AGENDA
# 5c
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Watershed Assessment and Restoration Project
DATE: June 10, 2002
The attached summary provided by the North Carolina Division of Water Quality describes the background and intent of the Watershed Assessment and Restoration Project for the Little Creek Watershed.
It is
anticipated that the Division of Water Quality will make a presentation to
Council upon completion of the project in approximately
six months.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Streams within the Little Creek Watershed have been identified by the North Carolina Division of Water Quality as “impaired” (i.e. included on State’s Total Maximum Daily Load 303 (d) list of impaired streams). The project involves screening the streams for their physical characteristics (morphology) and the health of the aquatic insect community (benthos).
Stream impairment may be due to a range of factors, including low dissolved oxygen, habitat degradation, specific chemical pollutants, or a combination of these factors. A key objective of the project is to identify the major causal factors leading to the impairments in the watershed and to suggest solutions to identified problems.
Habitat
degradation can manifest itself in a number of ways, including loss of stable
habitat due to sediment deposition, excessive bed and bank erosion and habitat
simplification due to channel modification. Solutions to habitat degradation
problems can range from relatively straightforward stream bank stabilization
projects to more
complex projects that recreate natural stream morphology in modified stream
reaches.
No detailed restoration designs are included in this project. However, large amounts of data and information have been and continue to be gathered as part of the stream assessment activities. It is anticipated that the results of this project will be utilized by the Town to identify and prioritize restoration projects in advance of applying for grant funds from the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund, assuming such funding remains available through State grant programs.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Summary Description of the Watershed Assessment and Restoration Project (p. 2).
ATTACHMENT 1
Summary Description of the Watershed Assessment and Restoration Project
Diana Tetens
N.C. Division of Water Quality
The North Carolina Division of Water Quality (DWQ) is conducting a two-year project to further our knowledge of impaired streams and facilitate their restoration. This two-year effort called the Watershed Assessment and Restoration Project (WARP) focuses on eleven watersheds across the state, which contain streams that are considered "biologically impaired".
The North Carolina Division of Water Quality (NC DWQ) determines impairment by monitoring aquatic organisms and collecting water samples and analyzing them for various substances. With this information, NC DWQ determines whether a river or creek is impaired or unhealthy. All of the watersheds in the WARP study have creeks that are considered biologically impaired or unable to support healthy aquatic communities. One of these watersheds is the Little Creek Watershed in Orange County. Both Booker Creek and Bolin Creek are located in this watershed.
The goal of the project is to provide the foundation for future water quality restoration by (1) identifying the most likely causes of biological impairment (such as degraded habitat or specific pollutants), (2) identifying major watershed activities and sources of pollution associated with those causes (such as stormwater runoff from particular areas, stream bank erosion, or changes in watershed hydrology), and (3) outlining a watershed strategy that recommends restoration activities and best management practices which address these problems and improve the biological condition of the impaired streams.
WARP activities in the Little Creek Watershed began in January 2001 and will be completed by January 2003. WARP research has focused on the collection of three types of data: (1) biological community data, (2) physical and chemical water quality data, and (3) stream quality data. For the most part, biological assessments are accomplished through the monitoring of aquatic macroinvertebrates (stream insects, clams, worms, etc.). Physical and chemical water quality data such as dissolved oxygen, nutrients, and pesticides are collected throughout the watershed at regular intervals and stream habitat data, such as stream bottom type, stream bank stability and riparian vegetation character are collected during stream walks and biological community monitoring.
The potential causes of impairment identified for investigation in the Little Creek Watershed include sedimentation, low dissolved oxygen levels, habitat degradation and toxicants generated through land based activities. Although research to date indicates that all these factors may have a potential impact on water quality in Booker Creek, no single "smoking gun" or primary cause of biological impairment has been identified (this is not an uncommon in developed watersheds such as Little Creek, where waterways are subject to the multiple stressors).
In January 2003 project staff will present a report to The North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund describing a watershed strategy for the Little Creek Watershed. The report will not be a detailed plan but, rather, will outline the kinds of activities required to restore creeks in the Little Creek Watershed. The report will be available to local governments.
Local input is an important component in the development of the watershed strategy and project staff invite and welcome your comments, views and knowledge and participation.
For more information please contact:
Diana Tetens
(919) 733-5083 x355