New Hanover County Center, 6206 Oleander Dr., Wilmington, NC 28403, (910) 452-6393, Fax (910) 452-6398 Onslow County Center, 4024 Richlands Hwy., Jacksonville, NC 28540, (910) 455-5873, Fax (910) 455-0977 Brunswick County Center, P.O. Box 109, Bolivia, NC 28422, (910) 253-2610, Fax (910) 253-2612

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Here are more detailed answers to the questions:

1. "c" Is the correct answer. There are 17 main watershed basins in NC:

Hiwassee, Little Tennessee, Savannah, French Broad, Broad, Catawba, Watauga, New (located in the WESTERN portion of the state! NC has TWO "New" Rivers....very confusing!!), Yadkin, Roanoke, Cape Fear, Lumber, Chowan, Tar-Pamlico, Pasquotank, Neuse, and White Oak

2. "b" Is the correct answer. The Cape Fear River Basin includes portions of 27 counties in North Carolina.

3. Which basin do you live in? Go to the basin map to find your basin!

4. "b" Is the correct answer. The waters of eastern North Carolina are slightly acidic. The clear "brown" or "tea-colored" water is a natural occurrence that results when tannic acids from oak leaves and pine straw are released into the water. This coloring is not the result of pollution and does not indicate water quality.

5. "a" Is the correct answer. According to EPA, sediment is the pollutant of greatest concern in North Carolina. Sediment fills in waterways, destroys benthic habitats, and smothers fish eggs.

6. "c" Is the correct answer. Approximately 50 gallons of water is used by each person per day. This does not include industrial or fire-fighting uses, which bring municipal water use up to approximately 120 to 150 gallons per capita per day.

7. "a" Is the correct answer. Roughly 34 gallons (or 68% of the 50 gallons used each day) is used in the bathroom for sanitary, bathing, or grooming purposes.

8. "d" Is the correct answer. Nearly 50% of the population in North Carolina utilize some form of on-site wastewater treatment system. This includes conventional systems (septic tank & drainfield) as well as the newer versions, such as peat filters, low pressure pipe, sand filter, aerial fill (aka "mound") and others.

9. "d" Is the correct answer. Nitrate is a key ingredient in fertilizer. Nitrate is also MEANT to be produced during waste treatment beneath the septic system distribution trenches. In the presence of oxygen and specific beneficial bacteria, ammonia is converted to nitrate. The droppings from wild and domestic animals contain urea, which is rapidly converted to ammonia. As with the ammonia from human wastes, the ammonia is converted to nitrate.

10. "c" Is the correct answer. If 27,154 gallons per acre is produced during a 1-inch rainfall, how much runoff can occur from a 10-acre parking lot during a 1-inch rainfall (assuming no infiltration occurs)? Answer: 271,540 gallons! How large are some of the parking lots in your area?

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