Ms. Sarah Jordan
Master of Soil Science Student
Department of Crop and Soil Sciences

Co-authors: M.C. Ricker (advisor), E. Severson, R. Austin
Moderator: Joseph Wilson, MS Student in Soil Science

Using GIS to Evaluate Coastal Septic System Vulnerability in North Carolina

Coastal climate change is predicted to cause increased flooding, salinization of soils, and rising ground water tables. The ability of septic systems to treat waste and protect water quality will be adversely affected. Many coastal residents do not have access to public sewer lines and therefore rely solely on septic systems. In North Carolina, we analyzed geospatial data from Bertie, Brunswick, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Pasquotank, and Perquimans counties. Our research has located 30,361 coastal septic systems that are likely at risk of flooding because of sea level rise over the next century. Using SSURGO soil polygons in GIS, we have mapped soil series and joined the data to the location of existing septic systems. We have found that 47% of existing systems are located in soils that have seasonal high water tables located less than 100 cm from the soil surface and 27% of systems are located in soils that have seasonal high water tables located less than 30 cm from the soil surface. NOAA sea level rise (SLR) projections of 1 foot by 2050 and 3 feet by 2100 were used to predict which systems will be most adversely affected. These data will be used to quantify the number of systems and soil types that will be impacted by coastal climate change over the next century.

*Details on accessing the Zoom Room are in the email. Contact Mike Mullen at mdmullen@ncsu.edu if you need the details.