These counties are Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Cumberland, Hoke, Montgomery, Moore, Richmond, Robeson, and Scotland. Water Quality in the Lumber River Basin Water quality in this basin ranges from streams with high water quality to streams that do not support their classified use. The Lower Waccamaw River subbasin has the largest number of problem streams, while the Ashpole Swamp subbasin had relatively good water quality. The primary causes of pollution are from polluted runoff. The primary sources of polluted runoff are from agricultural activities, hydromodification, and urbanization.
Polluted runoff affects the estuaries where fecal coliform bacteria is the major pollutant.
Sources of polllution are from agriculture, urban runoff, septic tanks, and marinas. Pages Lake and Lake Tabor are threatened because of either excess nutrients or mercury in fish. Although no projects are targeted specifically toward this basin, North Carolina State University researchers are conducting 17 regional projects that are directly applicable to this river basin. Some of these projects target the effects of water pollution on the aquatic resources, while other projects focus on the control of polluted runoff from agricultural land uses. There are also urban stormwater control projects.