Tannic tainted water runs into the Pristine Lake Phelps
Lake Phelps is located in Washington County NC and is part of the Pasquotank River Basin and is very near Pocisin Lakes Wildlife Refuge The Southeast End of Lake Phelps has a noticeable discoloration of the water that extends from the shore line out about 100 yards into the lake. The lake is well known for its very clear water and this spill of tannic tainted water from the surrounding land appears to be caused by a state park initiated project.
Thank you for your compassionate inquiries about the short-term discoloration in the southeast section of Lake Phelps. This condition resulted from a management project pursued by several environmental agencies. The intent was to restore the partially compromised hydrology of Lake Phelps.
One objective of this management project was to assist in providing water flow for migratory fish, specifically herring.
Unfortunately, unexpected rainfall accompanied this management project for a brief time period. This situation has been thoroughly investigated and as of July 6, 2006, this project was discontinued. Park staff has been continuously monitoring discoloration in Lake Phelps and notes the affect has greatly dissipated. The resource management staff of the division expects no long-term alterations from this short exposure to tannic water.
Thank you for your concern for the integrity of Lake Phelps. Your interest in the welfare of Pettigrew State Park is appreciated. Please contact us if you have any further questions in reference to this matter.
Adrian O’Neal
East District Superintendent
Cliffs of the Neuse State Park
Seven Springs, NC
919-778-9488 ext. 222
Adrian.ONeal@ncmail.net
The Federal Government in its 2007 budget request touts its six most significant accomplishments in the “Coastal Program” from 2005 and here is one of them;
In North Carolina, the Program restored hydrology to and natural flow through 2,500 acres of natural wetlands and 15 acres of associated riparian uplands into Lake Phelps. This project provided habitat for alewife (native fish), blueback herring, American eel and migratory birds.
Maybe it’s not as successful as presented in this federal report.
Residents in the area question whether or not appropriate permits were applied for and gotten before the staff at Pettigrew State Park and /or these other agencies under took this “Management Project”. Inquires about the exact causes and specifics about permits were ignored. My E-Mail as well as other peoples received the above form email in response to our inquiries.
We will follow this story and update when additional information becomes available.
[...] The tannic run off into Lake Phelps has been stopped. The state has made it clear that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service was clearly to blame for this problem. Excerpt from an Email I received late today from the Raleigh office of the State Parks; We discovered that for a few days in June, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was redirecting water from the Pocosin NWR into Lake Phelps (in Pettigrew State Park) for flood control (rather than their usual practice of diverting it to the south.) [...]
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