. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. Joe Stokes, Dare County sanitarian Burnett also fears that the discharge might aggra- vate the problem of milfoil, an aquatic plant whose rapid growth has clogged parts of Currituck Sound. And, finally, Burnett was concerned that pollution of the estuaries might mean the closing of more of the state's shellfishing waters. A second alternative, land disposal, would in- volve spraying treated wastewater over about 900 acres of land. Peat soils and a water table that is almost at the soil's surface make the l
. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. Joe Stokes, Dare County sanitarian Burnett also fears that the discharge might aggra- vate the problem of milfoil, an aquatic plant whose rapid growth has clogged parts of Currituck Sound. And, finally, Burnett was concerned that pollution of the estuaries might mean the closing of more of the state's shellfishing waters. A second alternative, land disposal, would in- volve spraying treated wastewater over about 900 acres of land. Peat soils and a water table that is almost at the soil's surface make the land on the mainland of Dare County unacceptable. About 85 percent of the land on Dare County's Outer Banks is environmentally sensitive park land. Burnett was unable to find a suitable area large enough for land disposal on the islands. He felt that using several smaller plots would have made the cost of the project prohibitive. A third option which has been unsuccessfully tried once in North Carolina is deep well injection. It requires piping treated wastewater into wells drilled into the earth's surface. Since 1973, North Carolina law has prohibited deep well injection. "You really don't know what happens to the efflu- ent and whether it might mix with drinking water," said Burnett. Scientists tackle tough questions Several Sea Grant researchers are among the North Carolina scientists who are taking a look at many of the tough technical questions that need to be answered about ocean outfalls. Sea Grant is funding three projects this year which are related to the issues of ocean outfalls. In a project supported by the EPA and the North Carolina Department of Natural and Economic Resources (through the Water Resources Re- search Institute), researchers will be looking at the options for water management in coastal North Carolina. One of the aspects of the study will be an analysis of the possibility of ocean disposal of wastewater. Studies will be made of population t
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookcollectionunclibra, booksubjectoceanography