Solving Problems Resulting from Solutions: Evolution of a Dual Nutrient Management Strategy for the Eutrophying Neuse River Estuary, North Carolina

Abstract

In estuaries, phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) inputs generally control freshwater and saltwater primary production, respectively. Improved wastewater P removal and a P-detergent ban in the late 1980s decreased P loading to the nutrient over-enriched Neuse River Estuary, NC, without a contemporaneous reduction in N loading. This led to a decrease in upstream freshwater phytoplankton production and a reduction in nuisance algal blooms. While this nutrient management approach appeared to be effective in reducing the symptoms of freshwater eutrophication, it may have also diminished the upstream algal N filter, promoting N enrichment, relative to P enrichment, and eutrophication of the more saline downstream N-limited waters. Recent N controls implemented by the State of North Carolina should help address the problem. These findings underscore the need for watershed- and basin-scale, dual nutrient (N and P) reduction strategies that consider the entire freshwater--marine continuum as well as hydrologic variability (e.g., hurricanes, floods, droughts) when formulating long-term controls of estuarine eutrophication.