August 1996 rainfall amounts were above average throughout much of central North Carolina. August rainfall was 1.34 inches above average at Greensboro; 3.08 inches above average at Burlington, and 2.10 inches above average at Fayetteville. Moreover,July rainfall was above average at many reporting stations in the eastern part of the State. Immediately prior to the hurricane on September 1-4, most stations east of Greensboro reported significant rainfall, including Greensboro (5-61 inches), Burlington (0.90 inch), Siler City (3-25 inches), Fayetteville (1.94 inches), New Bern (3-76 inches), and Wilmington (2.55 inches). Consequently, soils in these areas were at or near saturation and had limited capacity for storing the rainfall that fell during the passage of Hurricane Fran. Because of this excessive rainfall, flows at most gaging stations across north central and parts of eastern North Carolina were already well above average prior to the hurricane. Flows in the Neuse F loods resulting from Hurricane Fran, which passed through North Carolina on September 5-6,1996, were some of the most severe and widespread in the State in recent memory.The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is responsible for the collection and interpretation of water-resources information, including flood data, for the Nation. As such, the USGS, in cooperation with the North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, the U.S.Army Corps of Engineers, and numerous other State and local agencies, is continuing to document the effects of Hurricane Fran on the water resources of North Carolina.The purpose of this report is to present preliminary, selected information on the flooding and associated water-quality conditions which followed Hurricane Fran in North Carolina.

: A set of procedures for identifying changes in selected streamflow characteristics at sites having long‐term continuous streamflow records is illustrated by using streamflow data from the Waccamaw River at Freeland, North Carolina for the 55‐year period of 1940–1994. Data were evaluated and compared to streamflow in the adjacent Lumber River Basin to determine if changes in streamflow characteristics in the Waccamaw River were localized and possibly the result of some human activity, or consistent with regional variations. Following 1963, droughts in the Waccamaw Basin seem to have been less severe than in the Lumber Basin, and the annual one‐, seven‐, and 30‐day low flows exhibited a slightly increasing trend in the Waccamaw River. Mean daily flows in the Waccamaw River at the 90 percent exceedance level (low flows) during 1985–194, a relatively dry period, were very nearly equal to flows at the same exceedance level for 1970–1979, which represents the 10‐year period between 1940 and 1994 with the highest flows. Prior to the 1980s, flows per unit drainage area in the Waccamaw Basin were generally less than those in the Lumber Basin, but after 1980, the opposite was true. The ratio of base flow to runoff in the Waccamaw River may have changed relative to that in the Lumber River in the late 1970s. There was greater variability in Waccamaw River streamflow than in Lumber River flow, and flow variability in the Waccamaw River may have increased slightly during 1985–1994.

An investigation began in 1988 to (1) quantify nutrient, sediment, and freshwater loadings in canals that collect drainage from cropland field ditches, (2) determine the effects of tide gates and flashboard risers on these loadings and on receiving-water quality, and (3) characterize the effects of drainage on the salinity regime of a tidal creek.Data were collected in three canals in Hyde County, three canals in Beaufort County, and in Campbell Creek, which receives drainage directly from two of the Beaufort County canals. Water-control structures were placed on two of the six canals near the beginning of the investigation.Following about two years of data collection, control structures were placed on the remaining canals.Hydrologic and water-quality data are presented for each of the study sites for the period of May 1988 through September 1990. Data presented in this report cover the first phase of the investigation prior to the installation of water-control structures in four of the six canals. Following a description of the study sites and data-collection methods, data are presented.These data include:(1) daily values of accumulated precipitation,(2) water-level statistics, (3) daily mean values of discharge in the canals, (4) biweekly water-quality measurements and sample analyses,(5) storm-event water-quality measurements and sample analyses, (6) continuous records of specific conductance in the canals, (7) vertical profiles of salinity in Campbell Creek, and (8) daily mean values of salinity at five sites in Campbell Creek.

Any use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Geological Survey.

Water Resources, initiated an investigation in 1994 of the Streamflow characteristics of the Waccamaw River. The objectives of the investigation were to (1) characterize streamflow in the Waccamaw River at Freeland for the period 1940-94, and (2) compare Waccamaw River flow characteristics to flow characteristics of nearby streams.