Water gurgles over moss-ridden rocks, weaves around discarded cans and skims over forgotten food packages. Tiny fish battle through white foam cups, while frogs leap around a surplus of papers.
This stream, Rocky Branch Creek, is like others on campus. While some are polluted, each stream is part of N.C. State and Raleigh’s water source.
And Robert Bruck, a professor of environmental science and technology, said this pollution doesn’t stay on campus. “Water run-off is from all non-point sources in a watershed,” Bruck said in an email. “When oil and antifreeze and transmission fluid drips and our tires break down from friction on our roads all of this is swept away by the rain – into storm drains and – in our case – into the Neuse River system. When too much fertilizer or pesticide is applied to a lawn or golf course and it rains heavily – again it runs off into the Neuse.”
Bruck said the water goes to the Neuse River and ultimately goes to the Pamlico Sound and the Atlantic Ocean.
Gary Blank, a professor in the department of forestry and environmental resources, named a few other destinations for water on campus.
“Most of the campus does not drain to any lake but instead drains to the Neuse River and Pamlico Sound,” Blank said in an e-mail. “Rocky Branch carries most of the main campus runoff to Walnut Creek. Fraternity Court, McKimmon Center, and some of Centennial Campus drain to Lake Raleigh, through which runs Walnut Creek. Walnut Creek drains to the Neuse River.”
Blank said water from the College of Veterinary Medicine drains first to House Creek, then to Crabtree Creek then to the Neuse.
Since water from campus affects multiple bodies of water, keeping pollution to a minimum is important, according to Bruck.
Bruck said there are two sources of pollution which affect water quality – point sources and non-point sources.
“Point source pollution is from known sites – like a water treatment plants, industry, etc.,” Bruck said. “Non-point sources are everything else such as road run-off, lawn fertilization and pesticides, even air pollution contaminating rainfall that ends up in our waterway.”
Barbara Doll, who works with stream restoration with the N.C. Sea Grant, said certain types of pollutants kill underwater wildlife.
“Sediment, fertilizer, oil, antifreeze and other pollutants washed from developed areas cause water quality degradation in streams,” Doll said in an e-mail. “Fertilizer causes excess algae to grow. The algae photosynthesizes during the day producing oxygen. At night, it consumes oxygen and depletes oxygen levels in the water, which can kill fish.”
And it isn’t just the fish that are affected, she said.
“Sediment clogs the gills of fish and covers the leaves of good aquatic plants so that they cannot photosynthesize,” Doll said. “Other pollutants may be directly toxic to fish and macroinvertebrates – aquatic insects that start their life in the stream and form the base of the aquatic food chain.”
Margaret Shearin, a senior in biological sciences, said pollution on campus comes from current projects.
“Most of the pollution is from construction,” Shearin said. “So, if they could just finish the construction then it seems that would help with pollution.”