News

A homeowner’s repair to a septic system spells good news for Slocum Creek in Havelock.

“We had suspected that failing septic systems have been the main cause of elevated bacteria levels in Wolf Pit Branch for years now,” said Neuse Riverkeeper Samantha Krop. “It was our looking into the area more closely that got the attention on this particular property, and that got the ball running.”

Samantha worked with Craven County Health Department to review and identify those systems in need of repair, after three years of water-quality testing — first identified through Sound Rivers’ Swim Guide — revealed an ongoing pollution problem. Further DNA testing confirmed the source was human, and through process of elimination, the Riverkeeping team identified Wolf Pit Branch as a major source.

“In this case, it did take some time, but the repair did finally happen last month,” Samantha said. “In the process of making the repair, a straight pipe was identified going straight from the septic system into Wolf Pit Branch. There was visibly toilet paper at the end of that straight pipe, so it was clearly discharging raw sewage into Wolf Pit Branch.”

Samantha said the issue has highlighted a need for a better system to identify septic systems in need of replacement or repair, as well as a need for funding to assist homeowners with making repairs if they the lack the resources to do so on their own.

“The way that our public infrastructure works, people can have a permit to do a replacement or repair, but that can take a long time, especially if money is a factor,” Samantha said.

Though the process needs improvement, Samantha considers this fix a win for Slocum Creek.

“That straight pipe has been removed, the system has been fixed and this is a major win for clean water in Wolf Pit Branch and Slocum Creek because one known issue has been taken off the map,” she said.

Sound Rivers, in partnership with the University of North Carolina’s Institute of Marine Sciences, continues water-quality sampling on Slocum Creek, courtesy of a North Carolina Land and Water Fund grant.

“Our water-quality sampling under our LWF work has been ongoing, and the last three rounds have been clean,” Samantha said. “We can’t claim that the fixing of this problem is why that’s happening, and need to do more targeted sampling to identify if there are other problems along Slocum Creek.”

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