Dutchman's Creek

By Steve Keith

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• Learn more about Cape Fear River, North Carolina, ecology, estuaries, and power plants.

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Figure 12. Dutchman's Creek and the CP&L canals. (Photograph by the author. More about the photograph)

Turning to the western shore, we have one more stop to make before we reach the sea. This photo shows Dutchman’s Creek and a series of smaller tidal creeks. Just behind the serpentine creeks is a canal cutting clear across the photo. This canal originates at the CP&L nuclear power plant. The power plant takes in water from the middle reaches of the Cape Fear estuary and pumps it out near the Intracoastal Waterway. The water is used to cool the nuclear reactors, and is warmed by several degrees before it is pumped out. Temperature is a key variable in the health of an estuary. Warm water holds less oxygen than cold water, and supports rapid plant production. This combination can lead to anoxic (no oxygen) conditions, in which plants die and are degraded by bacteria. Anoxia has been linked to fish kills in many of North Carolina’s rivers. Careful routing of the heated water from the CP&L plant helps prevent undesirable conditions in this estuary.