RAPID: Collaborative Research: Impacts of Extreme Flooding on Hydrologic Connectivity and Water Quality in the Atlantic Coastal Plain and Implications for Vulnerable Populations

In October 2016, Hurricane Matthew brought extreme rainfall that led to extreme flooding across eastern North Carolina, including the Lumber River basin. Land use in this region is dominated by large-scale crop-cultivation and includes some of the highest densities of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and processing facilities in the United States. The 3,000 km2 Lumber River watershed and immediately adjacent areas are also home to most of the Lumbee Tribe of American Indian¡¦s 60,000+ members and represents a region characterized by high rates of poverty and large disparities in healthcare, education, and infrastructure. The region, declared a National Disaster area, is dealing with widespread contamination of surface waters, shallow groundwater, and drinking water supplies due to drowned livestock, compromised waste lagoons, inundated landscapes, failed septic systems, and other contaminant sources that have become hydrologically connected during flooding. This project seeks to document the impacts of extreme flooding on water quality in this region in the coming months and to improve understanding of how hydrological processes, land use, and social vulnerability combine to translate ephemeral, flood-related hydrologic connectivity into persistent water quality impacts. This project will engage members of the affected Lumbee Tribe through both citizen science and public education.

This RAPID project seeks to conduct a preliminary assessment of the near-term impacts of regional flooding on water quality in the Lumber River watershed in an effort to better understand flood-driven connectivity between upland contaminant sources and hydrologic systems (surface water, shallow groundwater, public water supplies) and its water quality implications for vulnerable populations. The project addresses the near-term impacts of extreme flooding on water quality across low gradient streams and extensive riverine wetlands, in surficial aquifers, and in the confined aquifers that provide public drinking water supplies. Specifically, this project will 1) evaluate the post-hurricane spatial variability of biological (microbial community markers in wastewater), chemical (non-targeted high-resolution mass spectrometry screening), and physical (?Ô18O, ?Ô2H, specific conductance) water quality characteristics of surface water, shallow groundwater, and the confined aquifer; 2) assess the temporal evolution of water quality in each hydrologic pool as the system recovers from the floods and hydrologic connectivity recedes, thus improving our understanding of linkages between hydrologic connectivity and water quality; 3) engage the Lumbee Tribe through citizen science and communication while providing valuable information about water quality.