basin Information The White Oak River Basin is located on the central coast of
North Carolina
encompassing 1,263 square miles and having a total of 446 miles of rivers and
streams.
The waters of the White Oak River Basin are extremely diverse as are the
impacts upon them. Within this river basin are four separate river systems,
four counties, sixteen municipalities, two large military bases, over one
hundred concentrated animal feeding operations (hog and poultry), forty four
NPDES permitted direct discharges, the majority of which are waste water
treatment plants and thousands of septic systems.
Click above to view the interactive basin map!
Four separate river systems make up the White Oak River
Basin: the New, Newport, North, and the White Oak.
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Longest of the four river systems with the largest
watershed, the New River is the most severely
impacted by adverse forces. This unique river begins and ends in Onslow County
as it travels through many miles of farmland, black water swamps, three
municipalities and large unincorporated urban areas, as well as two major
military bases.
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The Newport River travels just over seventeen miles
long from its humble beginnings in the Croatan to a nearly three mile wide
river before emptying into Bogue Sound at Morehead City.
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The eighteen mile long tidal estuary, the North River, meanders through coastal croplands and
marshes into Core Sound.
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The 48 mile long White Oak River originates as a small
spring in the Hoffman Forest4 and travels through black water
swamps, farmland, abandoned rock quarries, and vast tidal marshes before
draining into Bogue Sound and the Atlantic Ocean.
About half of the White Oak River Basin consists of forests
and wetlands. The 500 square miles of
national forest and military land provide a degree of stability to the many
rare, endangered or protected plants, animals and birds such as the Venus
flytrap, American Alligator and red-cockaded woodpecker which are native. Within this very picturesque river basin grow
multiple unique stands of cypress and long-leaf pine while tidal marshes and
vast wetlands provide important nursery areas for freshwater and saltwater
marine fisheries. The high quality of
life provided by extensive natural resources is prized and valued by most
coastal plains residents.
List
of Rare Animals Associated with Aquatic or Wetland Habitats in the White Oak River Basin (September 2005).
Water quality continues to be
despoiled as more forests and wetlands are lost. Politically and financially powerful
interests control much of the state and local level policy, legislative, and
enforcement processes. The tactics are
classic and the results are irrefutable - the public trust gets violated for
profit. Within this climate of
exploitation, exploding coastal population growth, agricultural practices, and
weak infrastructure create an increasingly major threat to not only our water
quality, but to the basics of public health and welfare.
The White Oak River Basin is home to two large military
bases that are scheduled to increase their number of service members by over
11,000 in the next two years. It is estimated this growth will contribute to a
population increase within the river basin of between 50,000 to 60,000
residents. This rapid population growth
will increase urbanization throughout the river basin and is cause for great
concern.
Much of White Oak River Basin is devoted to row crops such
as corn, soybeans and wheat in addition to a considerable number of concentrated
animal feeding operations. Agricultural uses continue to cause significant soil
erosion and nutrient introduction. Concentrated animal feeding operations can
be found throughout the river basin. Many of these operations are located along
river and stream banks thus increasing their potential for severely reducing
water quality.
The soil compositions found
within the White Oak River Basin
vary from thick clay to completely sandy. As a result of the vastly differing
soils, waste water treatment is a major problem. Poorly designed and/or
maintained privately-owned, direct discharge waste water treatment plants and
hundreds, if not thousands, of failed septic systems are a cause of pollution now
inadequately addressed by regulatory agencies.
The rapid expansion of urban
areas, ever increasing acres of shellfish bottom being removed from harvesting
as a result of stormwater runoff, the large number of confined animal feeding
operations, substandard waste water treatment and the ever decreasing volume of
valuable wetlands are all serious problems facing the White Oak River Basin.