North Carolina has undertaken a number of studies to document the importance of headwaters in their state. While the EPA analyses determined headwaters comprise 71% of the waters in the state, the North Carolina study identified 75% of the waters in the state were headwaters. The North Carolina analyses establishes that headwater streams provide significant reductions in pollutants such as nutrients and sediment and are a major source of food for the fish, invertebrates and other aquatic wildlife downstream. More information on the North Carolina analyses is in the following memorandum and summary reports:

All links below are to PDF documents which may be viewed directly and/or downloaded.

Memorandum on Water Quality and Aquatic Life Values of Headwater Streams and Wetlands

The Extent of Headwater Streams in North Carolina

The Ecological and Water Quality Value of Headwater Wetlands in North Carolina

The Value of Intermittent Streams in North Carolina