What is the 303(d) list?

Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) requires states to develop a list of waters not meeting water quality standards or which have impaired uses. Waters may be excluded from the list if existing control strategies for point and nonpoint source pollution will achieve the standards or uses. Listed waters must be prioritized, and a management strategy or total maximum daily load (TMDL) must subsequently be developed for all listed waters.

• North Carolina has 405 freshwater stream segments on the list. This number is higher than the total number of freshwater streams on the list because many streams have multiple segments. Some streams or rivers may appear on the list five or more times from upstream to downstream. Multiple listings for a specific stream or river help officials determine the overall water quality status.
• Another, more representative way to look at freshwater streams on the list is by the number of stream miles. The list identifies 2,814 miles of impaired streams, which represents about seven percent of North Carolina’s total 40,000 miles of freshwater streams.
• By basin, the 303(d) freshwater stream miles are primarily in the Cape Fear, Neuse, and Yadkin river basins. These three river basins are the largest in North Carolina.
• Approximately 5.2 percent of North Carolina’s overall freshwater stream miles are rated partially supporting (PS) and 1.2 percent are rated not supporting (NS).
• Twenty lakes, totaling 31,814 acres, are on the list. Of these, nine lakes (5,267 acres) are rated partially supporting (PS) and six (417 acres) are listed as not supporting (NS).
• 73,090 acres of estuarine areas are on the list, primarily due to elevated fecal coliform levels. All are rated partially supporting (PS).
• Approximately 390 stream miles and 26,000 acres of lakes are included on the list as a result of fish consumption advisories from contaminants such as mercury.
• Priorities of High, Medium, Low and Monitor have been placed on freshwater streams. Streams rated High are generally classified for water supply, rated not supporting and harbor a federally endangered species. High priority waters are important natural resources for the State of North Carolina and serve significant human and ecological uses. The High priority waters on the 303(d) list are as follows:

Hard copies of the narrative and list may be obtained by contacting Hope Thompson at DENR-DWQ, P.O. Box 29535, Raleigh, NC, 27626-0535; telephone, (919) 733-5083, extension 360. Questions about the list may be directed to Ruth Swanek at (919) 733-5083, extension 503 or Michelle Woolfolk at extension 505. The narrative and list are also available (along with maps of the referenced estuarine areas) in Adobe PDF Format by selecting the list below:  

• 303(d) List and Narrative
• Adobe Acrobat Reader