News

A new Sound Rivers Water Quality Monitoring Fund was established in memory of Gene Pate to preserve the long-term health and vitality of the Pamlico and Neuse River watersheds and the families who live, work and recreate in the communities that he loved.

The Water Quality Fund will allow Sound Rivers to expand sampling programs to include pollutants currently too expensive to monitor, such as algal bloom toxins, PFAS (also known as forever chemicals) and microplastics.

“The generous gift that made this fund possible will enhance Sound Rivers’ ability to do work that is vital to our mission,” said executive Director Heather Deck. “Water quality testing helps Sound Rivers determine the causes of things like fish kills, toxic algal blooms, and other issues so that we can work to eliminate those sources of pollution.”

As climate change warms our rivers, the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water drops, stressing the ecosystem. Sadly, fish kills are becoming ever more common in warm months, and in this new normal, it is crucial to minimize all other stresses on the environment. This new fund comes at a vital time, and the work it will support enhances Sound Rivers’ ability to protect the waters we all love. Additionally, the work supported by the fund will provide valuable data that researchers will be able to use in an era where funding cuts at universities have limited scientific inquiry.

The fund will also ensure that Swim Guide monitoring at locations in the Tar-Pamlico and Neuse watersheds can continue for many years. Each summer, Sound Rivers’ Neuse and Pamlico-Tar Riverkeepers work with interns and volunteers to monitor water quality sites for harmful bacteria weekly from late May through the end of August. As soon as results of Swim Guide monitoring are available, Sound Rivers publicizes them in a variety of locations to help people make informed decisions about water recreation.

Gene Pate was born and raised in Kinston and practiced medicine there for his entire career. As a physician, he was invested in the health of the community and he also kept a sailboat for many years in Oriental. He spent much of his time at a family home on the Pamlico, and he loved to reminisce about his years as a counselor at Camp Leach and his time on the river with family during his youth.

Pamlico-Tar Riverkeeper Jill Howell and Environmental Projects Coordinator Clay Barber will be paddling the length of the Tar River on their first “Tour de Tar” from October 7th – 17th, to bring awareness to the beauty of the river, and the threats it faces. They’re asking the public to consider making a sponsorship gift in honor of their paddle during the month of October – all Tour de Tar sponsorship gifts will benefit the new Water Quality Monitoring Fund.

[imic_button colour=”btn-primary” type=”enabled” link=”https://soundrivers.org/tourdetar/” target=”_blank” extraclass=”” size=””]LEARN MORE AND SPONSOR THE TOUR DE TAR HERE[/imic_button]