Usually in swamp paddling adventures I prefer high water, even floods. That gives me a better look at where all the water is going, and exchanges between different hydrological components, which is one of my scientific interests. It also allows me to get farther up various tributaries and backwaters and sometimes to even paddle through the forest, which is fun. But given the severe drought the region is in, and the low flows of the streams hereabouts, that's not been an option recently. But there are advantages in low-water swamp kayaking. Things not normally visible in channels and floodplains reveal themselves, and exposed muddy banks provide a record of what critters have been coming in and out of the water.
U.S. Drought Monitor map for 31 March 2026 (the maps are updated every Tuesday).
Dry (or at least not inundated) floodplain, Grinnell Creek, N.C.
The temporary exposure of stream banks and floodplains is also beneficial for some swamp trees, such as water tupelo, swamp tupelo, and bald cypress (Nyssa aquatica, N. biflora, Taxodium distichum). These trees have water-dispersed seeds, which require wet but not inundated conditions to germinate (once they've grown enough to keep their tops above water, they can tolerate frequent or even constant inundation). Droughty, low-water periods like this one are necessary to keep the swamp forests healthy.
A Nyssa aquatica (water tupelo) seedling along Grinnell Creek.
This got me wondering--how low does it (the water level) go, and how dry do the swamps get? How often does this happen?
First, recent water levels in eastern N.C. streams (South Carolina is less effected at the moment) are much lower than normal, but they are still well above absolute record low water levels. However, many stations showed record low flows or stages for a particular day in March. The severe drought designation (level D2 on the U.S. Drought Monitor scale) in eastern N.C. occurs in a given location several times per decade, but with occasional multi-year episodes (according to the U.S. Drought Monitor; DM). The long-term record of drier and wetter spells shows what is basically a truism in climatology--despite broadcast meteorologists' references to normal, average, or should-be conditions, means and averages often just represent a midpoint between drier and wetter (or hotter and colder, etc.) spells. March, 2026 was the 5th driest March in 132 years of record statewide.
Drought status for Craven County, N.C., 1895-2025 (source: DM).
Droughts are likely to become more common in our swamplands due to climate change, as temperature increases disproportionately compared to precipitation. There is a good chance episodes like this will become more common or lengthy, but this particular episode cannot be attributed to ongoing climate change (it also cannot be shown to be unrelated to climate change). Right now we can say, at least with respect to water levels in the rivers and swamps, that this is an unusual event for early spring (what are the ecological implications of the timing?), but within the range of historical variability in general. In the meantime we can take it the muddy revelations of the low water.
Trickle from a beaver dam on a small Neuse River tributary.
Normally inundated areas of Village Creek/Neuse River floodplain.
