Draft 5 Clarity standard

1

CLARITY (SAV) STANDARD LANGUAGE FOR INTERNAL REVIEW
DRAFT 5 language
This is for Class SC waters. The same language can be used for Class C waters with the removal
of the high salinity component.
(4) Clarity for Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV):
(a) Low-salinity SAV waterbodies: not to exceed a SAV growing season median
photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) extinction coefficient (KdPAR) of 1.36 m-
1.
(b) High-salinity SAV waterbodies: not to exceed a SAV growing season median
photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) extinction coefficient (KdPAR) of 0.89 m-
1.
(c) For the purpose of this Item:
(i) The SAV growing season is March 1 through October 31;
(ii) Low and high salinity SAV waterbodies shall be those waterbodies
identified as low or high salinity SAV Regions in Table 4.5 and Figure 4.1
of Chapter Four of the Division of Marine Fisheries North Carolina Coastal
Habitat Protection Plan – 2021 Amendment (CHPP), which is hereby
incorporated by reference and can be obtained free of charge at
https://deq.nc.gov/media/26810/open;
(iii) The clarity standard for SAV shall apply only in those areas within SAV
waterbodies that currently have or historically have been vegetated with
one or more of the following species: bushy pondweed or southern naiad
(Najas guadalupensis), coontail (Ceratophyllum demersum), eelgrass
(Zostera marina), horned pondweed (Zannichellia palustris), naiads
(Najas spp.), redhead grass (Potamogeton perfoliatus), sago pondweed
(Stuckenia pectinata, formerly Potamogeton pectinatus), shoalgrass
(Halodule wrightii), slender pondweed (Potamogeton pusillus), water
stargrass (Heteranthera dubia), water starwort (Callitriche heterophylla),
waterweeds (Elodea spp.), widgeongrass (Ruppia maritima), and wild
celery (Vallisneria americana). These vegetated areas are documented in
Figures 4.1 through 4.9 of the CHPP and are geospatially depicted in the
online map titled NC Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Areas, which is
available at www.xxx.deq.gov.