What are Tidal Creeks?

The Tidal Creeks are water bodies connected to the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway in eastern New Hanover County. They are referred to as Tidal Creeks because they are affected by daily tide changes. 

What is a Tidal Creek Watershed?                    

A watershed is a geographic area in which all surface waters such as rainwater and irrigation drain and collect into a single water body. The Tidal Creek Watershed boundaries illustrate the area of drainage for each of the creeks.

Why is it important to protect, enhance, & restore water quality in the Tidal Creeks?

There are many reasons why protecting, enhancing, and restoring water quality in the tidal creeks is important. In fact, every resident of the tidal creek watersheds probably has one or more of their own. In general though many people would agree that our quality of life is directly tied to the quality of our local waters. There are in fact scientific reasons why it is important to protect out water quality. For instance, human health reasons; we like to swim in these waters and eat animals living in them. If the waters are polluted we could put ourselves in danger of various pollutants and viruses. Shellfish such as clams and oysters cannot be harvested from waters that are below certain water quality standards. The N.C. Division of Shellfish Sanitation monitors the health of shellfishing waters. The N.C. Division of Water Quality is the state agency charged with setting water quality standards. The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries is the agency which designates valuable fisheries habitats.