Tap water in North Carolina might be about to get much saltier, possibly impacting tourism to the Tar Heel State. Due to rising sea levels, the ocean is slowly encroaching into coastal land in North Carolina, seeping into the ground and making tap water more salty, according to a new paper in the journal Water Resources Research.
This may not only decimate local tourism but also devastate the local ecosystem and biodiversity. The researchers wrote:
“We estimate that North Carolina residents are less likely to take an overnight trip to NC beach towns if drinking water has a slightly, moderately or very intense salty taste. Annual aggregate benefit losses due to low drinking water quality could be as high as $232 million by 2040.”
