North Carolina Administrative Code › Title 15A - Environmental Quality › Chapter 02 - Environmental Management › Subchapter B - SURFACE WATER AND WETLAND STANDARDS › Section .0200 - CLASSIFICATIONS AND WATER QUALITY STANDARDS APPLICABLE TO SURFACE WATERS AND WETLANDS OF NORTH CAROLINA › Section 02B .0211 - FRESH SURFACE WATER QUALITY STANDARDS FOR CLASS C WATERS

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 2, July 15, 2024
In addition to the standards set forth in Rule .0208 of
					 this Section, the following water quality standards shall apply to all Class C
					 waters. Additional standards applicable to other freshwater classifications are
					 specified in Rules .0212, .0214, .0215, .0216, .0218, .0219, .0223, .0224,
					 .0225, and .0231 of this Section.
(1)
				  The best usage of waters shall be aquatic life propagation, survival, and
				  maintenance of biological integrity (including fishing and fish); wildlife;
				  secondary contact recreation; agriculture; and any other usage except for
				  primary contact recreation or as a source of water supply for drinking,
				  culinary, and food processing purposes. All freshwaters shall be classified to
				  protect these uses at a minimum.
(2) The conditions of waters shall be such
				  that waters are suitable for all best uses specified in this Rule. Sources of
				  water pollution that preclude any of these uses on either a short-term or
				  long-term basis shall be deemed to violate a water quality standard;
(3) Chlorine, total residual: 17
				  ug/l;
(4) Chlorophyll a
				  (corrected): except as specified in Sub-Item (a) of this Item, not greater than
				  40 ug/l for lakes, reservoirs, and other waters subject to growths of
				  macroscopic or microscopic vegetation not designated as trout waters, and not
				  greater than 15 ug/l for lakes, reservoirs, and other waters subject to growths
				  of macroscopic or microscopic vegetation designated as trout waters (not
				  applicable to lakes or reservoirs less than 10 acres in surface area). The
				  Commission or its designee may prohibit or limit any discharge of waste into
				  surface waters if the surface waters experience or the discharge would result
				  in growths of microscopic or macroscopic vegetation such that the standards
				  established pursuant to this Rule would be violated or the intended best usage
				  of the waters would be impaired;
(a)
				  Site-specific High Rock Lake Reservoir [Index Numbers 12-(108.5), 12-(114),
				  12-117-(1), 12-117-(3), 12-118.5, and the uppermost portion of 12-(124.5) to
				  the dam of High Rock Lake] Chlorophyll a (corrected): not greater than one
				  exceedance of a growing season geometric mean of 35 ug/L in the photic zone
				  within a three-year period.
(b) For
				  the purpose of Sub-Item (a) of this Item:
(i)
				  The growing season is April 1 through October 31;
(ii) Samples shall be collected in a minimum
				  of five different months within each growing season with a minimum of two
				  growing season geometric means collected in a three-year period;
(iii) The photic zone shall be defined as the
				  surface down to twice the Secchi depth;
(iv) Samples shall be collected as a
				  composite sample of the photic zone; and
(v) Samples that do not satisfy the
				  requirements in Sub-Item (iv) of this Sub-Item shall be excluded from the
				  calculation of the geometric mean.