During the development of the Wilmington-New Hanover County Land Use Plan Update in 1991-93 area residents expressed concerns about a decline in water quality in the county’s creeks and sounds. Land use policies were adopted that called for the County and City to take all necessary actions to prevent further deterioration of estuarine water quality and to bring all coastal waters up to the highest quality possible. As a result of the Land Use Update process the County initiated an Estuarine Watershed Management Program.

The Program’s immediate purpose was to begin gathering data on the physical, chemical, and biotic aspects of water quality in each of the tidal creeks. Work began on the Program in 1992, with the development of watershed profiles and a review of existing regulations. A preliminary report on the issues and recommended actions was completed in September 1993.  Also in 1993, a broad-based monthly sampling and water quality monitoring program was begun in Bradley, Futch, Hewletts, Howe and Pages Creeks funded by New Hanover County, the Northeast New Hanover Conservancy, and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW). The research and monitoring work was carried out by scientists from the university and done in close cooperation with the County Planning Department. The long-term goals included: assessing the environmental health of each creek, determining the mechanisms and sources of water pollution, and recommending strategies for short and long-term management of water quality and pollution. The project culminated with the publication of the “Four Year Environmental Analysis of New Hanover County Tidal Creeks, 1993-1997.”  The report detailed some important findings concerning how developed land, particularly land covered by impervious surfaces, increased bacterial pollution of local waterways.

In 1998, when the sampling programs concluded, New Hanover County applied for and received a $6 million grant from the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund to implement the study’s water quality enhancement strategies and create the New Hanover County Tidal Creeks Program.  In order to further enhance water quality in New Hanover County and to advise how grant money would be spent, the Tidal Creeks Advisory Board/Watershed Management Advisory Board (WMAB) was established and continued to meet through 2007.