Roanoke Sound Estuary

1. Roanoke Sound
Estuary
Kella Randolph M. Ed.

2. Roanoke Sound Estuary
• Location
– Importance
– Plant life
– Animal life
– Rivers, streams and other waterways
– Threats to the Roanoke Sound Estuary

3. The Roanoke Sound Estuaryroanoke.com

4. Where is the
Roanoke River Basin?
The Roanoke river basin is one of
6 major watersheds that drain into
the Albemarle-Pamlico estuary.
Like the Chowan and Pasquotank
river basins, the Roanoke river
basin extends between North
Carolina and Virginia.
Photo courtesy of
http://www.roanokeriverpartners.
org/pf-home.aspx

5. What is an
estuary?
Each estuary is unique in its own
way. An estuary is defined as a
partially enclosed coastal body of
water, having an open connection
with the ocean (for example, via a
river), where freshwater from inland
is mixed with saltwater from the sea.
Estuaries typically occupy coastal
areas where effects from the ocean
are reduced but still influential.
Forces like tides, waves, and major
storms from the sea play a vital role
in an estuary’s development and
morphology as they provide energy
to help mix the fresh and salt waters
and distribute sediments. This
mixing creates a brackish (slightly
salty) environment where the salinity
in the water is between 0.5 and 30
grams of salt per liter, or 0.5 to 30
parts per thousand (ppt or ‰).
http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/5
44 Photo from Roanoke.com

6. Life all around
The rivers that feed the estuaries
deposit sediments rich in nutrients,
which settle onto the sand and
mud of the estuary floor. These
conditions create unique habitats
for both plants and animals, and
provide an environment for
biological diversity in species (of
fish, shrimp, crabs, clams and
oysters) that are able to adapt to
the brackish conditions. Estuaries
are also good nurseries as they
provide a place for these species
to hatch and grow before they
migrate to the sea to live out their
adult lives. Photo courtesy of
Creative commons

7. North Carolina’s
Barrier Islands
The barrier islands strung along
the coast of North Carolina have
created an extensive system of
estuaries, with a surface water
area of about 3,000 square miles.
The only larger estuarine system in
the United States is Chesapeake
Bay.
http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages
/544

8. Fertilizer and animal waste runs off and into
the estuaries, causing pollution.

9. Importance of the Roanoke Sound Estuary
• As the water drains from the mountains and the Piedmont of
Virginia and North Carolina, it carries sediment downstream and
spreads a blanket of rich soil on the forest floor. This cycle
creates farmland for soybean, cotton, corn, tobacco, and
peanuts.
• Although not as plentiful as before the dam was installed in the
1950s, there are striped bass, herring, and other anadromous fish
(fish that live in the ocean, but swim upriver to spawn in in the
freshwater habitat where they were hatched.
http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/apnep/roanoke

10. Plants of the
Roanoke Sound
Estuary
Top left to right
Mangrove forest, Seagrass,
Saltwort, Cordgrass,
Pickleweed, Venus Fly Trap,
and thousands more!
Photos from Creative
Commons

11. Birds, fish and animals of the
Roanoke Sound Estuary
• The Roanoke estuary habitat has the state’s largest population of
white-tailed deer, wild turkey, and black bear.
• At least 220 species of birds live in the Roanoke floodplain,
including 88 resident species making this the highest density of
nesting birds anywhere in the state.
• More than 235 square miles of bottomland and cypress-tupelo
forest grow along the banks of the Roanoke River.
http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/apnep/roanoke

13. Waterways of the Roanoke Sound Estuary
• The Roanoke carries more water than any other North Carolina
river. It has the widest floodplain as well-up to five miles in some
places. http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/apnep/roanoke
• The Roanoke River begins in the Blue Ridge Mountains of
southwestern Virginia and ends where it meets the Albemarle
Sound. The North Carolina part of the basin has two major parts:
the Dan River and its tributaries in the western section and the
Roanoke River in the eastern section. As the Roanoke River flows
from the foothills, across the “fall line” and on to the flat Coastal
Plain, it changes from narrow and fast to broad and slow.
http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/apnep/roanoke

14. Threats to the Roanoke Sound Estuary
• Destruction of aquatic habitat is the most prevalent water quality
issue in the basin. Polluted water from storm runoff and from land
use practices such as agriculture, forestry and construction
dump high levels of dioxin, selenium and mercury into the
estuary. This is absorbed by fish, killing many and making them
unsafe for humans to eat. In may 2011 the Roanoke River was
placed on America’s Most Endangered Rivers list by the
conservation organization American Rivers.
http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/apnep/roanoke

16. Threats to the Roanoke Sound Estuary
• Excessive Nutrients
• Toxic Materials
• Erosion and Sedimentation
• Habitat Loss

17. Excessive Nutrients
• Nutrients are substances which help plants and animals grow. Two
nutrients, nitrogen and phosphorous, are present in plant fertilizer and
wastes from animals and people. Rain can wash fertilizer from lawns
and fields into streams and the Sounds. This type of pollution is called
"nonpoint source" since it does not come from a single point, but it is
from water running off a large land area. Sewage treatment plants and
leaky septic systems can also add nutrients to the water. When
pollution comes from a single point, such as an outfall pipe, it is called
"point source" pollution.
• When too many nutrients get into the water, they disturb the natural
balance by allowing too much algae (microscopic plants) to grow. The
algae cloud the water and block vital sunlight to underwater plants
(submerged aquatic vegetation or SAV). When the algae die and decay,
they use up much of the oxygen needed by fish and shellfish, often
killing them. https://www.fws.gov/nc-es/edout/albewhatwrong.html

18. Toxic Chemicals
• Toxics are chemicals that can cause cancer (carcinogens) or other
harmful effects. Their effects can be immediate such as a poison, or
occur very slowly such as with cancer. Streams and rivers are very
effective at hiding the effects of poisons. Often the fish that are killed
are not seen. They may be small and hard to see or eaten by turtles,
snakes, crabs, or other scavengers. Modern pesticides (i.e., chemicals
used to kill animals, insects, or plants) used on lawns and fields are very
poisonous but, fortunately, they break down much more quickly than
older pesticides such as DDT. Because these modem pesticides are
toxic they should not be used near rivers or streams or along roads with
storm drains which lead to a stream. Cancer-causing substances enter
our rivers from municipal sewage treatment plants or industrial
discharges and sometimes from nonpoint source discharges. Although
we are usually exposed to low concentrations of carcinogens, there are
thousands of cancer-causing agents. The cumulative effects of these
agents is not fully understood. https://www.fws.gov/nc-
es/edout/albewhatwrong.html

19. Erosion and Sedimentation
• Every time it rains around the Albemarle-Pamlico watershed, water
erodes the land. The precious soil which washes away into
streams is called sediment. Sediments are carried downstream
and may eventually enter the Sounds, where they settle out of the
water and cover the bottom.
• Sediments can harm Sound life in several ways. Sediment
particles pick up toxic materials on their surface and concentrate
them on the bottom of the Sound. Floating or suspended
sediment clouds the water, cutting off light to SAV. Excess
sediment smothers clams, oysters, and other bottom dwellers.
• https://www.fws.gov/nc-es/edout/albewhatwrong.html

20. Loss of Habitat
• An animal s habitat is its home. Habitat provides shelter, food, water,
and space. As more and more people come to live and work around the
Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds, more and more habitat is being lost.
Some animals, such as squirrels, can adapt to these changes and learn
to coexist with humans. But many others, such as black bears, bald
eagles, and black ducks, do not adapt well to change. Habitat damage
and loss can decrease a population of plants or animals or even cause
extinction.
• Wetlands, one of the most important types of habitat, are threatened all
around the Albemarle-Pamlico watershed. They are filled in for
development, drained for agriculture, or dredged for marinas. Pollution
has degraded water quality in the Sounds and their rivers, resulting in
declines of important SAV and scallops.
• https://www.fws.gov/nc-es/edout/albewhatwrong.html

21. Where are these problems coming from?
• City Sewage Treatment Plants:
Due to an increase in population, many sewage treatment plants receive more wastewater than they have
been designed to handle. Often this leads to discharge of poorly treated sewage into our rivers and
streams.
• Industry:
Treating wastewater to the extent that it does not harm the environment takes a special effort. Certain
industries do excellent jobs of cleaning their wastewater, but others do not. Since industries release tens
of millions of gallons of wastewater into our rivers every day, proper treatment is essential.
• Agriculture and Forestry:
Farms and forestry operations that allow sediment or pesticides to enter our rivers and streams, or that
infringe upon wetlands, damage our estuary.
• Development:
Runoff during construction and from parking lots should be controlled to prevent erosion.
Wetland areas should be preserved; they do not make good locations for homes and shopping
centers.
• Consumers:
Most environmental problems are ultimately caused by the consumer. Industry and business must make a
profit to provide jobs. We, as individuals, can help by doing our share. We can buy environmentally sound
products such as brown paper; do without immaculate lawns which require fertilizers and pesticides; and
do not waste water.
• https://www.fws.gov/nc-es/edout/albewhatwrong.html

22. How can I help?
• The Sounds depend on us for life just as we depend on the Sounds. Therefore, it is extremely important that we exercise
great care with our actions. We must become responsible citizen caretakers of the Albemarle-Pamlico watershed in order
to restore and preserve our natural neighborhood.
• Conserve water. Take short showers; run dish and clothes washers only when full; and place a plastic bottle in the toilet
tank to reduce the amount of water flushed.
• Make certain your septic system is working well and is not overflowing.
• Use household chemicals and pesticides carefully. Choose the least toxic material, and buy only what you need. Follow
instructions, and dispose of leftovers carefully.
• Plant vegetation along streams to prevent soil erosion and to absorb excess nutrients from fertilizers.
• Recycle used oil, paper, aluminum cans, and glass.
• Use a sewage pump-out station on land to empty boat toilets.
• Observe posted boat speed limits. Large wakes from boats can erode shorelines and banks.
• Clean up debris and trash from a local stream to improve stream flow and water quality.
• https://www.fws.gov/nc-es/edout/albewhatwrong.html

23. Resources
• http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/544
• http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/estuaries/page-4
• http://www.eenorthcarolina.org/images/River%20Basin%20Imag
es/final_web_roanoke.pdf
• http://www.learnnc.org/search?phrase=Roanoke+Sound
• http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/estuaries/estuarie
s03_ecosystem.html