News

Pamlico-Tar Riverkeeper Katey Zimmerman joined members of East Carolina University’s WaterCorps team in the field last week to scout for monitoring opportunities.

With North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s decision on the Martin Marietta Materials mining permit expected in the coming weeks, the team was on the lookout for ideal locations for an upcoming benthic macroinvertebrate survey.

Benthic macroinvertebrates are, essentially, aquatic bugs whose presence determines just how healthy a creek is. A survey of what bugs are present creates a baseline for stream impacts experienced once mining begins at the 649-acre limestone pit mine in Vanceboro. The permit, as proposed, would allow Martin Marietta Materials to discharge up to 12 million gallons of fresh water per day into the brackish headwaters of Blounts Creek, which could change the pH of the water and, therefore, the species that can survive in it, according to experts.

A survey to compare benthic macroinvertebrate populations will be used in comparison to populations in the future, but first, the team had to identify some buggy places by rummaging by hand through leaf litter.

“The parameters we look for in a good benthic survey site are: water being present, because in dry periods and during winter months, lots of those headwater tributaries tend to dry out, and some indication of flow, like riffles in the water — because the benthic critters need oxygen,” Katey said. “While we were out there, we did find evidence of life, like amphipods and dragonfly nymphs. This bodes well for our success in finding a somewhat biodiverse population of benthic macros when we’re using the proper equipment and after a good bit of rain.” 

Read more about Sound Rivers’ 14-year battle to Save Blounts Creek here or listen to the podcast episode “The Story of Blounts Creek” here!