News

For more than two years, Sound Rivers has been working to identify the source of, and stop, the ongoing pollution of Slocum Creek, a much-loved tributary of the Neuse River in Havelock.

Working with the City of Havelock and Craven County, North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and University of North Carolina, the sources have been identified, according to the Neuse Riverkeeper Samantha Krop, and efforts to resolve the issue will continue, thanks to a grant from the North Carolina Land and Water Fund.

“This will allow us to continue monitoring and planning and working toward solutions, so that’s good news. We’re really looking forward to continuing that work with the grant’s support and that of our partners at UNC,” Samantha said. “We’d also like to give a huge thanks to the City of Havelock, which offered matching funds to demonstrate how much they value Slocum Creek as a water resource and recreational asset.”

The bad news is that the pollution problems persist, she said.

“We are aware of a number of septic system failures that are ongoing in Wolf Pit Branch and the west prong of Slocum Creek,” Samantha said. “One we identified through our source tracking has been issued a notice of violation by the county but is still out of compliance. Though the property owner does have a permit for the repair, they have not scheduled or taken steps to pursue the repair.”

The other contributor to the pollution is a series of septic system failures that have occurred at the Greenfield Heights Mobile Home community — failures that have resulted in sewer backflow and contamination on that site.

“The county has also issued NOVs to the owner of the mobile home park, however, those issues continue to be unresolved as of now,” she said.

Samantha said she is working with the property owner to apply for technical assistance through the EPA’s CAWAG (Closing America’s Wastewater Access Gap) grant program.

“If we get that funding, that will assist in creating a forward-thinking wastewater management plan for the entire mobile home park,” she said. “The big takeaway here is that many of our low-income communities continue to struggle with failing septic infrastructure and the lack of available resources to fund necessary repairs. We believe that it’s the responsibility of our counties and state governments to work together to create grant funding for low-income communities, so they can address these problems and protect our waterways from septic pollution.”

Like the work your Riverkeeper is doing to stop the pollution of Slocum Creek? We certainly do! Donate today to support a clean Slocum Creek!