BACKGROUND OF SUBJECT

Dr. Bill Kirby-Smith is a Marine Ecologist who works at Duke Marine Lab, Piver’s Island, in Beaufort, North Carolina.  He earned a B.A. in Biology from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee in 1964.  He also received a PhD in Zoology from Duke University in 1970.

 Dr. Kirby-Smith's knowledge and work concern the water quality effects of fresh water runoff into estuarine headwaters, invertebrate zoology, nekton and benthic community structure, wetland ecology, and marine ecology.

His primary area of study is marine science.  His secondary areas of study include biodiversity, ecology, fisheries and fish ecology, marine science and wetland ecology.     

Dr. Kirby-Smith has spent more than thirty years studying the effects of nutrient runoff on estuaries in North Carolina. Some of his work has focused on the influence of the Open Grounds Farm, which drains into the Neuse River and bordering estuaries.  He has studied the effects of pollution and fecal coliform bacteria on our environment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ISSUE

“Any place where people come in and alter the landscape for any purpose, the adjacent shellfish waters suffer,” Kirby-Smith says. “When you drain the land, coliform bacteria is transmitted in surface runoff to the estuaries before it can die off. The state is then forced to close these waters for shellfishing because of the potential for human illness.”

Fecal coliform bacteria are a group of bacteria that comes from the intestines of warm-blooded animals and are passed through the fecal material of humans, livestock and wildlife.  They aid in the digestion of food. The presence of fecal coliform bacteria in marine environments shows that the water has been contaminated with fecal material.  Fecal coliform bacteria can enter rivers through direct discharge of waste from mammals and birds, from agricultural and storm runoff, and from untreated human sewage.  Agricultural practices such as allowing animal wastes to wash into nearby streams during the rainy season, spreading manure and fertilizer on fields during rainy periods, and allowing livestock watering in streams can all add to fecal coliform contamination. The presence of the bacteria is used as an indicator of pathogens in the water. If high levels of fecal coliform are found in the water, it indicates water pollution.  When these high levels are found, shellfish beds are closed.  Over the past twenty years, closures have become more frequent and more extensive.

Since 1974, Open Grounds Farm has changed from a swampy forest with dense thickets to the enormous 44,000 acre farm it is today.  Before, rainwater collected and just sat there.  There wasn’t much run-off.  Today, total crop land on the farm totals about 35,000 acres or more.  The soil at Open Grounds Farm typically contains greater than ten percent organic matter.  The operators of Open Grounds Farm are educated about the sensitive environment surrounding the farm.  Best Management Practices are used to protect the delicate ecosystem from pollution.

CHALLENGES

Some shrimpers say that Open Grounds Farm is the reason that Nelson’s Bay is polluted and doesn’t have many shrimp.  To some extent, there may be some impact due to altered drainage patterns of area creeks.  This may have changed the way shrimp are collected or the pattern in which shrimp run.  Open Grounds Farm, however, is no more responsible than other areas of the county.  Run-off and pollution come from many areas for various reasons.  The amount of shrimp in Nelson’s Bay rises and falls every season with really no solid evidence as to why.  There are some areas of the Bay that are full of shrimp.

The concentration of nitrogen and phosphorus in the fertilizer in Open Grounds Farms’ soil is about ten times what it would be in a natural swamp.  The soil here is not as bad, however, as it is in up-state North Carolina.  There is about twenty percent run-off here compared to eighty percent in other areas.  Fertilizer is not directly harmful, but it can cause too much growth of plankton in the water, which can rob the water of oxygen.  In our sounds, two or three changes of the tides each day helps to mix nutrients out quickly.

Today, shellfish beds are closed regularly after heavy rains and excessive run-off.  Many times this is due to fecal coliform pollution.  Researchers have spent lots of money over the years to figure out the source of the bacteria, but results are not clear.  Drainage from Open Grounds Farm is not the only problem.  Sometimes it can be caused by excess drainage from residential properties, not just commercial, or simply from people putting their dog pens too close to ditches.

SOLUTIONS

The overall water quality in the Core Sound area is good, in the opinion of Dr. Bill Kirby-Smith.  The bacterial problem is mostly shore side and closures of shellfish beds actually hurt instead of help.  The closures take away the incentive to clean up the water, so pollution may increase after a closure takes place.  The more people know about fecal coliform bacteria, its sources and how it travels, the better prepared we will be to protect our environment and find reliable solutions.

Open Grounds Farm is located in the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine System.  Operators at the farm do their part to help protect the land and marine environments around them.  They follow procedures that reduce non-point pollution.  They allow scientists in to research and study effects of pollution and possible solutions, even though this is normally unusual for the industry.  The scientists’ research benefits not only the environment, but the Farm as well. 

Best Management Practices have been adopted by Open Grounds Farms to help reduce pollution.  The main pollution problem solution has been to reduce sediment run-off from fields.  The farm also tests regularly to reduce the use of fertilizer and pesticides and prevent the use of excess chemicals, although it is hard to tell if levels have changed in the water. 

The North Carolina Shellfish Sanitation Branch tests for fecal coliform bacteria three times a year and after periods of heavy rainfall.  They only monitor, however, not clean up.  The problem comes not necessarily from animal sources, but from rapid drainage.  The fecal coliform bacteria die within two to three days.  Finding a way to hold the water and slow the drainage process could help prevent the problem. 

Best Management Practices at Open Grounds Farm also include wetland restoration, rock dams, which reduce trash run-offs from large storms, and flash board risers, which reduce suspended solids delivered to the estuaries.  The farm uses GPS navigation in tractors to help them know what areas need more or less fertilizer, which not only helps the environment, but also saves them money on fertilizer and pesticides.  Open Grounds Farm also practices no-till and minimum tillage agriculture, in which there is no plowing, just planting.  This practice helps cut down on soil erosion.  Lastly, grass buffer strips are used in ditches and canals. 

As of a recent study, Open Grounds Farm’s Best Management Practices are “sufficient to protect the biological integrity of the estuarine ecosystem” in which it is located that is home to many animals on land and in water.

The main source of fecal coliform bacteria is from wildlife, but the largest factor of this problem is how fast the water drains and not where it comes from.  Educating people would greatly benefit local efforts.