New River (North Carolina) facts for kids
The New River is a 50-mile (80-km) long river in southeastern North Carolina in the United States. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean.
It rises in northwestern Onslow County and flows east-southeast past Jacksonville, where it widens into a tidal estuary approximately two miles (3.2 km) wide. As an estuary it meanders through Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune and enters the Atlantic in Onslow Bay, via the New River Inlet between two barrier islands.
The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway crosses the entrance of the river between the coast and the barrier island.
The river is periodically dredged for the convenience of commercial fishing operations. The New River Inlet exit into the ocean has been moved by man via dredging projects. Since the fishing industry and political gains are greater by continuing this dredging project, it is causing the southern island from the inlet to slowly disappear. Since the man made inlet was placed north of the island, the island has begun to wash away due to the changes in currents.
Hog Waste Pollution
The New River is the site of several environmentally damaging hog-waste spills due to the high concentration of large hog farms in North Carolina, which is the second highest hog producing state.
1999 Spill
In 1999, Hurricane Floyd hit North Carolina, flooding hog waste lagoons and releasing 25 million gallons of manure into the New River, which contaminated the water supply and cause widespread death of aquatic life. Ronnie Kennedy, county director for environmental health, said that of 310 private wells he had tested for contamination since the storm, 9 percent, or three times the average across eastern North Carolina, had fecal coliform bacteria. Normally, tests showing any hint of feces in drinking water, an indication that it can be carrying disease-causing pathogens, are cause for immediate action.
Failed Environmental Legislation
Attempts by environmentalists to impose stricter regulations over swine farm waste management in the state have failed. In 2005, Environmental Defense and Frontline Farmers drafted a bill, which would ban manure lagoons in North Carolina. The plan would gain sponsorship by Representative Carolyn Justice the Clean Hog Farms Act of 2005. However, the bill is altered, becoming Bill 1730 the Clean Hog Farms Act of 2005-2, which instead would provide incentives to hog farmers for switching to more environmental waste management technologies. Despite this change, the bill did not make it through the General Assembly of North Carolina.
