The upper reaches of New River pass through several thousand acres of active agricultural land originally reclaimed from wetlands. Extensive drain tile systems were installed in these fields to move water from those fields into the New River. Most of this was accomplished in the late 1930s into the 1940s and virtually no record of locations exists. Unfortunately many of these drainage systems are still in place but have been subjected to considerable damage and deterioration. The damage to these drainage systems allows considerable sediment entry following even minimal rainfall. Locations of outfalls from these drainage systems are little known but must be located to initiate a sedimentation reduction effort. Another sedimentation source is massive coastal development on the freshwater creeks in the unincorporated Hubert to Sneads Ferry areas contiguous to the New River estuary. Stemming contaminants from these low lying lands with high groundwater tables is particularly important to the health of the adjacent shellfish beds.
The amount of New River sediment coursing to the coastal estuary presents a challenge that we are not winning. A decade ago the shoaling of the New River Inlet was mostly associated with tropical storm activity. We have not experienced severe weather events for a number of years, but severe shoaling now requires annual dredging of the inlet and many acres of shellfish bottom have been eliminated as a result of being covered in silt.
The White Oak River also travels through considerable agricultural land that was reclaimed from wetlands and forests. This reclamation has resulted in considerable sedimentation over the years and even though steps are underway to reduce this very serious source of pollution much more needs to be done.
As the land use along the shores of the White Oak and New Rivers rapidly changes from rural to urban the opportunities for non-point source sediment entry increase. Contractors and developers continue to follow the path of least resistance as they effectively oppose legislative safeguards and operate within a diffused, inadequate rulemaking and enforcement framework. Little incentive exists to reduce sediment and contaminant entry from construction sites by implementing best management practices. Existing rules are often ignored because the probability of detection is low and the penalty small.
