The Outer Banks region of coastal North Carolina has seen increased flooding and more intense storms in recent years. A related concern is that septic systems in unsewered areas are leaking pathogens and other pollutants into a rising groundwater table.
Students at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill spent last fall’s semester studying that issue at the UNC Institute for the Environment’s Outer Banks Field Site. They presented their findings in December 2019.
Their research covered an area of the town of Nags Head called the Gallery Row Sub-watershed. They found roughly half of the area is highly susceptible to
