Topics Related to Water Resources

In certain waterways in North Carolina, the state requires residents and landowners to maintain riparian buffers or areas of vegetation. Specifically, there are six distinct areas with buffer protections in North Carolina: alongside the Catawba River and its mainstem lakes, in the Goose Creek watershed, in the Jordan Lake and Randleman Lake watersheds, and in the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico River basins. 

A report by North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality scientists and partners tracked changes in the types of plants growing in wetlands in the outer Coastal Plain of eastern North Carolina, finding gains in salt-tolerant species and losses of shrub and tree cover.

North Carolina has wetlands across the state – along the coast, in the mountains and in the Piedmont. The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Division of Water Resources has an interactive map showcasing 240 different publicly accessible wetlands across the state. Along with the online map, DWR has launched a printable Wetlands Passport to help the public locate those wetlands and learn more about them.

Jill Paxson and the DWR Estuarine Monitoring Team travel approximately 300 nautical miles of waterways in a month as they travel up and down streams, rivers and other waterways across the region to conduct sampling. Their domain extends to where the Chowan River empties into the Albemarle Sound, as well as where the Neuse and Pamlico rivers empties into the Pamlico Sound. They respond to harmful algal blooms and fish kills, and recently, even, a clam kill.

A preliminary assessment of insect communities in waterways of western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene demonstrated that in most waterbodies sampled, the variety of species as well as the number of each insect species was generally comparable to before the hurricane. It also identified a few waterways that had declines in the variety of insect species and abundances.

DWR employees working on the Walnut Creek Watershed Action Team received a letter of recognition from U.S. Rep. Deborah Ross, D-2nd, on May 15. This recognition was to congratulate the team on winning the 2024 Raleigh Environmental Stewardship Award on April 19 from the City of Raleigh’s Environmental Awards.

Nine educators were the first cohort of a new virtual education program by NC Stream Watch, an outreach and education program of the Division of Water Resources (DWR). The program offers information on water resource management. In addition, at the completion of the program, participating educators get access to a North Carolina science standards-aligned curriculum for teaching about water quality, quantity and the importance of conservation.

The DWR Ambient Monitoring System and Random Ambient Monitoring System programs provide data that keep track of water quality measures across North Carolina’s river basins.

DWR’s Aquatic Weed Control Program received permits from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (WRC) to stock sterile grass carp in certain lakes this spring in central and western North Carolina to control hydrilla, an invasive aquatic plant.

The DWR Water Resources Development Grant Program provides funding for water restoration projects and to boost access to water-based recreation resources across North Carolina.