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The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality has confirmed what a Sound Rivers investigation revealed months ago: a source along Wolf Pit Branch is behind the pollution of Slocum Creek in Havelock.

“DEQ finally went out and did their own sampling, and their sample results indicate there’s a hotspot far up Wolf Pit Branch, adjacent to the community that we have suspected the pollution may be coming from,” said Neuse Riverkeeper Samantha Krop.

Samantha and Sound Rivers Water Quality Specialist Taylor Register, with a few assists from Pamlico-Tar Riverkeeper Katey Zimmerman, narrowed down the source of pollution in February, travelling via kayak to collect water samples upstream and downstream of Slocum Creek’s tributaries. By process of elimination, they identified Wolf Pit Branch as the entry point of elevated levels of bacteria into the popular recreational creek and Havelock’s only access to the Neuse River.

“DEQ actually conducted their own round of bacteria sampling in Slocum Creek, specifically focusing on Wolf Pit Branch, and their findings were fully in line with what we expected,” Taylor said.

As the Sound Rivers team suspected, NCDEQ’s results point to a direct source in an older neighborhood. Whether it’s failing septic systems or sewage being straight-piped into the stream remains unclear.

“The bacteria levels we see downstream are what’s left over after it travels to the main stem of Slocum Creek,” Taylor said.

That leftover bacteria has caused the Slocum Creek Swim Guide site to fail to meet recreational water-quality standards every week since testing started Memorial Day weekend this year, and the Slocum Creek site failed 12 of 14 times during last year’s Swim Guide season.

“The NCDEQ team was able to sample much farther upstream than what we’ve been able to and found that the bacteria levels there were about eight times higher than their downstream sample, which was also high and failing,” Taylor said.

The difference in the numbers comes down to nature.

“Where Wolf Pit Branch meets Slocum Creek, there’s a lot of wetlands there,” Samantha said. “What this says is, during dry times, there’s still very elevated levels of bacteria where the source is, but it takes rain to kick it all down stream. This is what it looks like from the data. And it looks like wetlands are doing what wetlands are supposed to do, which is cleaning the water.”

Sound Rivers has been working closely with staff from the Craven County Health Department to distribute materials and resources for septic repairs to all the homes along Wolf Pit Branch. According to Taylor, there has been no response from the first round of mailers sent out to residents of the neighborhood, so the group is now brainstorming other ways to engage the community: door knocking, looking into previous repair permits and following-up with homeowners among them.

Samantha said NCDEQ has not indicated whether staff will do more sampling in the area and have not shared any further actions planned to address the issue.

“But we are hopeful we’re on the right track to getting these systems repaired and getting Slocum Creek in a healthier state for the community to enjoy,” Taylor said.

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