What's Getting Into the Water?

Follow the Neuse River upstream from the coast and you'll pass through some of the most intensively farmed land in the state. By the time it reaches Pamlico Sound, it carries fertilizers and animal waste that trigger algal blooms — overgrowths of algae that suck oxygen out of the water and suffocate fish. These "dead zones" have caused some of the largest fish kills ever recorded on the East Coast.

image of the pamlico river with a green sheen over it caused by an algal bloom — The top image shows the Pamlico River during an algal bloom, the bottom shows it in its normal condition.

image of the pamlico river — The top image shows the Pamlico River during an algal bloom, the bottom shows it in its normal condition.

Meanwhile, the Cape Fear River faces a different threat: PFAS, or "forever chemicals," traced to a manufacturing facility upstream, have shown up in drinking water near Wilmington — sparking a public health crisis that's still unresolved.

And from the other direction? The sea is rising — faster here than the global average. Saltwater is pushing inland, killing riverside forests and leaving behind eerie "ghost forests" of standing dead trees stretching across eastern NC.

Next: Human Impact →