Sandy Cross, senior planner for Duck, recently brought Coastal Review with her as she walked along the edge of Currituck Sound, where a project to make the Dare County town more resilient was completed in May.

Cross excitedly pointed out signs of continuing progress at the site.

“See this little grass right here? This is a black needle rush or Juncus roemerianus,” she said, growing more excited as the stroll continued another 10 to 15 yards farther along the shoreline.

“Wait a minute. See this grass that looks kind of like a Charlie Brown Christmas tree?” she asked. “That’s called Spartina cynosuroides, which is a coastal wetland species. We did not plant that.”

The project funded with local, state and federal money also elevated a portion of N.C. Highway 12 to reduce flooding, and it restored native marsh to protect the shoreline and improve natural habitat.

In October, the American Planning Association recognized the project, honoring the town with its Marvin Collins Planning Award in Sustainability and Resilience.

The award-winning projects and programs were selected for their “high quality, originality, and innovation, as well as a degree of transferability,” according to the association. “They are also impactful, in that they address a known community need and position the community for a stronger, more equitable future.”

Most vulnerable infrastructure

N.C. 12 is the only road that connects Duck to the rest of Dare County to the south and Corolla village in Currituck County to the north. At the north end of Duck’s business district, the highway was prone to flooding. When the wind was strong enough for long enough, revetment rocks that were placed alongside the road were lifted from their bed and strewn across the highway.

“For anyone that’s been in Duck any length of time, they know that a good southwest wind will inundate the roadway,” Cross said.

Town officials knew well that the quarter-mile stretch of the road was at risk. A 2019 Western Carolina University vulnerability assessment, “indicated that this section of roadway was the most vulnerable infrastructure we had in the in the town,” Cross said.

The project cost a little more than $4.3 million, which was mostly paid for with grants, although the town did contribute $398,500 of its own. Construction began in October 2023 and took six months to complete.

Sills were installed to protect a new living shoreline. Marsh grasses were planted after the invasive phragmites reeds that had taken over the nearshore were removed. The small riprap rocks were replaced by Class III Armor Stone, revetment stones that weight more than a ton each and should withstand even the strongest winds and waves.

The roadbed was raised 2.5 feet and a new sidewalk was built, all with resilience features.

“They put in strips,” Cross said of the design, “intended as a small stormwater mechanism. They’re probably about 2 feet deep, and at the base there’s some filter cloth, and then there’s a rock bed, and then there’s bio-retention soil.” 

There is also a wild grass planted between the road and the sidewalk— liriope.

In the past the town had used little bluestem between the highway and sidewalk, but Cross really wanted to find a grass that would work better as a barrier.

“They (little bluestem) get really tall, and they get really floppy when they get wet,” she said.

Liriope is a flowering grass that Cross said, “is probably the only plant that can survive the soot and the very small space in which it has to survive.”

Duck has created a series of vision documents beginning in 2009 with its “2022 Vision” that describes the town as “a pedestrian first community that is safe and easy to navigate by walking and cycling.”

That same document stressed environmental stewardship with an emphasis on living shorelines for protection on the sound side of the village.

Phase 4 of the sidewalk project was to be at the north end of the business district, and plans called for a living shoreline to create additional defense from soundside flooding.

Standing at the south end of the project area, Cross explained how the project went from an ambitious but relatively limited shoreline plan to an award-winning project, a process kickstarted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“We were going put in a sidewalk, and we were going to put in a living shoreline. That was all scheduled to begin in 2019,” she said. “Then FEMA came out with their Building Resilient Infrastructures and Communities grant program and there was a huge pot of money for resilience projects.”

With possibility of funding for raising the road in conjunction with the living shoreline and sidewalk project, the town paused to “apply for this BRIC grant to raise the road and then really make it a resilience project,” Cross recalled.

The state, Cross said, said the project was a good candidate for funding but advised the town to hold off on the sidewalk and living shoreline components.

“You need to encompass it all in order to really fare well in the scoring of the grant,” she said. “So we started the grant process with BRIC in 2020. Fast-forward to 2024, when we actually saw the money for the grant.”

The roughly $1.9 million appeared to be enough to raise the roadbed and replace the riprap.

“Then COVID happened,” Cross said. “Everything you thought was going to cost one thing ended up costing double that. We were able to apply to the Department of Emergency Management with the state for some additional funding. We ended up getting an additional $1.5 million and change to offset some of the increase in cost of the project.”

There were other grants as well, including the $398,500 from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for the living shoreline, $148,000 from the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau for the sidewalk, and an additional $20,000 grant from the Community Conservation Assistance Program administered through the soil and water districts by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Division of Soil and Water Conservation.

Ricky Wiatt, senior landscape architect with environmental and government consulting firm VHB, which has long worked with the town, wrote on the company’s blog that the project, “was not merely a one-and-done solution but rather a dynamic and layered approach designed to adapt and thrive in the face of ongoing challenges. By embracing the principles of resiliency and incorporating diverse strategies, the Town of Duck is not only safeguarding its infrastructure but also fostering a more sustainable and vibrant community for generations to come.”

For Cross, however, although construction has been completed, there is still work to be done.

“We do expect this to be a case study. That’s one of the things I am continually telling people, and one of the reasons why I want to get some monitoring program together,” she said. “This is all fine and dandy, but if we don’t have a way to track it when it’s done, then what have we done it for?”

The New River has drastically recovered in the more than 20 years since its waters were first reopened to the public after being closed nearly that same amount of time.

Bacteria levels in the river when it was shut down for recreational and commercial uses from 1980 and 2001 were astronomical. River samples collected during those years contained bacteria levels ranging anywhere from 35,000 to 70,000 organisms per 100 milliliters of water.

Today, the New River’s waters are close to those of federal drinking water standards, according to weekly sampling results, a success story that got its start when the city shuttered its downtown wastewater treatment plant and Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune stopped discharging from its wastewater facility into the river.

“So, we’ve addressed the bacteria problem in the river,” said Jacksonville Stormwater Manager Pat Donovan-Brandenburg. “What’s left still is the nutrients.”

The city is now in the beginning stages of mapping out how to reduce the amount of nutrients getting into the river, one classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as nutrient-sensitive.

Jacksonville City Council members recently signed off on the approval of a $400,000 state grant awarded to the stormwater department to develop a New River Nutrient Management Plan, one that will focus on nonpoint sources of nutrient loading into the river.

In other words, stormwater that flows from streets, subdivisions, commercial and industrial areas into the city’s drainage system.

“All of that stormwater runoff from development carries two things,” Donovan-Brandenburg said. “It still carries bacteria, but that’s from natural sources; birds, deer, raccoon, cats, dogs, those kinds of things. It’s in smaller amounts, way smaller amounts, but it does still carry nutrients in the form of ammonia, phosphates and nitrates.”

While watersheds can manage a certain amount of nutrients, she explained, too many nutrients spur the growth of microscopic organisms that cause algal blooms. These blooms dissolve oxygen in the water and, when oxygen plummets in water, that causes fish kills.

Decomposing fish put more nutrients into a watershed.

It’s a vicious cycle, Donovan-Brandenburg said, but one that the river has, for the most part, evaded the past 10 years.

Last year, there were algal blooms around Sneads Ferry, a small town down river from downtown Jacksonville.

Donovan-Brandenburg attributes one of the causes of that algal bloom to that town’s population increase.

“It’s all tied to development, stormwater runoff,” she said.

In 2008, the city took over its stormwater permitting program because, unlike state employees whose offices are no closer to the city than Wilmington and Raleigh, Jacksonville city employees can be on-site short notice.

Since that year, the city issued more than 150 stormwater commercial and residential subdivision permits.

“And I will tell you we’re increasing,” Donovan-Brandenburg said. “We’ve received more plans this year than we have in the last three. So, we’ve got to do a better job with our (stormwater control measures) and we’ve got to do a better job, not only of building them, but putting them in critical locations where there is a lot of nutrients entering a tributary or the watershed.”

Stormwater control measures, or SCMs, includes things like wet retention ponds and wetlands, bioretention cells, infiltration systems and permeable pavement.

Those need to be maintained and inspected regularly in order for them to work effectively and treat the first 1.5 inches of rainfall by removing stormwater pollutant sediment, bacteria and nutrients.

“The SCMs are to remove the top three pollutants before that water reenters the watershed,” Donovan-Brandenburg said. “The city of Jacksonville, that’s a water quality component. The city of Jacksonville actually goes one step further and does a water quantity component. Instead of making the engineers design to the one-year, 24-hour storm active design to the 10-year, 24-hour storm. That’s not the state rules. That’s the city’s ordinance because we are seeing more and more flooding.”

Why? Because there has been a surge in development, she said. And those additional impervious surfaces – rooftops, driveways, and streets – create more stormwater runoff, which goes into a coastal watershed that’s also being affected by an increasing prevalence of king tides brought on by climate change.

The nutrient management plan will map out which areas of the New River are impaired by chlorophyll a, the predominant type of chlorophyll found in algae.

The New River snakes 50 miles before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean. It’s a slow-moving river, one that flushes once every 60 days, making it particularly vulnerable to nutrient loading.

The nutrient management plan will include developing milestones to track when management measures are implemented, develop criteria to measure progress toward meeting watershed goals, monitoring, and creating an information and educational component.

“This plan will tell us on what areas we need to focus on,” Donovan-Brandenburg said. “Determining those areas will help us identify what areas we need to strategically plan for and implement better and newer SCMs, or retrofit the older SCMs with something more functional. We will be trying to determine the non-point source pollution areas. We’ll be trying to come up with watershed management strategies. We’ve had a lot of people move into our area in the last five years. I don’t think that’s going to stop so we’ve got to do better about what’s coming at us in the future.”

Thousands of dollars in rebates are available for commercial businesses, owners of apartment complexes and other large-scale property owners who want to help reduce the amount of pollutant-laden stormwater runoff reaching two Wilmington watersheds.

The city in January launched a green infrastructure cost-share rebate program, one intended to further boost ongoing efforts to cut down on the amount of runoff that flows from rooftops and other impervious surfaces during rainfall and into creeks and waterways directly downstream.

This new program specifically targets Bradley Creek and Hewletts Creeks watersheds, which collectively span a little more than 21 square miles and include connections to two Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway drainage areas.

Local government programs like New Hanover County Soil & Water Conservation District’s that focus on helping residents install nature-based features like rain gardens and cisterns, and host rain barrel sales, have become increasingly popular, said Anna Reh-Gingerich, watershed coordinator of Wilmington Stormwater Service’s Heal Our Waterways Program.

“We have waitlists and people are seeking out site visits, which is awesome, but we’re also trying to reach those commercial properties, those high-density developments and HOA (homeowners associations) properties to make sure that everybody has access to these resources too,” she said.

The cost-share program offers rebates up to $10,000 for eligible projects where property owners go above and beyond what the state mandates them to manage runoff from their properties.

“This is for going above that so that we can actually reduce the total volume of stormwater runoff rather than just maintain the status quo,” Reh-Gingerich said.

For example, a commercial business owner who replaces an existing parking lot of impervious pavement with a pervious surface or installs a pervious parking lot as part of a new development, would qualify, depending on the size of the project.

That’s just one of many options from which property owners can choose. Properties with room for larger-scale projects might consider installing a rain garden that includes native plants or constructing a wetland.

Install a cistern above or below the ground to capture stormwater runoff and use the water to irrigate greenspace. Remove an old concrete pad, slab or patio to create more greenspace, “because you’re removing impervious surface, which creates stormwater runoff,” Reh-Gingerich said.

There is also the option of installing a green roof, which has vegetation on it that helps soak in rain. A stormwater runoff mitigation method not common in the area, but one Reh-Gingerich said is included as an option in the city’s stormwater manual.

“It is cost-share so we do want property owners to invest in the projects that they’re putting in, but we want to offer a little bit of additional funding to help them make it happen,” Reh-Gingerich said.

The city has a brochure detailing the cost-share breakdown.

Reh-Gingerich estimates that the annually funded program will help fund about two projects each year.

These projects help implement further the Bradley and Hewletts Creeks Watershed Restoration Plan the Wilmington City Council adopted in 2012.

The plan was created by the city in the mid-2000s in partnership with Wrightsville Beach, the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Center for Marine Science, Withers & Ravenel Engineers, and the North Carolina Coastal Federation, which publishes Coastal Review, in response to heavily degraded water quality in the creeks.

Bradley Creek’s water quality has been impaired since the mid-1940s, according to the plan. Much of shellfish harvesting has been closed for decades in Hewletts Creek, the watershed of which by 2021 had about 25% impervious surface coverage and a population of about 20,000, according to a North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality report.

But efforts to reduce pollution in the watershed by reducing the amount of runoff going into the creek have been paying off, according to that report.

A North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries Sanitary Survey from 2016 until 2021 noted that while shellfish harvesting in Hewletts Creek is prohibited, “significant strides have been made in reducing fecal coliform impacts,” the report states.

“Fecal counts at sampled sites have gone from tens of thousands of colony-forming units (CFU) per 100 milliliters (mL) in pre-2006 to the hundreds or tens of CFU/100 mL in the 2016-2021 sampling period, with some sites meeting the state coastal standard of 14 CFU/100 mL fairly consistently,” according to that report.

Quarterly sampling at four tidal sites on the creek coordinated by Dr. Michael Mallin, a professor at UNCW’s Center for Marine Science, substantiate water quality improvements in the creek. That sampling has occurred since 2007.

“It’s important to continue to do what we can on land because we all live downstream of each other and we’re all connected by the way that water flows,” Reh-Gingerich said. “So, what we can do to improve our stormwater footprint, the more that we can help protect these resources for years to come.”

UNCW, the largest landowner in the Bradley Creek watershed, has partnered with the Coastal Federation to install nearly half a dozen rain gardens and retrofit a number of parking lots since 2019.

Mad Mole Brewing has tapped the university as a resource for interns to help figure out how to reduce stormwater runoff coming from the property off Boathouse Road near Bradley Creek.

The business received funds through an U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Section 319 Nonpoint Source Management Program grant awarded to UNCW to remove portions of impervious pavement from its parking lot and refill those areas with permeable pavers, explained Dano Ferons, Mad Mole’s operations manager.

“Our building has four downspouts in the back and two in the front and that runoff just goes straight out into Bradley’s Creek,” he said. “The goal is to get that first inch of rainfall from the roof into the permeable pavers up against the downspouts and then the rest of the parking lot could collect that first inch down at the end of the driveway.”

To capture that amount of runoff, they will have the parking slots at the two downspouts on the front of the building ripped up and replaced with the permeable pavers. A strip of pavers will be installed across an end of the parking lot to infiltrate rain water that flows across the lot.

The project, which is expected to be underway later this year, will cost about $10,000, Ferons said.

“But of that $10,000 we’re not responsible for any monetary valuation. Our entire contribution is going to be education, employee time and on-site resources,” he said.

Next on his list is figuring out how to best mitigate runoff coming from the downspouts on the back of the building, a project that would potentially be eligible for the city’s cost-share rebate program.

“We’ve got a curb back there in a private alley behind the building and [our intern] is going to see if we can knock out part of the curb and put a swale in,” Ferons said. “I’m not sure if we’ll be allowed to do that so the other option that we’re looking at is cutting the pipes and running them into rain barrels and then rigging up a pump system and making a rain garden out the back of the brewery in that same swale area. Then we would have a whole other area that we could put a rain barrel or potentially divert the downspout and use it for water around the grounds.”

North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality staff are in the beginning stages of getting the state’s first Flood Resiliency Blueprint on paper.

NCDEQ’s Division of Mitigation Services and AECOM Technical Services of North Carolina Inc., the Raleigh-based consulting firm contracted to lead blueprint development, held a technical advisory group kickoff meeting March 15 at the Maxwell Center in Goldsboro. The technical advisory group is one arm of the stakeholder engagement process AECOM has designed to guide blueprint creation.

Flood resiliency “is not something that we take lightly across the state,” Sushma Masemore, DEQ assistant secretary for environment, explained when she welcomed the roughly 100 attendees from local and county governments, state agencies, nonprofit organizations and others invested in flood mitigation.

NCDEQ was allocated $20 million by the North Carolina General Assembly to create a draft blueprint document and accompanying online decision-making tool that will allow agencies, lawmakers, and regional and local government planners to prioritize and direct resources to implement effective flood resilience for North Carolina’s 17 river basins.

This statewide initiative to address flooding is the first of its kind, Masemore said.

The project is broken up into three phases. The first two phases include drafting both the blueprint and an action plan for the Neuse River basin as well as developing the online tool. These phases are taking place simultaneously and expected to be complete by December of this year. The last phase to have the online support tool be applied to river basins statewide is expected to occur next year. 

The Neuse River was chosen for the pilot study because of the abundance of already existing data, which is currently being analyzed. Once the strategy is developed, it will serve as a template for other basins.

When complete, the tool is expected to recommend projects and funding strategies that reduce flooding, mitigate the impacts of flooding when it does occur, and expedite recovery afterward, according to the website. 

“This is an ambitious statewide endeavor. No state has this goal,” Masemore said, adding it will require partnership and participation to ensure success. “Combining current state science, modeling capabilities and sound planning techniques, we believe that North Carolina can create a successful framework that helps identify and justify expanding investments and flood mitigation measures.”

Elizabeth Christenson, project lead for the blueprint and DEQ policy adviser, told attendees that the blueprint process is focused on resiliency, “which is long-term planning to reduce the impact” of devastating floods.

“The blueprint is designed to be a standardized flood resiliency approach, an actionable online decision support tool for each major river basin in North Carolina,” she said. End users should be able to visualize flood risks, prioritize select location alternatives, and be able to understand the impacts and vulnerability of these choices to their community. 

“This kind of approach means that we can transparently implement flood resiliency strategies, prioritize additional data modeling, understand the impacts of potential changes to policy rules and law, and further local stormwater maintenance programs,” Christenson said. 

The ideal tool would show the impacts from different flood mitigation strategies, from nature-based solutions to structural and nonstructural approaches and beyond. To do this, Christenson said the two strategies for developing the blueprint are statewide and basin-specific. 

“Since this is a statewide process document and tool, we know that it needs to apply to each basin. It needs to be flexible to incorporate the needs of each basin,” she said. But because each basin is different, the plan is to develop basin-specific action strategies and include stakeholders and government agencies to identify priority data and best mitigation strategies for each of the state’s basins.

The legislature directed the division to contract with an organization to develop the blueprint for major watersheds impacted by flooding. The division signed a contract with AECOM Dec. 28, 2022.

AECOM and NCDEQ held the first public meeting on the blueprint during the February Secretary’s Environmental Justice and Equity Advisory Board meeting, when they asked the board to help equitably guide the blueprint. The environmental justice board formed a subcommittee to be part of the process. 

Related: Environmental Justice Board to assist on flood resiliency

Project Manager Andy Hadsell in AECOM’s Risk Solutions Group said that the consulting firm has subcontracted with engineering and planning firms, disaster consultants and other flood modeling and forecasting specialists to build the blueprint. 

Since signing on to the project, Hadsell said the AECOM has been focused on establishing engagement by bringing in partners and finding gaps in the existing “wealth of information” on flood hazard identification, flood risk assessment and flood resilience planning. 

The existing literature, data, models and engagement components are being compiled into a central system with an eye for any gaps in information. This will help the team better understand going forward how to build recommendations and a framework for the online decision support tool. 

During the daylong meeting, the attendees, who were invited because of their past work with flood resilience in the past, met with their assigned technical advisory group.  

There are seven technical advisory groups with about 10 members each that are to report to the core advisory group made up of NCDEQ decision-makers and staff. This core advisory group presents information and recommendations to the principal advisory group and DEQ executive leadership for approval. The core advisory group also reports to the legislature, goes out into the community for feedback and holds informal workshops. Plans are to have public input meetings in late spring, as well.

The technical advisory groups are governance; partnership and funding; hazard identification; vulnerability, risk and impact; resilience, mitigation and reduction tool development; acceptance; and the Neuse River Basin Regional Advisory Group. These groups are to meet a handful of times by June.

Nathan Slaughter, a certified planner and certified floodplain manager with ESP Associates, a subconsultant to AECOM, facilitated the Neuse River Basin Regional Advisory Group that afternoon.

The Neuse River advisory group has been tasked with providing input on basin-specific needs and how to engage and use that information at a river-basin level. This group is to serve as a pilot that will help define how future basins are incorporated in the blueprint process, he said.

Slaughter said that the consultant team had nearly completed its “Catalogue of Government and Organization Watershed Planning Efforts,” which contains existing statewide and Neuse River Basin and studies, plans and strategies. They also looked at planning efforts by other states.

He reminded the group that everyone on the development side of the blueprint knows that there’s tons of information already available, so, “we’re not starting from scratch. We’re going to build off of all that good data and planning that is out there to help inform and build the blueprint.”

Joseph Pitchford, public information officer with the Division of Mitigation Services, explained in a follow-up interview Monday that the principal advisory group met March 22 to hear an overview of the blueprint and discuss the early progress of the technical advisory group. The about 22 attendees representing federal, state and local governments as well as nongovernmental organizations heard from each of the technical advisory group leaders. No changes were made or actions taken.

The state’s environmental commissions are backing a call for legislators to beef up grossly underfunded programs aimed at reducing nutrient runoff in North Carolina’s waters.

The North Carolina Environmental Management Commission, or EMC, Thursday unanimously adopted a resolution advocating for more money and the expansion of cost-share programs that help landowners manage and lessen runoff.

Thursday’s vote marked a significant first round of support for the resolution, one drawn up in an effort to get water quality-driven cost-share programs where the demand far exceeds the funding on the North Carolina General Assembly’s radar.

The basis of the resolution, also recently adopted by the Coastal Resources Commission and Marine Fisheries Commission, stems from a recommendation included in the Coastal Habitat Protection Plan, or CHPP.

The plan addresses, in part, water quality impacts on coastal habitats, particularly submerged aquatic vegetation. When too many nutrients are in water, those nutrients degrade the water’s clarity.

Cloudy water is bad for seagrasses, which support fisheries, clean surrounding waters and take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

Financial support for the cost-share programs that assist landowners, whether they’re farmers, in forestry or urban dwellers, in managing the amount of nutrients that get into these crucial coastal habitats has waned in recent decades.

Take the state’s agriculture cost-share program. A little more than $4 million was appropriated to that program in 2021. That year the requests for assistance topped more than $17 million.

In comparison, Virginia’s agriculture cost-share program designed to protect the Chesapeake Bay is in the range of $140 million.

Keith Larick, North Carolina Farm Bureau natural resources director, said requests for assistance from North Carolina’s agriculture cost-share program were actually down this past round from previous years.

“That doesn’t even include people who may have applied in the past and maybe have just given up on that kind of funding,” he said. “Obviously there’s an unmet need out there.”

The state’s Water Resources Development Grant Program, which assists local governments, received in 2021 just under $1 million, well shy of the $6 million in requests made in cost-share grants.

The Community Conservation Assistance Program, which funds projects to install various best management practices on urban, suburban and rural land not used in agriculture production, gets a few hundred thousand dollars each year.

“That doesn’t translate to many on-the-ground projects,” said Todd Miller, executive director of the North Carolina Coastal Federation, which publishes Coastal Review. “These (programs) are to support things that aren’t really economic for the landowner, whether you’re a farmer or a homeowner, to necessarily just do on your own.”

Best management practices, or BMPs, in urban areas include routing downspouts to allow rainwater flow onto vegetated lawns rather than impervious surfaces like paved driveways, building rain gardens, and other projects designed to keep the landscape functional for managing water.

There are a range of projects farmers may use to manage and reduce runoff, whether its planting cover crops to reduce erosion or constructing stream-side or ditch buffers to prevent runoff from flowing into state waters.

“These BMPs have been around for a long time but the amount of funding to support them is really just minimal,” Miller said.

Runoff management projects are long-term commitments because they have to occur year-in and year-out, he said.

“This is a hard one in terms of getting a reoccurring commitment,” Miller said. “It’s much easier if you have a project that’s a one-time deal and it’s a lasting impact, but cost-share has to be repetitive and consistent over the years.”

Farmers, in particular, need technical assistance with projects on their land.

And a farmer who initiates any of these practices typically incurs more than just the initial out-of-pocket costs to cover his or her portion — 25% — in a cost-share program.

“A lot of these practices aren’t necessarily going to improve the farmer’s bottom line,” Larick said. “Some of them may, but many of them may require a farmer taking land out of production. If a farmer puts in stream-side buffers or buffers along a ditch, that will undoubtedly improve water quality, but that is acreage the farmer is no longer farming so there is a cost to the farmer for a lot of these practices.”

Just another reason why cost-share programs that help these farmers are so important.

“Declining water quality, it is the biggest threat,” he said.

In 2021 the CHPP was amended to include a series of issue papers addressing submerged aquatic vegetation, wetland protection and restoration through nature-based solutions and wastewater infrastructure solutions for water quality improvement.

The plan, first adopted in late 2004 by the state’s three environmental regulatory commissions, is reviewed every five years by state Department of Environmental Quality officials.

The goal of the plan is to protect, restore and conserve coastal habitats that sustain coastal fisheries.

Miller said local governments and various nonprofits are next in line to be asked to support the resolution adopted by the environmental commissions.

“I’m not thinking we’re going to see any large appropriations this year” to water quality cost-share programs, Miller said. “I think that would be a pretty rapid turnaround, but certainly building the case for this so that, in future years, it gets more consideration at budget time.”

BEAUFORT — Now that Cedar Street no longer serves as the main road through town, as it had been for decades before a U.S. 70 realignment project around town was completed in 2019, work can begin on the bumps, cracks, holes and the resulting complaints from motorists.  

Two projects aimed at mitigating stormwater runoff along Cedar Street are to take place this year, with one that began Monday, before the North Carolina Department of Transportation, which maintains the road, resurfaces it, officials said. The projects feature pervious pavement and bioretention. These are nature-based stormwater strategies designed to maintain or mimic a site’s natural hydrology with capacity to collect, soak in and filter stormwater runoff.

Beaufort was selected in late 2022 for a $195,500 grant through the Water Resources Development Grant program for the Cedar Street pervious parking project. The project is expected to cost around $391,000. The North Carolina Coastal Federation, which advocates for water quality improvements and publishes Coastal Review, has pledged $75,000 and the town is responsible for $120,500.

This plan is to install 16,600 square feet of pervious pavement in the parking lanes of Cedar Street between Orange and Marsh streets, about five blocks. The pervious pavement, which allows water to seep through rather than puddle on the surface, is anticipated to capture 6.4 acres of stormwater runoff from adjacent properties and streets. This should reduce the amount of polluted water making it the impaired Town Creek watershed, according to the town.

“Your ongoing efforts to improve the condition of water resources in your jurisdiction are to be commended,” said Division of Water Resources Director Richard Rogers Jr. in a Nov. 2, 2022, letter to town staff and officials.

Town officials announced Friday that NCDOT was planning to begin work Monday, Jan. 9, to remove existing curb, asphalt and sidewalk at several intersections along Cedar Street starting at the intersection of Cedar and Orange streets working toward the intersection of Cedar and Marsh streets.

The NCDOT project for Cedar Street is to build 14 bioswales at the corners of four street intersections with the underdrains connected to the stormwater main that was replaced early last year. 

Bioswales, in this case, are vegetated low-lying areas or troughs, like a rain garden, where a gutter or storm drain would usually be installed. The pervious pavement will be installed between these bioswales. 

Town perspective

Beaufort Town Engineer Greg Meshaw explained that with the U.S. 70 bypass and the fixed-span Gallants Channel bridge that opened in 2018 and replaced the half-century-old, two-lane drawbridge connecting Beaufort and Radio Island, Cedar Street was no longer the major thoroughfare and longstanding water infrastructure problems below the street – the reason for the years of bumpy pavement — could be addressed.

“Accordingly, NCDOT desires to turn the street over to the Town. Before doing so, the Department will renew the street pavement,” Meshaw said in the email response to Coastal Review. “Given this plan, the Town completed a project to replace and rehabilitate the water and sewer mains beneath the street. NCDOT also replaced the existing stormwater line beneath the street, which was found to be failing at several locations.”

He added that NCDOT plans to begin its Cedar Street paving project in June.  

“The project to essentially reconstruct Cedar Street presented the perfect opportunity for inclusion of a project to construct pervious pavement,” Meshaw said. 

Because the parking lanes are to be constructed with pervious pavement between the bioswales, the pavement should help reduce the runoff and increase the efficiency of bioswales at filtering pollutants, particularly during smaller storm events. 

“The two projects are viewed as a step toward the Town’s goal of watershed restoration,” he said in the email.

The town’s watershed restoration plan approved by the state in 2017 points to stormwater runoff as the primary pollutant source for Town Creek.

“The town is grateful to NCDOT for allowing the pervious pavement project to be incorporated into the overall work given that the street is still under their jurisdiction,” he added.

NCDOT’s use of nature-based strategies

Ryan M. Mullins, retrofits program manager for the highway stormwater program in the NCDOT Hydraulics Unit, told Coastal Review that the Cedar Street project presented a unique opportunity to take advantage of the road no longer being a part of the U.S. 70 route corridor because of the bypass. NCDOT plans to turn Cedar Street over to Beaufort for future maintenance.  

“The NCDOT Hydraulics Unit was able to work with the Town of Beaufort and local NCDOT forces to explore adding stormwater practices, which previously did not exist, as part of this opportunity. This stormwater project allows NCDOT to contribute toward beautification and revitalization of Cedar Street, while also providing stormwater treatment of roadway runoff that eventually drains to Town Creek,” he said. 

Construction on the bioretention bump-outs, or bioswales, is slated to begin this month and is anticipated to wrap up by the spring in order to avoid the tourist season, Mullins added.

NCDOT decided to use nature-based strategies rather than conventional repaving because the agency “strives to identify context-sensitive solutions for its transportation infrastructure,” he explained. “Given the historic nature of Beaufort and the natural beauty of the area, we felt it was important to incorporate nature-based stormwater solutions to compliment the character of the community.”

Cedar Street does present challenges for incorporating stormwater best management practices, or BMPs, which include controlling flooding, reducing erosion and improving water quality. 

For example, the road is in an urban setting with numerous homes and businesses on both sides. There is limited NCDOT right-of-way, and thus no areas for more traditional stormwater BMPs, and numerous overhead utilities and underground utilities to contend with, as well, Mullins said.

“Traditional stormwater practices are not always appropriate or feasible, especially in the urban setting. By making use of more nature-based strategies and practices that work well in the urban environment, we are able to incorporate stormwater treatment into the urban setting, providing the benefits to the local community through the aesthetics and stormwater treatment that these types of practices bring,” he said.

As part of NCDOT’s statewide National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System stormwater permit programs, the agency is charged with protecting water quality and reducing pollutant loading, Mullins added.

“One of the ways we do this is through our Stormwater Retrofit Program, where we locate, design and construct stormwater controls to mitigate and treat stormwater runoff before it enters the states waterways,” he said. “I believe that this project will set an example of what we can accomplish with strong local partnerships to incorporate stormwater practices within a slow speed local road environment, that not only treat stormwater runoff, but also enhance the aesthetics of these areas.”

The Coastal Federation’s role

Bree Charron, coastal engineer with the Coastal Federation, said the project came about as “a classic case of having the right people in the room at the right time.”

During one of the town’s stormwater committee meetings five or six years ago, the Coastal Federation coordinated with the NCDOT Hydraulics Unit retrofit staff on a presentation, and updating Cedar Street came up.

“It appeared to be the perfect opportunity for a retrofit project since they would be doing a lot of road work before handing the street over to the town. So, the NCDOT retrofit team worked to plan and design the bioswale bump-outs,” Charron said. 

Last year, NCDOT switched engineering firms for this project to Raleigh-based McAdams Co. The engineers pitched the idea of pervious pavement in the parking areas between the bioswales.

Charron said Meshaw, the town engineer, asked for her help to find additional funding to make sure the project happened.

“The North Carolina Water Resources Development Grant seemed like the perfect fit, so we went for it. The federation is contributing $75,000 from our state appropriation to restore water quality in the Newport River to aid the town’s match. This was an unexpected expenditure for the town, but the timing and overall benefits of the project led them to commit the other portion of the match,” she said.

The Newport River in Carteret County runs 12 miles southeast through the town of Newport flowing ultimately into Bogue Sound between Morehead City and Beaufort, according to the Coastal Federation.

The nonprofit committed the $75,000 because “we have been involved in making this Cedar Street project happen since the very beginning and wanted to see it reach its full potential,” Charron explained. “It just happened to line up perfectly with our funding to implement water quality projects in the Newport River watershed.”

She added that the organization is currently working with stakeholders from Beaufort, Morehead City, Newport and Carteret County to develop a Newport River Estuary Restoration Plan. 

“Cedar Street is one of the main sources of direct discharge of stormwater into Town Creek and then the river. This project will reduce the volume of stormwater reaching the creek and help filter out pollutants,” she said.

This is one of several water quality projects in which the Coastal Federation has partnered with Beaufort.

“We helped them develop a watershed restoration plan back in 2017 and have been working to install projects that meet the goals of that plan since then,” she said.

“Other installed projects include the pervious parking on Orange Street, the Topsail Park rain gardens, and the retrofit of the Wildlife Resources Commission boat ramp on Lennoxville to name a few. This project adds to Beaufort’s growing list of stormwater retrofits and implementation projects that show their dedication to clean water quality in their receiving waters.”

Coastal Federation Deputy Director Lauren Kolodij told Coastal Review that moving away from conventional repaving, which is standard practice, to using nature-based strategies like permeable paving and infiltration was an idea that she presented to NCDOT, and officials there were receptive.  

“We are trying to get local governments, DOT and everyone to look at opportunities to not just approach capital improvement projects the same old way — pull up pavement, fix problem and then repave — but instead look for opportunities to make a project better and more effective at reducing stormwater with nature-based strategies identified in the nature-based strategies action plan we developed in 2021,” Kolodij said.

Municipalities and counties have until 5 p.m. Sept. 30 to apply for funding through a new, state-run program to address stormwater quality and quantity issues.

Called the Local Assistance for Stormwater Infrastructure Investments, or LASII, the grant program is administered by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water infrastructure and is funded through the state’s allocation of the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA. 

The program provides grants for construction and planning for stormwater projects to improve or create infrastructure for controlling stormwater quality and quantity, according to DEQ.

The new grant program “is creating an exciting opportunity to increase resiliency and to address stormwater quality and quantity needs in communities across the state,” DEQ Secretary Elizabeth Biser said during a recent webinar about the program. “State leaders have prioritized investing in water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure in our communities to improve public health, build economic capacity and make us a more resilient state.”

The North Carolina General Assembly appropriated $103.6 million to the program in the Current Operations Appropriations Act of 2021. Of that, $18.5 million was directed to 11 recipients, including $75,000 to New Bern, for stormwater projects. 

The division intends to award the remaining $82 million to municipalities, counties, councils of government and nonprofit partners for construction and planning projects.

To qualify, applicants must be able to document a stormwater quality or quantity issue, and show significant hardship paying for stormwater management activities. Applications must include a resolution approved by the county or town governing board for the project.

Biser explained during the August webinar that there had been interest and support for the program, “And I’m glad because there’s also a large need. For municipalities with a population of more than 2,500 people, the Environmental Science Center estimates that there is $2.6 billion in stormwater capital spending needs between 2020 and 2034. That’s a significant need. We want to make sure to maximize the impact of the funds we have available by making strategic and equitable funding decisions.”

Investments in stormwater infrastructure are sorely needed in North Carolina’s communities, Biser said.

“Major storms, hurricanes and floods are all too familiar in our state. They endanger people’s lives. They impact water quality, and cost billions of dollars in repairs and loss revenue as municipalities and people tried to rebuild,” Biser continued. “Aging inadequate infrastructure compromises our ability to effectively address these challenges. Stormwater must be managed responsibly to protect our communities and to allow for growth. This new stormwater funding program and the Division of Water Infrastructure will tackle these problems and much more, reducing flooding of streets and structures, improving and safeguarding water quality and building more resilient communities.”

Francine Durso, a professional engineer and senior project manager with the Division of Water Infrastructure, responded to Coastal Review in an email, explaining that the stormwater grant program had been introduced to the public in March during two virtual sessions. During the sessions, which had 350 attendees, division staff collected input on prioritizing stormwater funding for construction and planning projects, project purposes and benefits, stormwater management practices, recipient characteristics, and equity or disadvantaged areas. 

Durso said the division used the input to develop the draft priority rating system for construction projects and the draft priority rating system for planning projects, and worked with the State Water Infrastructure Authority to fine tune the documents. The division received around 135 comments during the public review and comment period May 4 to June 3. The draft priority rating systems were revised based on public comment and given final approval in July by the State Water Infrastructure Authority.  

As part of the division’s outreach, training was offered at six locations in early Aug. 2-10 on how to apply for the fall 2022 funding. On Aug. 16, the division held a webinar solely on the stormwater funding program, during which Biser spoke.

Materials for the stormwater infrastructure funding were posted on the division website in late July. Since that time, the division has received emails with questions about LASII from about 30 to 40 people, Durso said. She said that while it’s hard to gauge how many applications will be received, the division anticipates it will be a large number.

“Throughout the webinars and in ‘How to Apply’ training, the division has stressed the importance of applicants bringing the appropriate resolution before their Governing Boards as soon as possible in order to meet the Sept. 30 application deadline,” Durso said in the email. “The Division has been responsive in answering questions, some of which have been about the resolution wording. So far, no potential applicants have mentioned that they are having difficulty with having the resolutions in time to meet the deadline.”

Nags Head Town Manager Andy Garman, told Coastal Review that the town chose to apply for the grant since there is currently limited funding available for stormwater projects in the state. 

He said the town staff found the division’s outreach efforts to be helpful, especially the webinars they have hosted on available grants, eligibility requirements, funding limits, and the application rating system, as well as the individual help offered to help navigate the application process.

“Being a relatively small community situated in a dynamic coastal environment, conventional solutions to address stormwater management can be very limited when considering potential environmental impacts. As such, we are directing our focus on innovative solutions to comprehensively address areas susceptible to repetitive flooding. In the case of the proposed projects, innovation can result in additional funding needs for project implementation,” Garman said. 

There are two low-lying projects areas along South Old Oregon Inlet Road in south Nags Head targeted for potential grant funding. Portions of the proposed projects were designed and bid in late-2019. The lowest bid exceeded the available funds for the two projects. 

“We saw the Local Assistance for Stormwater Infrastructure Improvements as a mechanism to make up for the shortfall in funding,” Garman said.

Hertford County is also applying for funding through the program.

County Manager David Cotton told Coastal Review that the Board of Commissioners approved the three resolutions needed to apply during its Sept. 6 meeting.

Cotton said that there are several objectives associated with the resolutions, “which range from extending water services to disadvantaged areas of the county, improving water pressure in targeted regions of the system, to increased storage capacity.”

Dare County Manager Bobby Outten said in an interview that the county is interested in applying for the grant, but officials are in the midst of creating a stormwater master plan to help the county prioritize stormwater projects. 

The county’s stormwater master plan is intended to “identify critical project areas and potential mitigation measures to further guide resiliency efforts and reduce future environmental impacts in the unincorporated areas of Dare County,” according to the website. There’s an online questionnaire for county residents and public meetings are set for 6 p.m. Sept. 28 in Fessenden Center Annex in Buxton and 6 p.m. Sept. 29 at the Dare County Administrative Building in Manteo.

Outten said that if the county has the necessary information to meet the Sept. 30 deadline, application would be made. If not, he said they’ll wait until the next cycle. 

One of Surf City’s most traveled roads on Topsail Island is also one of the most flood-plagued after a good rain.

Heavy showers leave pools of water on a stretch of South Shore Drive, also N.C. 50, blocking motorists driving along the main thoroughfare from Surf City to Topsail Beach from safely passing through.

The town was recently awarded two grants totaling nearly $800,000 to move forward with a multiphase, nature-based project to divert floodwaters off the road and into the ground.

Efforts to get the project underway go back about two years, when Surf City and the North Carolina Department of Transportation, or DOT, began working together to figure out how to address the flooding.

The town hired Charlotte-based engineer consulting firm W.K Dickson & Co. Inc. to study how to divert water from seven critical flooding areas along South Shore Drive to potential infiltration areas or existing stormwater management ponds.

The company released a final feasibility study a year ago identifying nine flooding hot spots and options for drainage and infiltration of those sites between the 1500 and 2800 blocks of South Shore Drive.

“All of these nine sites contribute to each other,” said David Price, Surf City public utilities director. “As the rain starts to fall and it starts to flood you get a lot of little puddles.”

Those puddles expand as it continues to rain, eventually overlapping and covering the road – the main corridor that runs from Topsail Beach to the bridge to the mainland – with several inches of water, rendering the stretch of road unsafe for vehicles.

This has resulted over the years in calls to emergency services from drivers whose vehicles have stalled in the road after trying to pass through too-deep floodwaters.

“We’ve had water coming in dashboards of vehicles in certain isolated, more extreme incidents,” said James Horne, Surf City’s emergency management director.

Driving a half-million-dollar firetruck through several inches of floodwater is not ideal, he said.

“To this point we’ve never had to forgo answering an emergency call for service (because of flooding), but it is certainly a real possibility,” Horne said. “It’s always a thought that sits in the back of your mind.”

As the island’s population has grown, so too have the concerns about access being restricted from the southern end of the island to the bridge because of floodwaters.

With each phase of the project that gets complete, Horne said that’s “a couple of pounds of weight off our shoulders.”

The initial phase of the project focuses on two areas, 1815 South Shore Drive and 2201 South Shore Drive.

The town has received a $250,000 Golden LEAF Foundation grant and a $520,100 N.C. Emergency Management grant, which will cover the cost of installing catch basins at each site.

Stormwater will flow off the road, into the catch basin and routed to underground infiltration chamber systems designed to hold the water, which will then percolate into the ground.

Surf City Town Manager Kyle Breuer said town and DOT officials are meeting in the coming weeks to discuss the state taking over the project since the road is maintained by the state.

This initial phase of the project is expected to be completed no later than two years.

Breuer said the town would like to set up a monitoring program so officials can gauge the effectiveness of the project. What works for one area may not work at them all, he said.

“Different areas have unique challenges, which will require unique solutions,” he said.

The project is just one piece of resiliency strategies the town is looking into.

Last December, Surf City, Topsail Beach and North Topsail Beach officials held the first public meeting about an island-wide resiliency project.

The three beach towns are among 26 coastal communities, including eight counties and 18 municipalities, in the state that received grants last year on behalf of the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management’s N.C. Resilient Coastal Communities Program, or NC-RCCP.

NC-RCCP is a product of the state’s 2020 Climate Risk Assessment and Resilience Plan, which was the result of Executive Order 80 signed by Gov. Roy Cooper in October 2018.

The program aims to boost resilience efforts in the state’s 20 coastal counties and encourages those who live and work along the coast to participate in finding solutions and prioritizing projects designed to help their communities bounce back from flooding and storms.

“During any sort of rainfall event we want to be able to not skip a beat,” Breuer said. “Being about to move this water into infiltration chambers and putting it back into the ground allows us as an island to not be impacted by certain events.”

Litter traps are being placed in creeks and rivers throughout the state to catch plastics washing off roadways.

The statewide effort to install Trash Trouts, a device that traps litter in stormwater, is part of a growing effort to lower the amount of macroplastics and microplastics getting into waterways and, eventually, into the ocean.

Waterkeepers throughout the state will be monitoring the amount of trash collected from the traps and use that information to boost collaborations with local governments to cut down on the amount of plastics making it into the sea and, more importantly, advocates say, curtail consumption of single-use plastics.

“Plastic pollution isn’t a problem we can clean our way out of, although it’s important to get it out of our waterways,” said White Oak Waterkeeper Rebecca Drohan. “We kind of envision the Trash Trouts’ role in that as having data on what sorts of litter, what sources they could possibly be coming from, track that and use that to work with our municipal leaders to inform some of the plastic problems that we’re seeing.”

Coastal Carolina Riverwatch partnered with Jacksonville to install earlier this month a Trash Trout on Scales Creek, a tributary of the New River.

The creek is an unintended recipient of roadside trash, making it an ideal location for a litter trap to catch plastic debris from getting to the Atlantic Ocean.

Trash Trouts were designed by the nonprofit environmental group Asheville GreenWorks. The device works like a metal strainer, capturing and holding trash on the surface of the water.

The litter traps are funded through a North Carolina Environmental Enhancement Grant as part of a statewide microplastics research and pollution prevention infrastructure project sponsored by Waterkeepers Carolina.

Up to 75% of trash in the nations waterways comes from roadside litter. A majority of that trash is plastics.

When they enter waterways, larger pieces of plastic, referred to as macroplastics, begin to break down into smaller pieces known as microplastics. These tiny pieces of plastic are consumed by marine life and humans.

At least 14 million tons of plastic ends up in the ocean each year, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, an organization made up of more than 1,400 government and civil society organizations.

Last year, about 5,500 pounds of trash was rounded up during cleanup efforts throughout the White Oak and New River watersheds, according to Drohan.

The amount of trash collected during cleanups this year overseen by Cape Fear River Watch surpasses that.

“We’re over 6,000 pounds of trash and recycling this year alone and it’s only April,” said Rob Clark, Cape Fear River Watch water quality programs manager.

Roughly 80-85% of the litter collected is plastic of some kind, he said.

The Trash Trout Cape Fear River Watch is installing in Burnt Mill Creek by ARIUM apartments in May will complement litter traps to be placed in storm drains in Wilmington and Leland.

The storm drain devices called LittaTraps, which are catch basins designed by New Zealand-based company Enviropod, are tentatively scheduled to be installed in four locations over the next couple of weeks. The traps were funded by a grant through the Jandy Ammons Foundation.

Related: Project to gauge how well storm drain traps catch litter

In Wilmington, a trap is to be placed in a curbside drain at Waterline Brewing Co. on Surry Street and in a storm drain at the intersection of South Front and Dock streets downtown.

“The idea of the projects is, if we can remove macroplastics from the waterways, we can reduce the levels of microplastics because a lot of microplastics come from macroplastics that break down in the water over time,” Clark said.

A year after the Trash Trout’s installation, river watch will continue sampling and comparing levels of microplastics before and after the trap was placed in the creek. There is a second, controlled site at Island Creek where samples will also be compared.

Two quarts of water will be collected at each location and shipped to the Watauga Riverkeeper in Boone, where water samples are analyzed under a microscope, Clark said.

“Microplastics seems to be a persistent problem globally,” he said. “The structural solutions are super important to collect data and reduce litter levels, but we really need to figure out some source-based reduction because we’re just getting swamped with this stuff. It’s hard to stay on top of the issue without reducing it at the source in some way or another.”

Cutting back at the source was a topic of discussion Friday during the North Carolina Plastic Policy Workshop at the Duke University Marine Lab in Beaufort.

Michelle Nowlin, a clinical professor of law at Duke and co-director of Duke Environmental Law and Policy Clinic headed a session at the workshop discussing policy tools local governments can use to stem the tide of plastic waste going into fresh and marine waters.

Nowlin spoke to Coastal Review a couple of days before the workshop. She said it is incredibly important to draw public attention to litter traps and their effectiveness in reducing the amount of plastic getting into the ocean.

“What we need to do is keep the trash out of the waters to begin with,” she said.

That’s something that can be managed at every level of government, but particularly at the local level.

“The General Assembly has pretty unlimited authority to adopt comprehensive legislation and obviously that would be more effective if they would do so, but the General Assembly has had several bills that various lawmakers have proposed over the years to try to have more effective waste management policies and those have not made it out of committee,” Nowlin said. “Waste management really happens at the local level. Local governments have considerable authority to decide what is the best waste management strategy given the concerns and considerations in our community.”

Nowlin and other researchers have done comprehensive research looking at what other states and cities across the country and national governments throughout the world have done to address plastics in their communities to put together a list of several options local governments here can use.

Those options include everything from banning certain types of single-use plastics by, for example, working with local school districts to rid the use of Styrofoam, to imposing consumer fees on plastic shopping bags, which research indicates is more effective than banning bags outright.

One of the easiest things a local government can do is require vendors it contracts with not use single-use plastics or products contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS — think GenX.

“That’s a very easy, straightforward thing that local governments can do and it doesn’t require any new authorizing language,” Nowlin said. “They can decide as Durham County has done that we’re not going to provide single-use plastic water bottles anymore at county-sponsored functions.”

State officials recently announced that $1.3 million in federal funding is available for watershed restoration projects.

Local governments, agencies, nonprofits, educational institutions and communities in areas with a state-approved watershed restoration plan have a little more than a month to get their application together for the grant to help improve and protect water quality.

The funding is provided for in Section 319(h) of the federal Clean Water Act, a provision typically called the 319 Grant Program. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency funds projects designed to reduce nonpoint source pollution, such as stormwater, and the Division of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources selects the qualifying applicants that have an approved restoration plan for a water body listed by as impaired.

“The 319 Grant Program allows governments and organizations to actively engage in protecting North Carolina’s water resources,” said Richard W. Gannon, supervisor of the division’s Nonpoint Source Planning Branch, in a statement. “Projects that incorporate climate change adaptation or benefit historically underserved communities are encouraged to apply for this funding.” 

Nonpoint source pollution usually comes from land runoff, rain and snow, from the atmosphere, drainage, seepage or hydrologic modification, according to the EPA. When rainfall or snowmelt moves over and through the ground it collects and carries away natural and human-made pollutants, eventually depositing the pollutants into lakes, rivers, wetlands, coastal waters and ground water.

The application deadline is midnight May 4. An interagency workgroup is to review the proposals and schedule interviews for eligible candidates in June. Awards are to be announced this summer.

About 10 projects have been awarded each year since the program began in 2005. The nonprofit North Carolina Coastal Federation, which publishes Coastal Review, has worked on 17 projects funded through the 319 program, federation Deputy Director Lauren Kolodij said.

Kolodij explained that intense rainstorms cause flooding and water quality degradation as the runoff funnels pollutants to coastal waters. “It is the greatest polluter of our creeks, rivers and sounds,” she said, adding that “increased flooding from the greater frequency, intensity and duration of heavy rain events is plaguing the coast and the state. Altered hydrology from land use is contributing to the severity and impact of storms.”  

The EPA section 319 grant is a source of funding that communities across the state depend on to develop, design and construct restoration projects in jurisdictions with an approved watershed restoration plan, she said, adding that the funding is invaluable for communities that want to use hydrologic restoration at a watershed scale to become more flood-resilient.

The federation works with communities, researchers, local governments and state agencies to address flooding and water quality problems and priorities. Recent projects include the Bradley and Hewletts Creek watershed restoration plans in Wilmington, a watershed restoration plan in Pine Knoll Shores, a project to reduce stormwater runoff at the Swansboro Municipal Complex, and work to reduce stormwater volume on the University of North Carolina Wilmington campus, as well as in Beaufort and Swansboro.

“The plans developed by the federation and partners all share a strategy for watershed restoration that is based on maintaining or mimicking the natural hydrology of the landscape and a key component of stakeholder involvement,” Kolodij said. “The plans have resulted in the use of cost-effective nature-based stormwater strategies to mimic the natural capacity of the landscape to manage billions of gallons of water, built community buy-in for a watershed approach, and provided a foundation for securing federal, state and local funding for plan implementation.”

She said that science demonstrates that there are fewer flooding incidents and better water quality in watersheds where natural hydrology is protected, restored or mimicked.

The Coastal Federation has “embraced a watershed restoration framework built on the key benefits of hydrologic matching and has been implementing the framework across the coast,” she added.

Dr. Bill Hunt, a William Neal Reynolds distinguished university professor and extension specialist in North Carolina State University’s Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, told Coastal Review that he had worked on five or six 319 projects, mostly in Wilmington focusing on Bradley, Hewletts, and Burnt Mill creeks.

Nonpoint source pollution impacts many things that people who live, or visit, the coast care about such as swimming. “When we devise potentially inexpensive ways to keep pathogens out of our creeks, we open up the opportunity for currently restricted water-based activities to be enjoyed again by lots of people,” he said.

He said he most recently worked on a now-complete 319 project in Jacksonville, and about 18 years ago, he worked on a project focusing on the White Oak watershed, leading to projects in both Carteret and Onslow counties.

“Much of what we have examined has been to trial practices that we know will work, but maybe not know exactly how well — and then monitor them as part of the project. The monitoring helps us determine the exact benefit these treatments can have,” Hunt said.

One recent accomplishment was evaluating how well shallow media depth, shallow water table bioretention cells worked, both in Jacksonville and Wilmington.

A bioretention cell, one of many nature-based, stormwater management strategies, is an area that has been dug out and then filled with media, or specific soils, plants or grass, and is designed to temporarily hold and filter stormwater. Current state standards require no less than 2 feet of soil or plants, depending on the plant, and the lowest point of the bioretention cell must be a minimum of 2 feet above the seasonal high water table.

Hunt said that while the type of bioretention cell they used does not currently meet current state standards, the “style” of coastal-specific bioretention did well removing residual water treatment, or WTR, pollutants of both pathogens and nutrients.

 The success of this bioretention cell is leading N.C. State to recommend to the Department of Environmental Quality to consider the new design for the coast, he added.

There are benefits from putting these best management practices in the ground, Hunt said. “People can see and touch their tax dollars at work. Beautifying a parking lot or creating simple infiltration zones can lead others to want to copy. That’s what we are hoping for.”

One of the best parts of working in coastal North Carolina are the town staff and officials. N.C. State cannot do these projects alone, and by working with staff at the city of Jacksonville or Wilmington, lots of improvement is possible, he said.

Applications must include an approved watershed restoration plan for a water body named on the 303(d) Impaired Water list as described in the Clean Water Act, division officials said. Instructions to create a plan and case studies are available on the DEQ website. 

The Nonpoint Source Planning Branch approves the watershed plans required to apply for a 319 grant, after review by appropriate Division of Water Resources staff and any needed revisions to meet EPA’s nine elements to develop a watershed plan.

The division can wholly fund, partially fund or not fund any proposal or any component of any Section 319 grant proposal. Availability of grant funds, amounts and award schedules are conditioned on Congressional Approval of the EPA budget and subsequent allocation to the state of Section 319 funds.

Cape Fear River Watch is launching a new project to cut down on the amount of litter getting into the Atlantic Ocean.

The nonprofit organization has purchased catch basins that are set to be installed in a handful of storm drains in Wilmington and Leland, the town that sits west across the Cape Fear River, to intercept litter from getting into the river.

The “80% Project” — a title referencing estimates that 80% of marine litter comes from land-based sources — will study the effectiveness of LittaTraps, catch basins designed by a New Zealand-based company called Enviropod.

Cape Fear River Watch received a grant of a little more than $9,500 to purchase four of the mesh, basket-like traps, which are designed to sit inside stormwater drains. The grant, funded by the Jandy Ammons Foundation, will also cover the cost of signage that will be placed at the drains where the traps are installed.

The traps capture trash and other debris carried by stormwater from getting into a drainage system.

Robb Clark, Cape Fear River Watch’s water quality programs manager, is overseeing the project, which entails tracking for one year what kind of trash and how much of it is captured by the traps.

The traps are to be emptied weekly, and trash and debris, such as leaves and other yard debris, captured at each drain will be sorted and then weighed.

Clark said that by tracking by weight the amount of trash collected from the LittaTraps, the organization will have reliable data on how much trash is being caught before it enters the river and, ultimately, the ocean. That information could turn out to be a major selling point to municipalities to budget for future investment in additional traps.

Officials in Wilmington and Leland have agreed to install traps in two storm drains. The city and town determine in which drains to place the traps, which are to be maintained by Cape Fear River Watch for one year.

Adrianna Weber, Leland’s town engineer, said in an email that if the traps are a success, “the Town will absolutely look into continuing the use of these devices and similar technologies.”

“We want to keep our community and the waterways in and surrounding our community safe and clean,” she said in the email. “LittaTraps are just one way to help accomplish this goal for our residents and the natural habitats around Leland. The Town regularly checks and cleans stormwater catch basins; therefore, the maintenance of the LittaTraps would align well with our current maintenance operations.”

Leland partners with Cape Fear River Watch to host two stream cleanups each year.

“Anywhere there are public roads and rights-of-way there is always the possibility of trash accumulating over time, but fortunately, the Town does not currently have any major issues with trash and litter,” Weber said. “Maintaining clean roadways, waterways, and public areas is important to the Town and something we maintain focus on through programs like our regular street sweeping and stream clean-ups.”

During a March 27, 2021, cleanup along Mill Creek in the Surgeon Creek watershed, about 140 pounds of bagged trash, about 70 pounds of recycling, and 100 to 150 pounds of miscellaneous trash was collected, including a flat-screen television, car seats, cushions and a large pallet, according to a report provided by Weber.

In May, about 130 pounds of bagged trash, 20 pounds of recycling and 150 to 200 pounds of miscellaneous trash, including wood, shingles, metal car parts and furniture, were picked up along Navassa Road near the creek.

Last year, more than 7,000 pounds of trash was collected from monthly litter sweeps hosted by Cape Fear River Watch, Clark said.

“The vast majority of litter that we find in our watersheds is plastic of some kind,” he said. “Cleanups alone are a Band-Aid on a bleeding artery. I could do cleanups every day and we would still be behind. You need structural solutions like this to intercept litter that the cleanups are just not going to be able to get.”

LittaTrap’s mesh basket is designed to capture and retain 100% of plastics and “other gross solids over 5mm,” according to Enviropod’s website.

Plastics in the ocean are a global problem.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, an organization made up of more than 1,400 government and civil society organizations, at least 14 million tons of plastic ends up in the ocean each year.

Clark said he isn’t aware of municipalities on the East Coast using LittaTraps, but there are communities on the California coast that do.

In 2020, the California State Water Board certified Enviropod’s LittaTrap FC, or full capture, basin insert as a full capture device for trash treatment control.

The traps are available in three standard sizes to fit various catch basin structures. Custom designs and filter liners designed to capture different pollutants are also available.

Cape Fear River Watch will likely purchase liners designed to capture generic litter, such as plastic bottles and bags, Clark said.

Liners must be replaced every three to five years and cost about $30 each.

“As for the maintenance itself, they only recommend you need to go into them quarterly,” Clark said. “That’s not a lot of labor and time input. It’s very hands off. They’re designed to hold up to 600 pounds of litter or debris.”

Clark said he hopes the traps will be installed some time in February.

“Wilmington has a pretty massive (litter) issue,” he said. “I anticipate that to increase year after year based on the way Wilmington’s population is increasing. It’s important to keep these things out of the river. We get our drinking water from the Cape Fear River.”

Updated to clarify length of N.C. 12 elevation

Duck officials heard late last year that the Outer Banks town had been selected for a $1.85 million grant for a proposed living shoreline and N.C. 12 resiliency project.

The funding is through the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, or BRIC, program. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which administers the BRIC program, announced the nearly two-dozen selected competitive projects in early November 2021, but as of Friday the town was still waiting on official word.

Town Manager Joe Heard told Coastal Review that he had received information Thursday suggesting that the town’s “official” BRIC grant award from FEMA likely will not occur until March 2022.

The BRIC program supports states, communities, tribes and territories as they take on hazard-mitigation projects with the goal of reducing risks from disasters and natural hazards by focusing on larger infrastructure projects. These projects are to enhance human health, provide ecological benefits and benefit a multitude of residents, according to FEMA.

During an earlier interview, Heard had explained that once the town gets the go-ahead, it can move forward with the plan to elevate a flood-prone section of N.C. 12 — the only north-south roadway through Duck.

Duck’s is one of 22 projects selected across the country for fiscal 2020. The projects are under one of seven categories: elevation, flood control, floodproofing, relocation, shelter project, utility and infrastructure protection, and wildfire management. The Duck project is in the elevation category.

Duck occupies a narrow swath of land between Currituck Sound and the Atlantic Ocean and is situated on the northern end of Dare County, adjacent to Currituck County. The town has around 500 year-round residents, but during peak season, the population can reach up to 25,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the town. North of Duck, in Currituck County, the population can be in the tens of thousands during peak season. The only way for those folks to leave Currituck County is on N.C. 12 through Duck.

N.C. 12 is “a low-lying highway where floods frequently impact residents, tourists and emergency services,” according to FEMA – and anyone familiar with the Outer Banks. The stretch of highway at the north end of Duck routinely floods, blocking traffic and emergency services, and is threatened by shoreline erosion.

The project

The town has proposed for the project installing a living shoreline to help protect coastal habitat and mitigate shoreline erosion, which threatens the roadway and private property, according to the BRIC application. “Flooding in the project area affects a short but critical stretch of NC 12.”

“The project Includes 988 linear feet of breakwater sills, protection of 21,234 square feet of existing marsh, 12,168 square feet of marsh restoration, and 920 linear feet of riprap revetment,” the application states. The proposed revetment Is to prevent erosion and protect the roadway and adjacent private property, help reduce wave energy, and prevent debris from accumulating in the roadway.

Heard explained that the living shoreline is intended to stabilize the section of the Currituck Sound shoreline along the roadway. The town obtained a substantial grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for the living shoreline. The engineering design is complete and ready to be permitted.

The town also plans to add a bicycle and pedestrian pathway along this area. Duck had a fourth and final phase to complete of its sidewalk and bike lane project through the village. Coincidentally, it’s the same quarter-mile stretch that would tie into an existing crosswalk north of the area, Heard said.

Nature-based solutions to improve stormwater runoff conditions are to be put in place, specifically, an infiltration trench between the roadway asphalt and the concrete sidewalk. The town obtained a grant from the Dare County Tourism Board for this project.

“So we had these two components (living shoreline and sidewalk projects) that were already locked in, but when the BRIC came up, suddenly, we’re now looking at larger numbers — a capability to accomplish something much more significant than those two projects by themselves,” he said.

To apply for BRIC, the living shoreline and pedestrian path projects were rolled into another project to elevate that section of Highway 12, Duck Road, in that same area, “that had been identified as the single most vulnerable piece of public infrastructure by that Western Carolina study,” he said.

A 1,260-foot section of N.C. 12 will be elevated. Heard added that the town didn’t think that the road work would happen for another decade, but BRIC was an opportunity to accomplish elevating the road and the other projects at the same time. 

The town also plans to use subsurface infiltration chambers, which will provide a place to store runoff that will be filtered as it infiltrates the native sandy soils, avoiding direct discharge to the sound, the application states.

“Basically everything east of the project area rises up significantly, it’s part of a large dune, that goes up substantially,” Heard said. There was a lot of runoff from the streets and property in that area and right now it’s just a sheet of water flowing across the road, directly into the sound.

The underground component planned for north of Olde Duck Road would capture stormwater and gradually release it as the water table allows, Heard said. It’s like a system that was installed at the southern end of town more than 10 years ago, “that really made a substantial difference” in an area that flooded consistently. “And we’re looking for the same type of results here.”

Heard added that native plants are also part of the plan to help filter any remaining roadway runoff.

“That’s one of the big benefits of that as well. It’s not just recreating habitat, these plants will help filter that water before it goes into the sound,” he said.

By raising the roadway, installing the living shoreline and making the sidewalk improvements, the project will mitigate threats and loss associated with erosion and damage to critical Infrastructure, roadway infrastructure replacement costs, interfering with emergency vehicles and hospital access, blocking storm evacuation route, and disruption of safe pedestrian and bicycle travel, according to the application.

First steps

Heard explained that Duck had gone through several steps in applying for the BRIC program. The project and grant itself are the result of three town planning efforts in 2020.

One was when Duck did a vulnerability assessment in partnership with the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines at Western Carolina University in February 2020. Heard said that the assessment identified the town’s most vulnerable assets, which included this section of N.C. 12.

Then in June of that year, work was completed on the Outer Banks regional hazard mitigation plan, which includes Currituck and Dare counties as well as Dare’s local governments, Duck, Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk, Manteo, Nags Head and Southern Shores — a total of eight governing bodies.

“And again, that was a project where we spent over a year identifying what some of the hazards are and the risks that all of our communities deal with,” Heard said.

In addition, each community created its own plan.

“We do have a sub plan that focuses just on Duck and the things that we hope to accomplish to make ourselves a more resilient community,” he said.

The third project took place in August 2020, when work was completed on Duck’s comprehensive land use plan.

Heard said the land use plan was a little over the year in the making.

“We interacted with the community in a variety of ways during that process to try to get input from property owners, citizens, business owners, and different stakeholders in the town,” he said.

Christian Legner, the town’s public information and events director, distributed a survey that received more than 800 responses, which was “off-the-charts” engagement Heard said for the town to only have 500 or so year-round residents.

The survey enabled town officials to “feel very confident that the types of goals, objectives and actions that we identified in that plan were the will of the community. It gives us a lot of confidence that we were heading in the right direction,” Heard added.

Not long after, Heard said that town officials became aware of the BRIC program and learned that many of the town’s planned projects were eligible.

The town worked with the North Carolina Department of Public Safety to apply for BRIC.

“We lumped it all together into a single, cohesive coastal resiliency project that would elevate the road, have the living shoreline, have the bike path and sidewalk, and we also have some stormwater management improvements in there as well that’ll help with water quality,” he explained.

Heard said he believes the project was selected because of its use of nature-based solutions, and because the road elevation would help keep N.C. 12 from becoming flooded and unpassable.  

If N.C. 12 floods in that area during the peak tourist season, based on figures from Currituck County, well over 60,000 people could be stuck.

“This little weak spot would impact all of those people’s ability to evacuate and their ability to receive emergency services were extremely important. We’re hoping to prevent the type of situation that would cause that by doing the road elevation,” he said.

Heard explained that the town hopes the project, which would fulfill key goals in previously approved plans, will also improve water quality, recreate lost habitat and increase resiliency. It could also be an educational opportunity.

It’s a highly visible stretch of road, Heard said, and particularly with the bicycle-pedestrian pathway, the public can get a close look at the work.

“We’ve got a great opportunity to educate the public about what the project is, what it’s doing,” Heard said, especially with the living shoreline part of the project, “we really want to educate people about this type of nature-based alternative. We want to let people know and give them good visible examples of an alternative. “

The town began in the fall working on the interpretive information and for the educational angle that explains the development and purpose of the project, “And hopefully give them something to think about if and when they’re looking at a similar issue along their own shoreline. They might choose to look at this rather than a bulkhead.”

The project can be an example for other communities, he said.

“To a great degree, we’re on the forefront of coastal communities that are dealing with coastal resiliency and those issues,” he said, adding there’s interest from agencies and organizations “in getting more and more examples on the on the ground, or I guess, in this case, in the water.”

The YMCA Wrightsville Beach Sprint Triathlon’s swim portion was canceled after state recreational water quality officials detected abnormally high levels of bacteria in the area.

The bacteria exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency’s standards for what is safe for recreation, and warnings were posted that cautioned against swimming at multiple locations along the Banks Channel, where the swim portion of the triathlon was to take place.

The YMCA Wrightsville Beach Sprint Triathlon was established in 1979, making it the longest-running triathlon on the East Coast. Canceling or abridging the event because of bacteria levels has never happened in the triathlon’s 42-year history.

A triathlon is a three part endurance event consisting of running, cycling and swimming portions. Instead of canceling the Sept. 25 event completely, race officials gave participants the option to either postpone their registration until next year’s triathlon, or to participate in a duathlon — just the running and cycling legs of the race. The revised event itinerary included a 2.4 mile run, leading into an 11.5 mile bike ride, and culminating in a 5K run, about 3.1 miles.

Race Director and owner of Without Limits Tom Clifford said that the changes to the event happened at the last minute.

“We decided it two hours before packet pick-up,” Clifford said.

He was informed of the high bacteria levels the day before the race, and had to decide whether or not to cancel the swim portion. If he hadn’t canceled it, participants would run the risk of getting sick after the race.

“That’s just not worth it,” Clifford said.

This year’s event had about 1,100 athletes signed up to participate, one of the highest registration rates the triathlon has had in almost a decade. Clifford estimates that around 800-900 people participated in the revised event.

The bacteria group detected was enterococci, which is present in the intestines of humans and animals. Enterococci are indicator bacteria. That means that their presence demonstrates a likelihood that other, more harmful bacteria are also present. Because of this indicative relationship, high levels of enterococci can result in posted advisories that caution against swimming.

According to Erin Bryan-Millush, environmental program supervisor in the Division of Marine Fisheries within the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, enterococci is recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency as the best thing to test for in areas like the Banks Channel because of salinity levels.

“Enterococci live longer in the areas with higher salinities so it’s a better indicator of public health,” Bryan-Millush said.

High-use recreational waters like the Banks Channel get tested for bacteria once per week to make sure the levels are still within an acceptable range. After an exceptionally high test, recreational water quality officials will revisit the site for another test.

The weekly tests are used to calculate a “logarithmic average,” which indicates how the waters are trending. The average needs to be within an acceptable range before the NCDEQ will lift the advisory.

“That logarithmic average tells a story,” Bryan-Millush said.

Bryan-Millush believes that the high levels of enterococci were caused by heavy rainfall that passed over the area in the week leading up to the triathlon. Rainfall causes water to collect over impermeable surfaces like pavement, roads and sidewalks, and wash contaminants into water sources.

However, these are the first advisories that the NCDEQ has had to issue in the Banks Channel since 2016. Before 2016, they averaged five to 10 advisories per year during the swimming season, which runs from April through October. Bryan-Millush attributes the difference to pretreatment measures that the town of Wrightsville Beach has taken to ease the effects of stormwater on local waters.

“They’re one of the few beach communities that have taken the steps to remediation,” Bryan-Millush said.

The YMCA Wrightsville Beach Sprint Triathlon has never come up against high bacteria levels before, though Clifford is used to adapting the event at the last minute. After Hurricane Florence in 2018, the only portion of the event that was still doable was a short running segment. And last year, a fallen telephone pole required a last-minute redirection of traffic.

For Clifford, situations like these are a community lesson in adaptability and grace.

“There’s always a risk with an outdoor event,” Clifford said. “We’ve got to use the cards we’re dealt.”

Hurricane season ceased to be theoretical in eastern North Carolina coast early last week, with rip tide warnings issued for northern beaches as Tropical Storm Bill formed far offshore and then veered away to the northwest.

That storm had a minor impact, but as Tropical Storm Claudette bears down on the region from the west, there’s no let up of worry. For a coastal economy already flagging from a year of shuttered restaurants and canceled bookings, any storm-related downtime would be doubly harsh.

There is a similar and powerful worry inland, away from the beach houses and rough surf where the television crews set up. Recent major storms showed that it is in the low-lying lands along the networks of coastal plain creeks and rivers where water does the most damage.

The river towns, especially along the Neuse, Lumber and Tar-Pamlico systems, are still reeling from the last decade’s cascade of catastrophes.

The named storms are just part of the flooding threat in these towns. As the state’s warmer, wetter climate drives more frequent heavy rains, deluges are doing repetitive damage in vulnerable areas across the state, including places like Kinston, where this past winter’s rains inundated areas also submerged during Hurricane Matthew. 

With broad agreement between the legislature and the governor’s office to address the problem and a potential surge in federal funding to scale up the response, scientists, planners and policymakers are trying to create a blueprint for flooding mitigation and resilience that they can take statewide. To do that, they first have to figure out what works.

Understanding Stoney Creek

There are no silver linings to hurricanes, but there are a lot of lessons to learn. In the hardest of ways, North Carolina has gotten especially good at predicting where floodwaters will rise by tracking in real time innovative flooding models during storms and relaying that information to emergency responders.

As powerful a tool as those predictive maps have been during emergencies, they are also emerging as an important source between storms, driving long-term policy to build more resilient communities.

Among an array of projects and studies funded in recently introduced legislation to develop a statewide plan on flooding is a large-scale trial of strategies developed to mitigate a persistent critical threat when Stoney Creek in Goldsboro jumps its banks.

It would be difficult to find a threat from flooding easier to grasp than when roads to a hospital become impassable. That’s what happens when the waters of Stoney Creek start to rise alongside Goldsboro’s cluster of health care facilities between N.C. 13 and the U.S. 70 bypass. They include Wayne UNC Health Care, the county’s main hospital.

The creek, which is part of a roughly 30-square-mile watershed, starts in northern Wayne County farmlands near Eureka and wends through the heart of Goldsboro, passing near the medical centers and then through a light industrial and commercial zone before flowing into the Neuse River near Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. 

Barbara Doll, a North Carolina State University engineering professor and one of the state’s leading researchers in resilience strategies, said the Stoney Creek project is an attempt to understand the actual impact of resilience strategies like restoring wetlands, reforesting farmland and improving road crossings. Her team built detailed models of soils, land use and other data points throughout the entire watershed and each sub-basin within it. 

“We did a lot of ground-truthing and refining,” she said. “I’ve seen a lot of work where people just come and they overlay soils and land use and some other layers and they say, ‘here’s where you want to restore a wetland,’ and they have no numbers for how much flow reduction there is to that,” Doll said in an interview with Coastal Review earlier this year. “So, we said, ‘let’s look where actually it really would work to do these things and how would you have to design them and what would this water storage on farms look like.’”

They picked farmland sites in the upper watershed where there was actual potential for conversion, lands that were less productive or already out of use due to flooding. Then they mapped how much water could be held back under different types of storms and strategies and what those combinations meant downstream.

The revelations of what Doll calls “getting into the nuts and bolts” of resilience and mitigation were both promising and sobering.

For the larger storms, the 500-year storms like Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Florence, the capacity of the water storage system is overwhelmed. But for the large deluges and even the 100-year storms, the plan would shave between 1 and 2 feet off the height of the floodwaters, with the biggest impact near crossings closest to the hospitals. Throughout the watershed dozens of structures, homes and businesses, would remain above the waterline.  

There are three basic solutions to dealing with the floods damaging home and businesses and washing out roads in places like Goldsboro, Doll said. You can engineer your way out of by raising roads and improving culverts, you hold back the water, or you can move people and structures out of the way.

Many places in eastern North Carolina are faced with a losing battle, she said, where the only reasonable long-term solution is to get people and structures out of harm’s way.

One goal of the Stoney Creek project is to give communities a more realistic set of tools to understand the costs and benefits of mitigation and resilience.

Both the state House and Senate are looking at major flood legislation this year, including roughly $30 million for a handful of projects in priority watersheds. Stoney Creek is among those and is considered the pilot project for the state’s natural and working lands effort. House Bill 500 earmarks about $5 million for land acquisition to kickstart the Stoney Creek plan.

Will McDow, Resilient Landscapes director for the Environmental Defense Fund, said the Stoney Creek studies are important in developing an accurate tool for planning.

“I think this study provides a kind of a clear example of how the state can use and build upon its existing science and data and models to help communities understand what are their options to reduce the flood impacts that they’re feeling,” he said. “Before this study, the community clearly knew that when it rained a 100-year event, their hospital was getting cut off, but they didn’t know how much water needed to be held back. Once you know how much water needs to be held back, then you can really begin to have the different conversations about how you might do that.”

Resilient Routes, Water Farming

One part of Doll’s resiliency work has been to assess the effectiveness of rebuilding roads and overpasses.

It makes sense, Doll said, for the state to put the funds into raising a road like I-95, but in many cases “engineering the way out” of the problem is fiscally unlikely. “It gets expensive, and it takes time,” she said.

What the Stoney Creek project showed, she said, was that in some cases a natural and working lands solution can be cheaper and more effective.

By holding back water upstream through a combination of reforestation of farmland and allowing some specified fields to flood, Doll’s team determined that three of the seven key creek crossings around Goldsboro’s hospital area would be prevented from washing out in a major storm.

That work has helped sharpen the focus around so-called “resilient routes,” critical roads for evacuations, supplies and emergency response.

“We can’t do every road. We can’t size them all to the 100-year storm and so we create these resilient routes and really work to protect them,” she said.

Doll said using natural and working lands solutions will mean different things in different places. The Stoney Creek project benefits from a sizable amount of farmland upstream of Goldsboro where the slope of fields is only 1% or less. With a little engineering, including constructing a berm, the 1% fields can hold a considerable amount of water, she said. “These low-lying lands provide a lot of opportunity.”

Since they’re often the same fields that tend to flood or that farmers can’t get to because of high water, Doll said that working out a way for farmers to be compensated for allowing their fields to hold back water makes sense.

“Why not store some water on these lands and have that farmer compensated so they know they’re going to get their investment back,” she said. “We call it water farming. They’re being paid to farm water for certain events. I think that could be a great assurance to them.”

North Carolina Farm Bureau Natural Resources Director Keith Larick, who has been working with Doll and others to develop the plan, said farmers he’s talked to are open to the ideas, especially considering the amount of damage they seen both from major storms and more frequent flash flooding.

“People don’t really know what the program is going to look like yet,” he said. “There are a lot of ideas out there as far as how are you going to fund something, who decides what gets built, is it a state program or more of a local program.”

The idea of water farming might be new, but farmers are used to incentive programs like those for conservation practices. Whatever is developed has to be flexible, he said.

“Some of these practices that we’re talking about may not take land out of production permanently,” he said.

You could have a case where a field only needs to be used occasionally to hold floodwaters, Larick said. In that case the farmer would get the payment for water farming, but during other years could keep working the land.

“We’re trying to be creative and flexible when we talk about these kinds of things to come up with something that works for landowners but also accomplishes the goal of helping with flood issues.”

The state Department of Transportation is evolving in how it tackles runoff along North Carolina’s more than 80,000 miles of roadway, adding a host of nature-based designs to slow stormwater, reduce flooding and improve water quality.

“We’re anticipating about a 60% increase in the number of tools to be added to the toolbox,” Andy McDaniel, the department’s highway stormwater program supervisor, said in a recent telephone interview.

That toolbox is the department’s stormwater design manual, the how-to on implementing stormwater control measures along the state’s roads.

The manual has been updated only twice since it was created in the late 1990s.

The latest update, which is expected to be finalized by year’s end, will be major, McDaniel said.

The department has hired a consultant to assist in searching nationwide to glean nature-based solutions and innovations other state transportation departments and federal agencies are using.

“It reflects our approach to how we intend to more thoroughly incorporate nature-based solutions into transportation,” he said. “We see it as a whole program level initiative where nature-based solutions have a spot in the planning in avoidance and minimization phases of transportation planning. It has a place in the hydraulic design of the project and it also has a place for post-construction maintenance. So, we are looking at it from a very holistic perspective.”

Department officials already have been creating, installing and testing some of the natural designs, like the commonly called bio-embankments, that will be added to the manual.

A bio-embankment is a trench that runs parallel to a road surface. Rainwater is diverted into the trench, which slows down and filters the runoff.

“It reduces the flow rate so it really acts more like a natural system, natural interflow through the soil,” McDaniel said. “It filters the water, so, from a coastal perspective, these are very good for removing bacteria, which is a problem in shellfishing waters.”

Their design is based on reviews of similar designs used in five other states.

“That’s an example of a tool that will be moving forward,” McDaniel said.

DOT has also been using a type of porous pavement that allows rainwater to absorb into the pavement then flow laterally out from the roadway surface onto the shoulder section, where the runoff is infiltrated. This pavement, a blend of holey asphalt, is used commonly along the coastal region where roadways are flat.

Flat roads pose a greater risk of hydroplaning.

The porous pavement causes very little water spray to come up from a vehicle’s tires.

“That has not only a safety benefit, but it also reduces pollutants considerably because you don’t have the under-washing of the carriage of the car,” McDaniel said. “That can be useful if you’re hauling say, hogs from Duplin County somewhere, and not having that spray washing the hog truck down is going to reduce fecal coliform.”

He said he anticipates this type of pavement will be added as a stormwater control management measure in the manual, a move that will make North Carolina the third state in the nation to include it in a state transportation stormwater best management practices manual following Texas and California.

The updated manual is also expected to include biofiltration conveyance, a tool that may not be as commonly used along the coast as it will be in the piedmont because it is designed for steep slopes, but one that also slows and filters runoff.

One such system has been installed in Brunswick County, where runoff is infiltrated before the water flows into a tributary of the Lockwoods Folly River.

North Carolina State University researchers have been monitoring a biofiltration system built at a state-operated rest area in Alamance County and found that runoff is discharging at almost half of the capacity it was prior to the installation of that system, McDaniel said.

“It was pretty amazing how well this worked,” he said.

These more natural alternatives to stormwater management will, in at least some cases, mean the department will have to dig deeper into its pockets.

Traditional stormwater systems, say for example, a riprap stormwater conveyance, does not require much engineering and takes uses less material than biofiltration.

“I dare say this could very easily be on the order 10 times or more expensive,” said hydraulics engineer Stephen Morgan with NCDOT’s hydraulics unit. “It’s hard to compare some of these because, stepping back, we’re trying to figure out what’s the performance standard or what are we trying to achieve and you have to figure that out for every single site. We have many, many miles of roadway across the state and we look at the entire system and, in particular, certain areas along our system. It’s both done holistically and it’s done at a project level.”

There are a number of variables that go into what types of nature-based systems may be best suited for different areas.

Before designs are drawn, transportation planners must think about the soils in the area a road may be built, how big the roadway needs to be, and the surrounding environment.

“If this is a roadway facility that’s designed to take people from point A to point B in a fairly rural area then we’ll really focus in highly on having vegetated shoulder sections and vegetated median that will allow water to infiltrate without having to build a lot of structural facilities along the roadway that require a lot of expensive maintenance,” McDaniel said.

He said that over the years, officials have conducted a tremendous amount of research on how to improve the native roadside environment of the state’s transportation system. Specifically, they’re trying to determine how to get shoulder sections to infiltrate stormwater without having to build highly engineered systems that require a lot of maintenance and annual inspections.

He calls these solutions the “holy grail” of what they’re trying to do.

DOT has a handful of research plots in different soil conditions across the state in the mountains, piedmont and coastal regions.

“These are a great story because you have a triple bottom-line benefit by improving the infiltration capacity of the right-of-way,” McDaniel said. “We are reducing runoff, we’re better treating pollutants, which is great for the environment, and, by selecting native plants thoughtfully that have nice flowers we beautify the road.”

Stormwater management officials within the department want to lay out as many different options as possible and, hopefully, partner with local governments to implement more nature-based systems, Morgan said.

For example, a municipal beautification board could maintain the wildflowers and native vegetation planted in a bio-embankment system.

“Stormwater and runoff and floodwaters and any movement of water across the land is irrespective of boundaries, so I think one of the biggest — it’s both a challenge and an opportunity — is how we can develop partnerships with our neighbors along the right-of-way,” he said. “From our standpoint, we would like to do a lot more of these, but the maintenance burden associated with these is tremendous, depending on the type, and that’s why we want to expand the toolbox and try to optimize some less maintenance-intensive devices. That’s kind of the philosophy that we’re trying to focus on is finding elegantly simple ways to manage our stormwater.”

Pavement that allows water to soak through to the ground below now covers 500 feet of a street in downtown Beaufort, part of a town effort to better manage stormwater.

The town worked with the North Carolina Coastal Federation, which publishes Coastal Review, to include permeable paving as part of a capital improvement project recently completed on Orange Street to upgrade pipes and infrastructure, the federation announced Wednesday. The North Carolina Land and Water Fund provided the grant for the project.

Stormwater runoff from heavy rains typically flows down the hard surface of paved streets, funneling pollutants to nearby waterways. Roads typically are resurfaced with conventional paving material, but this project included permeable sections to reduce the amount of pollution from runoff.

The project is an effort under the 2017 Beaufort Watershed Restoration Plan, which provides “an overview of the past and present conditions of the Beaufort Watersheds and proposes methods and strategies intended to reduce the volume of stormwater runoff to improve water quality in the watersheds.”

The plan includes strategies to restore hydrology and reduce polluted runoff using retrofits that direct stormwater to infiltrate into the ground or collect it for later use. Officials said the retrofits are a cost-effective solution.

The goal of the plan is to “turn back the clock” on water pollution, reduce instances of flooding, align future capital improvements with stormwater retrofits, increase community awareness and position the town for future funding opportunities, according to information from Beaufort Town Planner Kate Allen.

Allen explained that some of the projects identified in the plan that have been implemented or are currently underway include recent improvements at the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’s boating access area on Lennoxville Road, which reduced overall impervious surface coverage, Cedar Street improvements incorporating stormwater best-management practices and rain gardens at Tiller School.

“In Beaufort, we are committed to taking measures to clean up our waterways. The successful boat ramp and Orange Street pervious surface projects have been a great partnership with Coastal Federation and important parts of large-scale infrastructure improvements across our community,” said Beaufort Mayor, Rett Newton, in a news release. “By improving these systems, we are greatly reducing the amount of toxins going into our waterways as we strive to set the standard as a North Carolina Clean Water Coastal Community.”

Bree Charron, coastal specialist with the federation, is hands-on with many of these projects, including the work on Beaufort’s Orange Street.

“These projects demonstrate a balance between expense and water quality benefit. By directing impervious surface runoff to areas of permeable pavement, our partners capitalized on scheduled infrastructure repair to decrease total runoff,” said Charron in a release.

Charron told Coastal Review that the federation’s goal is to improve coastal water quality and stormwater is the No. 1 polluter of surface water in the state, so decreasing the volume of runoff that reaches coastal waters is imperative.

“While we also work on long-term goals involving state policy guidelines on stormwater, working with local municipalities offers opportunities to get more practices in the ground,” she said.

The goal of the watershed restoration plans is to decrease the volume of stormwater reaching adjacent water bodies. Reducing the volume also reduces the loading of the associated pollutants, especially bacteria. Also, addressing stormwater in the upper reaches of a watershed through nature-based design measures helps reduce downstream flooding.

Lauren Kolodij, deputy director with the federation, told Coastal Review that by developing a watershed restoration plan and implementing stormwater runoff-reduction techniques, a town can improve water quality, reduce nuisance flooding, restore natural hydrology and make waters safer for swimming and shellfishing.

By having an approved watershed restoration plan, a local government can apply for Environmental Protection Agency funding available under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act for retrofit projects and have a framework for water quality restoration funding from additional funders.

Kolodij said watershed restoration planning focuses on working together to use nature-based stormwater strategies that slow down, spread out and soak in the rain to reduce the volume of stormwater runoff.

“It sets out a community collaborative strategy for tackling local stormwater issues,” she said.

“These techniques mimic the natural hydrology of the land to infiltrate, filter, store and evaporate runoff, instead of directing stormwater to ditches, pipes and ponds that go directly to our coastal waters,” she said. “Coastal communities have been partnering with the Coastal Federation for over a decade to utilize the federation’s Watershed Restoration Planning Guidebook to develop plans.”

Atlantic Beach recently joined Beaufort, Swansboro, Pine Knoll Shores and Cedar Point in working with the federation to develop a plan to manage stormwater.

“Our partners in local government right now are fired up about water quality. And they should be, it’s what draws so many people to the coast. They are also actively looking for solutions to flooding concerns brought to them by residents. Our goal is to match flood mitigation with effective strategies that will also address water quality,” Charron told Coastal Review.

Atlantic Beach’s Recreational Water Quality Committee recommended partnering with the federation in January 2019 to create the Bogue Banks town’s watershed restoration plan, which was approved Feb. 22. The town partnered with the federation, surveying and engineering firm LDSI Inc. of Charlotte and Kinston and the New Bern-based Eastern Carolina Council of Governments to create a watershed restoration and stormwater resiliency plan, according to the town.

The plan has been sent to the NCDEQ Division of Water Resources for review and approval to ensure it meets the EPA’s nine minimum elements. Once approved, the plan makes Atlantic Beach eligible to apply for Section 319 funding to implement stormwater management strategies identified in the plan.

Michelle Shreve Eitner, director of Planning and Development for Atlantic Beach, told Coastal Review that the town is looking forward to applying for funding to implement these projects so soon after the plan was approved by Town Council.

“Sometimes plans sit on a shelf in an office, but this one is being put to use as we speak. There are several projects that not only increase water quality and reduce stormwater flooding, but also provide the opportunity for education and outreach. Low-Impact Development techniques and Stormwater Control Measures look nice on paper, but folks can be weary of implementing something they’re not familiar with. Displaying effective methods, like permeable paving or rain gardens for stormwater infiltration and retention, can help bridge that gap,” she said.

Atlantic Beach approved its plan a week before the federation unveiled a statewide nature-based stormwater strategies plan.

“This plan calls for establishing statewide effective watershed management that focuses on protecting, restoring or mimicking natural water systems to reduce flooding and improve water quality as one of four key cross-cutting recommendations,” Kolodij said.

During the press conference March 3 to introduce the statewide plan, Pine Knoll Shores Manager Brian Kramer said the town for the past four decades had been pumping polluted surface water into nearby waterways during storm events or heavy rain events.

Kramer said the town partnered with the Clean Water Trust Fund and the federation to use infiltration methods, avoid additional impervious surfaces and install swales as part of public projects to manage stormwater.

Kramer added that the town is looking at landscape designs for new construction that help with stormwater infiltration.

Charron said that in Pine Knoll Shores construction is underway on a large groundwater/stormwater management system across the east end of town, as part of a North Carolina Land and Water Fund Innovative Stormwater Project, to help address the flooding in a way that’s more water quality-friendly. There is also a project in the design phase to install a permeable “island” in the Acorn Court cul-de-sac.

In Cedar Point, work has been taking place since the mid-2000s to reduce polluted runoff into the White Oak River, which is 48 miles long and runs through Jones, Onslow and Carteret counties, said Cedar Point Town Manager David M. Rief.

He explained that the town is bounded by the river and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, with major tributaries Pettiford Creek and Boathouse Creek also in the town limits.

“As such, the water quality of these bodies of water are important to the health, safety and enjoyment of our residents. It just made sense for the town to be concerned about water quality and in turn, develop a watershed restoration plan,” Rief said.

Since the plan’s development, it has been used to educate the public become more cognizant of their individual impacts to water quality and encouraging them to take a more proactive role in reducing contamination, he explained.

While a number of projects have taken place, the biggest has been the town’s purchase of a 56-acre tract fronting the White Oak River and containing 19 acres of wetlands.

“By partnering with various other entities including the N.C. Land and Water Trust, N.C. Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, the Coastal Federation, and N.C. Coastal Land Trust, we were able to acquire the property and prevent substantial development of the property, thus reducing the amount of contaminated runoff previously expected from the site,” Rief said.

Another project underway is a state Department of Transportation resiliency project to protect Cedar Point Boulevard, or N.C. 24, from hurricane erosion.

“Rather than using traditional bulkheading methods of bank stabilization, the project will use a living shoreline structure composed of oyster shells to create a naturally growing oyster reef to help slow and break up wave action in the White Oak River. Of course, the oysters will have the additional benefit of helping to clean up the water,” Reif said.

He said it’s currently difficult to quantify the impact of the improvements made so far because each year brings both more improvements and more development. Also, Cedar Point is at the confluence of the river and the Intracoastal Waterway, and what happens upstream has a huge effect on the quality of the water as it passes Cedar Point.

“Therefore, it is difficult to determine, without additional studies, what the net impact is on the water quality,” he said. And while they aren’t able to quantify the results, “we know the study prompted actions that would otherwise not have been taken, and each of those steps was in the right direction for maintaining and improving the quality of this cherished natural resource we all enjoy.”

Work is also underway in Swansboro to put in place permeable parking at Ward Shore Park, where the town installed a living shoreline last year. There is also funding to pursue retrofitting a street end outfall on Walnut Street in the coming year, Charron told Coastal Review. Both are 319 grants that the federation partnered with the town.

Charron added that sea level rise has to be considered in coastal communities. The sound and ocean are the end point of the drainage system, natural or man-made. As sea level rises, the ability to move water is hindered. Beaufort is already seeing this with some infrastructure in the downtown area. The goal would be to decrease the amount of stormwater flowing through traditional drainage pathways.

“I think the towns have sea level rise in consideration, but really preparing for the changing climatic patterns is on the forefront of these plans. While it is silly to design for a Florence-type rainfall event, it seems the ‘typical’ rainstorm is increasing in duration and intensity. Taking these heavier ‘normal’ rainfalls into account is a major focus. Being prepared for action during a Florence-type event is also on everyone’s minds,” she said.

State and local leaders now have access to a guide that details what its creators describe as cost-effective, nature-based strategies to better manage stormwater, reduce the risk of flooding and improve water quality.

The nonprofit North Carolina Coastal Federation released Wednesday its “Action Plan for Nature-Based Stormwater Strategies,” developed with the support of The Pew Charitable Trusts.

The plan includes recommendations on how to use nature-based stormwater strategies such as permeable pavement, cisterns and rain gardens to promote infiltration and rainwater reuse, and help reduce stormwater runoff as well as steps government, communities, businesses and nonprofit organizations can take to improve resiliency and water quality.

Yaron Miller, an officer with The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Flood Prepared Communities Initiative, told participants in a press conference that can be viewed on Facebook Watch that last year was the second wettest on record for the state, and communities are looking for ways to deal with the intense rainfall and costly flooding.

“In a fast-growing state like North Carolina, these challenges are often compounded by the fact that traditional development uses impervious surfaces like concrete and asphalt, which prevents rain from soaking into the soil, or pipe stormwater into waterways, which can exacerbate dangerous flooding conditions downstream,” he said. “One proven, cost-effective way to mitigate those consequences is through the use of nature-based stormwater solutions, which allows stormwater to soak into the ground near where it falls.”

Yaron Miller said that these strategies can be applied on small-scale projects such as a rain garden in the backyard or permeable pavers in a parking lot, to efforts to restore natural water flow and infiltration on entire landscapes. The comprehensive blueprint also reflects the findings of the state’s Climate Risk Assessment and Resilience Plan.

“The nature-based solutions are a core strategy for increasing disaster resilience and should be developed right away,” Yaron Miller said.

The action plan was developed over the course of a year with input from 60 stakeholders — real estate developers, engineers and planners, state agency and local government officials, land managers, academic and legal experts and conservation professionals.

The plan calls on a collaborative approach and state and local governments to lead by incorporating nature-based designs and projects, making these taxpayer-funded investments more resilient to flooding, and helping reduce runoff from storms. It also recommends that state leaders take into consideration that water moves across municipal boundaries and flooding doesn’t stop at city or county lines.

“By looking across regions and accounting for all the factors that influence flooding, watershed planning can help us make coordinated strategic decisions to reduce risk, like the design and placement of nature-based stormwater projects,” Miller said.

While there are examples of communities and businesses using these practices to reduce flooding and improve water quality, the vision is that the plan helps more communities across the state “realize the benefits and become more resilient from Main Street to working lands.”

Todd Miller, the federation’s director, called the plan’s unveiling “a watershed moment” for the state.

“Extreme weather and floods touch all of us. Even if you haven’t been in the eye of a hurricane, you pay for flood and water quality disasters in your taxes and insurance. And when you take a drink, swim or eat seafood, you share my concern for clean water,” Todd Miller said.

He continued that state leaders are taking significant steps to address flood risk — the North Carolina General Assembly spent more than $1.4 billion on hurricanes Matthew and Florence recovery – and lawmakers are now working with the governor to make the state more resilient to climate extremes, and to administer disaster recovery.

“Nature-based stormwater strategies can reduce the repetitive losses caused by floods,” Todd Miller said. “This action plan focuses on how to expand the use of these strategies.”

The recommendations in the plan are based on input from the four stakeholder groups.

“Our stakeholders identified many impediments that curtail the use of nature-based strategies. To sum them up, we must conquer inertia,” he said. “More floods and degraded water quality are inevitable unless we employ nature-based strategies.”

Todd Miller explained that the stakeholders called for engagement and leadership.

“People who own land, homes, businesses, farms, developed property — all recognize the need to work together so that nature-based stormwater strategies go well beyond government mandates and become a part of our culture and commerce,” he said. “Many stakeholders see future economic development opportunities around the design, construction and operation of these nature-based stormwater practices.”

Also imperative is the need to increase public education and outreach as well as professional training on nature-based strategies.

“Until all stakeholders and decision makers understand the utility and cost savings of these strategies, their widespread use will continue to be stymied. Professional workplace training needs to focus on how best to design, construct, retrofit and maintain our land uses to protect and restore and replicate natural landscape hydrology,” he said.

Government needs to lead by example, Todd Miller added. “Policies need to facilitate the use of these strategies in publicly funded projects, when they are the most cost effective and alternative stormwater practice.”

The federal government has a policy in place, and it’s time for state and local governments to follow suit, he said.

“Finally, and most importantly, a statewide framework for value-based watershed management investments is essential,” Todd Miller said. By focusing on flood reduction and water quality enhancements, both objectives are achieved.

Pine Knoll Shores Town Manager Brian Kramer gave what he called real-life examples of how such practices are being put in place in the Bogue Banks town. Pine Knoll Shores worked with the federation, Eastern Carolina Council and University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Environmental Science Department to develop a watershed restoration plan completed in early 2019.

The town’s new approach to flooding is minimizing the pumping of polluted surface water into waterways, which has been done for 40 years during storms or heavy rains, by using infiltration when possible, mimicking the natural flow of water to avoid collecting in flood-prone areas, Kramer said. The town is also trying to manage the water table to create more capacity for additional infiltration.

“We’re trying to do this with help from the state, most notably the Clean Water Trust Fund (now the North Carolina Land and Water Fund), with the Coastal Federation’s assistance,” he said.

Kramer said the alternative to the town’s use of pumps to move water from public roadways, usually into waterways, in an emergency, is to reduce the volume of water by avoiding the addition of impervious surface coverage, using infiltration and adding capacity.

“The value I see in this state plan that the Coastal Federation put together is emphasis on natural features,” he said. He also likes the recommendation for funding for technical specialists, “Because towns like us need it. We don’t have engineers on staff, we need coastal design specialists to help us.”

Kramer noted that the plan stresses the need for public education and projects to be both economically and environmentally feasible, “because if you make these things so expensive, developers won’t use them.”

John Preyer, cofounder and president of the Raleigh-based environmental firm Restoration Systems, told attendees that the “benefit to natural systems is very obvious when you are not only restoring wetlands or restoring a stream, but you’re getting the additional benefit of flood storage.”

He mentioned a recent project to restore more than 5,000 acres at the North River Farms Wetland Preserve in Carteret County, which had been used for agriculture. Rainfall that used to drain into nearby waters in two hours now takes more than two months.

“We’re looking forward to seeing the action plan come to fruition over the next coming years,” Preyer said.

Now that the plan has been released, Todd Miller said there will be an effort to continue educating about nature-based solutions.

“We’ve actually already done some briefings with some of the key agencies to give them a heads up on what some of the key recommendations are in the report,” he added, and a handful of state agencies have been receptive to the idea.

Yaron Miller added that state and local government representatives participated in the workgroups to help inform the plan and the recommendations, so there’s already a level of knowledge but there will certainly be more outreach and getting the word out.

“I think probably what’s most exciting and why we need this watershed planning framework is that it looks like there’s going to be a lot more federal resources being spent on trying to mitigate future flood losses rather than spend all that money on recovery,” he said, also noting the need to get out ahead of disasters rather than getting caught in a cycle of responding to them. Funding from various federal agencies is increasingly prioritized for mitigation and nature-based strategies, he said.

TOPSAIL BEACH – Pockets of water left by swift, hard downpours or a series of rainy days typically flood the same streets in this town at the southern end of Topsail Island.

The waters of Banks Channel spill over street ends through some areas of town, only exacerbating flooding issues during lunar or king tides, evidence of the rising sea level.

Topsail Island is now in the early stages of addressing some of these water issues in a multifaceted approach to reduce stormwater-related flooding, enhance water quality and curb soundside erosion.

“We’re doing this as a coordinated effort as a stormwater/living shorelines project,” Town Manager Mike Rose said.

The town is working with engineers and coastal scientists who are currently hashing out project details for seven stormwater projects and four living shorelines.

Topsail Beach has contracted with engineering firm LDSI Inc. to focus on the stormwater infiltration projects, details of which are still in the works, Rose said.

Important projects, he said, but not quite as exciting as rolling out what will be the town’s first living shorelines.

“We think it’s a great chance for this to be almost a springboard,” for more living shoreline projects, Rose said.

The town has contracted with the North Carolina Coastal Federation to design and oversee the installation of living shorelines on town-owned property at the end of four streets: Rocky Mount, Haywood, Sidbury and Nixon avenues, all of which dead end at Banks Channel.

Living shoreline projects are built with various structural and organic materials, such as plants, submerged aquatic vegetation, oyster shells and stone. These projects generally work best along sheltered coasts such as estuaries, bays, lagoons and coastal deltas, where wave energy is low to moderate.

Tracy Skrabal, a coastal scientist with the federation, said the plan is to design at least three different types of living shoreline, such as a vertical wall sill, oyster bag sill or other new, innovative measures.

“All of them will include marsh plantings,” she said. “Our goal for this is not to just put four living shorelines on the channel, but to use this as a training tool, a demonstration for other property owners. They have a lot of bulkheads in Topsail Island.”

Each site has about 100 feet of shoreline.

“They vary,” Skrabal said. “Some have a little bit of marsh. Some of them have a little bit of erosion.”

Mounting research shows that living shorelines hold up better through storms than hardened structures, enhance intertidal habitat for fish and other marine resources, and better defend against sea-level rise.

Topsail Beach recently wrapped up a $26 million storm damage reduction project, one that pumped more than 2.2 million cubic yards of sand onto the ocean shoreline and deepened about three miles of inlet and channel waterway.

“The town has invested a lot into the ocean side of this island,” Rose said. “This gives us an opportunity to focus on the other side of the island. We’re excited about this.”

Topsail Beach hopes to pay for the projects from a portion of a $5 million state grant the town received last summer.

Senate Bill 95 split the state Division of Water Resources grant equally at a little more than $1.66 million each among Topsail Island’s three towns, Topsail Beach, Surf City and North Topsail Beach.

The law required the towns to submit a report on prospective projects no later than last fall to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Agriculture and Natural and Economic Resources and the Fiscal Research Division.

“We’ve put these projects into that application request, which has been recommended for approval,” Rose said.

If, for whatever reason, the projects are not approved for that grant, Rose said the town will commit funds to the projects.

The hope is for construction to begin on a portion of the living shoreline projects this year, but with ongoing uncertainty of the pandemic, original projected start times will likely be pushed back.

“We are moving forward with design,” Skrabal said. “We will try to communicate with people virtually, but most of our education and training will happen after the projects are on the ground. My goal is to have at least two sites constructed in 2020 and two sites constructed in 2021. We’re just really impressed by the commitment of the town to move in this direction. These two projects combined will really increase our ability to educate professionals and residents on all these techniques. To their credit, the town is trying to get ahead of all of this.”

CARTERET COUNTY — A multiyear, collaborative research project to study how polluted runoff affects the Rachel Carson Reserve in Beaufort has led to a push for a broad coastal partnership to better address stormwater-related issues.

The Stormwater Decision Maker Summit held March 3 at the University of North Carolina Institute of Marine Sciences, or UNC IMS, in Morehead City was a venue for researchers to share what they learned from the study on Beaufort’s water quality, hear from representatives of different towns and counties about how they’ve addressed stormwater issues and concerns, and discuss forming a community of practice that would focus on coastal stormwater issues, according to information about the event.

UNC IMS professor Rachel Noble, who facilitated the summit, led the collaborative research project that began November 2016 and wrapped up October 2019. She broached early in the summit the idea of a community of practice, suggesting such coordination to representatives of coastal town governments, state and nongovernmental agencies in attendance.

Noble told participants that as they’ve worked with and talked with folks across eastern North Carolina, “We’ve kind of continuously identified the need to gather people together and to begin to talk more broadly about regional and cross-collaborative issues.”

The research project was funded with $749,823 from the National Estuarine Research Reserve System Science Collaborative. The Rachel Carson Reserve is one of the North Carolina Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve System, or NERRS, sites. Collaborative research projects are a collaborative process that results in research, data, tools or other products that will inform decision making related to a reserve management need, according to NERRS.

Project partners included Rachel Carson Reserve, Beaufort and UNC IMS. The project also brought together coastal decision makers, community members and students and teachers in hands-on education on stormwater runoff and its effects.

Liz DeMattia, director of the community science initiative at Duke University Marine Lab, worked on the project and presented during the summit.

“The stormwater summit was an amazing opportunity for local and state governments, nonprofits, researchers and educators to come together to share knowledge and best practices for addressing stormwater issues in our coastal communities,” DeMattia said after the event.

She said that learning about what works and what doesn’t from folks who work on stormwater projects and policies was educational.

“Our hope is that we build upon the connections made at this summit to create a community of practice where stormwater stakeholders all across our state work together, learn together and create stormwater programs, projects and policies that improve water quality on our coast,” she said.

Communities of practice, also called “learning networks,” are informal partnerships where members work to solve problems common to all of them.

Mike Piehler, UNC Institute for the Environment director and Marine Sciences and Environmental Sciences and Engineering professor, said that for the project, “We were trying to understand the impacts of Beaufort stormwater on the National Estuarine Research Reserve across Taylor’s Creek,” how this environmental challenge affects the environmental asset, what are the positive and negative feedback, and what are the clear problems that need to be addressed

Excited to get started w/ the Stormwater Decision Maker Summit, part of the @NOAA Science Collaborative Project.

Thrilled to see so many local & regional community partners in the room today. pic.twitter.com/JAXQmb89xU

— UNC IMS (@UNCims) March 3, 2020

Piehler said that the goal was to then try and use general models to solve the problems everywhere, which he said wasn’t possible.

“So, what instead we did was get great information about the problem in Beaufort,” he said, noting that site-specific information is almost always required to effectively address stormwater problems.

Despite the challenges, Piehler said the team accomplished most of what it had planned. He responded in a follow-up email that the project sought to understand how coastal stormwater affects adjacent natural systems. Research examined the effects of nutrients, sediments and pathogens.

“Because natural coastal systems require some nutrients and sediments, management is a bit more complicated,” Piehler said. “We found pathogen concentrations, which warranted concern and may have been from sources other than stormwater, such as failing sewer systems.”

Researchers found that nutrients and sediments were being absorbed by natural systems, such as salt marshes and oyster reefs.

“Stormwater management is a tremendous challenge and this project moved us forward through a fully engaged partnership connecting researchers, educators and end users,” he said.

Piehler explained during the summit that the idea of collaborative science “is that from the get-go, you engage the stakeholders who have the problems. You’re identifying the problems as you go and you’re trying to develop actionable information from science to help move forward decision making in these areas, and we feel really good about having done that in this case.”

Piehler added that outreach and education for the project was multifaceted and included working with Beaufort Middle School students. Graduate students at Duke and UNC started a program called ScIREN to generate lesson plans for teachers that complement the curriculum.

He reminded the audience that these small coastal towns were developed at a time when sea levels were lower and when perspectives on things like stormwater were different.

“It’s a balance between the danger of flooding and the nuisance of flooding,” he said.

Managing stormwater is a persistent, long-term challenge that will become more difficult as sea levels rise. In the short term, levels frequently rise during storms, he said.

“It has also been a giant challenge trying to move water efficiently and effectively on the flat surface in an area where water level is rising,” he said, referring to the coastal geology.

Rebecca Ellin, program manager for the North Carolina Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve in the state Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal Management, said during a Q&A session that one of the goals of the collaborative is to bring together science and stakeholders to see how that science can inform decisions on the ground. She said that while those at the reserve have access to the data and products, how would other users be able to find out the research results and other project results?

Piehler responded that the idea of the summit was to talk about the collaborative process and have the work live beyond the research projects but those who are interested will have access to the information.

The information presented wasn’t ready for immediate public release, researchers said, but will eventually be provided via the UNC IMS website.

MANTEO — Ditches, swales and culverts, once the dullest of public topics, have become of urgent interest on Roanoke Island, where last summer’s epic rainstorm spurred Dare County to consider construction of its first engineered stormwater management project.

A new study of drainage infrastructure in the most affected neighborhoods on the island’s north end reveals that long-term fixes would not be easily, cheaply or quickly addressed.

Recommendations proposed in a three-phase project by Raleigh-based firm Moffatt & Nichol would cost about $2.6 million, not including engineering and easement acquisitions.

More than 15 inches of rain fell during a 10-day stretch in July 2018 on the north end of the island, flooding yards, homes and roads with increasingly wretched water for weeks, even months.

“The water didn’t have anywhere to go,” Ryan Smith, an engineer with Raleigh-based firm Moffatt & Nichol, said to 50 or so residents at a community meeting held last month in Manteo. “So it’s not just about depth; it’s about duration.”

Although Dare County has not yet done such comprehensive drainage improvements in its unincorporated communities, the increased flooding on the Outer Banks likely ensures that stormwater management projects will be a budget item for years to come.

Other flood-prone areas the county identified include Fernando, California and Scarborough streets on the west side of Roanoke Island; Tower Lane and Colington Road on Colington Island; Old Lighthouse Road in Buxton; and the mainland communities of East Lake and Stumpy Point.

But with most roads, roadside ditches and culverts under the jurisdiction of the North Carolina Department of Transportation, it has been difficult for the county to address drainage issues, county manager Bobby Outten said in an interview.

Outten said that if the county goes forward with the Roanoke Island work, it will require commitment from property owners, who will be expected to chip in a share of costs.

“We’ve got to sort through all of this stuff,” he said. “This is the first step in what is going to be a complicated process.”

With color-coded maps showing before-and-after water depths displayed on screens, Smith said the firm’s analysis, prepared for the state Department of Transportation at the request of Dare County, found that much of the drainage infrastructure in the approximately 1,000-acre, or 1.5-square-mile, study area was inadequate: too old, too small, too clogged or too shallow to handle the estimated 50 million cubic feet of rain that fell.

Some water drained into neighbors’ yards from more elevated homes and property. Some water spilled over from creeks and ditches. Some water just sat several feet deep on top of waterlogged land.

“We were prepared for the rain event, and we sandbagged our garage,” said Kimberly Head, who lives with her husband and four children in the Brakewood subdivision. “But then the water came through our vents. The water was almost up to our hips in some places.”

Responding to an outcry from residents after the storm, the county pumped 1.5 million gallons of water from affected areas, at a cost of $50,000. The North Carolina Forest Service pumped an additional 1.4 million gallons. The county has split the cost of the study – about $50,000 – with NCDOT.

According to data from the National Oceanic Administration, 15 inches of rain fell on Roanoke Island in July 2018. Of that, 14 inches fell during the last 10 days of the month. As far as categorizing that volume of rain – an estimated 50 million cubic feet – it would be considered midway between a 50-year and a 100-year storm, Smith said in a later interview.

Modeling in the report, however, was calculated for 10-year and 25-year storms. The different span of years is based on data that represents the likelihood of a storm of a certain magnitude to occur within the specified time period. For instance, a 10-year event has a 10% chance of occurring in any single year. It does not mean that it happens every 10 years.

But to the confusion of many, so-called 50- and even 100-year storms seem to be coming every few years.

“They certainly have been happening more often lately,” Smith said of the large rain events. “Whether they’ll continue to happen more often is something that people debate.”

NCDOT chose the study area around the Airport Road and Brakewood neighborhoods based on where the most flooding had been observed, Smith said.

Recommendations in the report include replacing existing pipes and culverts – pipes under roads or driveways – with larger ones; adding roadside and surface ditches, grading or excavating high spots, which will prevent water from being trapped and allow it drain to an outlet; installing erosion-control blankets – a degradable or removable covering – to stabilize grass growth over newly graded areas.

Another option would be to create a natural sand bed, freshwater creek with habitat features and a riparian buffer or flood plain. Although this option requires more area, it would also need minimal maintenance and would be environmentally friendly. The bonus of constructing a natural channel, Smith added, is that it would be more likely to qualify for grants from the state Clean Water Management Trust Fund or the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

“It would not reduce the drainage going into the sound, but it would improve water quality,” he said.

Engineering costs would be expected to be about 10% of the estimated construction costs, Smith said. There would also be additional costs to acquire easements from property owners, which are based on tax value.

Elevation in the study area ranged from below sea level at the downstream end of the creek to as high as 78 feet on the north end of U.S. 64, Smith said. The water table is generally high, and more so in low-lying areas.

Despite widespread flooding in the Roanoke Island neighborhoods, combined with the potential of more intense rainstorms, Smith said the data and engineering indicate that flooding can be managed.

“This is just a study-level analysis,” Smith said. “But the modeling that took place to come up with these systems is very sophisticated.”

By improving the capacity of the infrastructure and the storage in the soil, drainage flow can be restored.

“I think it can be and I think the type of solutions we address in the study would help,” he said. “It won’t flood and sit there 2 feet deep.”

Still, some areas present tougher challenges. For instance, Head said that even though her home’s property is like a bowl, it is not in a flood zone. No houses in her neighborhood are built on pilings.

“We’re an island that should be prepared,” she said. “I don’t think proper planning (for flooding) did occur. But my husband and I didn’t think about that. We looked at the ‘X’ flood zone.”

Flood Zone X on newer National Flood Insurance rate maps indicate a minimal to moderate flood risk, whereas on older maps it was understood to mean not a flood zone.

When the couple purchased the three-bedroom, two-bath house in 2015, Head recalled, flooding was not mentioned. But by the following year, their home had been inundated by 17 inches of rain during Hurricane Matthew and has also been flooded in subsequent storms.

Neighbors have since told her that her house had flooded several times before they bought it, she said.

“There is no way for us to drain our property,” said Head, a military retiree. “It would have to be pumped, or we’d have to move the house.”

Even before last year’s rainstorm, the Heads had applied to a Federal Emergency Management Agency program to have their home elevated 4 feet. Meanwhile, Head said the family is still dealing with effects from flooding, including mold damage, while coping with serious health issues for herself and her daughter.

“I would like to sell my home, but I won’t lie,” she said. “Trees are dying. All the bushes died. During (Hurricane) Dorian, five trees came down.”

But she’s keeping the house listed in hopes that another buyer could find a solution.

“I can’t take the anxiety of it,” she said of the flooding. “I am determined to enjoy life. I am an upbeat person, but every time it rains, or there’s a hurricane out there, it’s very stressful.”

Although Head said the report is “great,” she knows that the process will take time – and work near her property would be at the end of line.

“I hope that the county embraces this and moves forward quickly,” she said. “But I have my doubts. Phase III is a long ways away.”

KURE BEACH – A study expected to be released later this month will give Kure Beach officials an idea of whether the town should pursue adding dune infiltration systems to further reduce the frequency and volume of stormwater discharging from the town into the ocean.

The study, funded through a Clean Water Management Trust Fund grant, will determine the feasibility of infiltrating stormwater at six ocean outfalls in the town.

“At this time the hope is that all six sites will have some size of dune infiltration system,” said Jonathan Hinkle, an engineer with Charlotte-based LDSI Inc.

Dune infiltration systems will work at all the sites, he said, but some areas may be better suited based on their proximity to infrastructure and those where dunes are highest, all of which will affect the cost to install the systems.

Installing infiltration systems at all six sites will cost up to an estimated $600,000.

Between 2005 and 2006, three dune infiltration systems were installed in the town, where more than a dozen stormwater pipes installed in the early 1900s divert rainwater from roads, roofs and lawns directly onto the beach and into the ocean.

The outfalls are identified by signs put up by the state warning beachgoers to steer clear of the areas where runoff, which can carry bacteria harmful to human health, sometimes pools onto the beach before it flows into the sea – not exactly the image any beach town desires.

So, Kure Beach and North Carolina Department of Transportation officials set out to find a way to reduce the frequency and volume of stormwater discharging into the ocean.

They teamed up with Michael Burchell, an assistant professor and extension specialist in biological and agricultural engineering at North Carolina State University in Raleigh and began to discuss their options.

“We were looking at some of the traditional ways that people mitigate stormwater,” Burchell said.

There was talk of building a large retention pond or creating bioretention areas. They discussed pumping stormwater to the back of the island and into the Cape Fear River. Those possibilities were simply not cost-effective, Burchell said.

He was standing on a beach crosswalk in town with transportation officials when the idea came to him – use the land between the dune and beach.

Burchell led the research team that designed a system that collects stormwater and filters bacteria.

The system works like this:

1. Plastic open-bottom tubes buried underneath the dune collect diverted runoff.
2. As those chambers fill, the water flows into a bed of gravel where the water spreads onto sand, which acts as a filter, diluting runoff before it reaches groundwater.
3. Bacteria that gets trapped in the sand dies and when the runoff is 75 feet down shore bacteria levels are similar to that found in normal groundwater.

The results were better than expected.

Three consecutive years of monitoring showed that infiltration systems installed near L Avenue and M Avenue treated nearly all the runoff – 100% at one site and 96% at the other – collected from two discharge pipes that drained a total of 12 acres.

“That was way higher than we anticipated,” Burchell said.

“That’s huge,” said Lauren Kolodij, North Carolina Coastal Federation deputy director. “It’s a health issue. It’s a tourism issue. So, it’s really a priority to get that polluted runoff out of our waters. It serves as a model for other coastal communities.”

The infiltration system near the Kure Beach Pier and K Avenue is the largest of the systems, is buried deeper in the dunes and collects runoff from three outfalls.

The system at this site captured 80 percent of the runoff during the first year after it was installed.

“We acknowledge the fact we were not going to be able to capture every storm event,” Burchell said.

When bacteria levels in runoff from the ocean outfalls exceed water quality standards, officials with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Shellfish Sanitation and Water Quality issue public advisories, warning against going into waters near the outfalls because of potential health hazards.

Erin Bryan-Millush, Shellfish Sanitation and Water Quality supervisor, said the number of those advisories had dropped in Kure Beach since the infiltration systems were built.

“I have seen improvement,” she said.

Before the infiltration system was installed at the stormwater pipe near K Avenue, the state issued four swim advisories between 2004 and 2006.

Bryan-Millush said the only advisory the state has issued at that location since the system was installed was in August 2014, when rainfall dumped between 3.5 to 4 inches of water in a 24-hour period.

Caswell Beach Project Advances

Caswell Beach in Brunswick County is planning to install 735 feet of dune infiltration system on town-owned land near the Oak Island Lighthouse.

During a presentation at the annual North Carolina Beach, Inlet and Waterway Association meeting in April, Marc Horstman, project manager with the civil engineering firm WK Dickson & Co. Inc., said large storm events in Caswell Beach flood the main road, making it impassable. It’s a common problem in towns on barrier islands up and down the North Carolina coast.

Caswell Beach’s project will cost an estimated $280,000, which includes relocating a boardwalk and installing a stormwater force main. Construction is expected to begin in September.

“I think this is a really neat technology and neat tool that we can start using up and down the coast,” he said. “In some cases it might work. In some cases it might not work. I think it’s just a tool for us to kind of start thinking about. We need to start thinking outside the box.”

Jennifer Allen contributed to this report.

OUTER BANKS – Considering the prodigious amount of flooding North Carolina’s coastal communities have endured in recent years, stormwater engineers may be assured job security for decades to come.

But a glimpse of two proposed projects to address stormwater problems on the Outer Banks, both paid for in part with recently awarded grants from the state Division of Coastal Management, reveals a troubling future further complicated by intensifying rainstorms, more dramatic king tides and rising groundwater levels.

Nags Head received $20,000 from DCM in January for stormwater modeling being done as part of its ongoing stormwater capital improvement plan. On the northern Outer Banks, the town of Duck also received $20,000 to assess vulnerability of town infrastructure to storms, flooding and sea level rise.

Beach communities on the low-lying Outer Banks have been struggling to upgrade aging, clogged or inadequate drainage systems that cannot handle the vast amounts of water dumped by recent storms. The maintenance and repair of systems have been hampered by crisscrossed private and public jurisdictions and inadequate information about the location and condition of existing infrastructure.

Hyde and Beaufort counties also received money for flood control and shoreline protection, respectively, from the DCM planning and management grants program, which is intended to assist with coastal land-use issues.

Public outcry about standing water in yards and on roadways has spurred local governments on the Outer Banks to look long and hard at drainage issues. And the picture is not just about too much water in the wrong places. It’s also about septic overflow mixing with that water. It’s about too much impermeable surface coverage. It’s about having enormous bodies of water as neighbors. And it’s about very high costs.

“What we try to caution everybody is that we’re living on a barrier island in a coastal environment,” said David Ryan, Nags Head town engineer. “We can never fix everything.”

Nags Head has experienced vast amounts of rainfall in the last two years, even when there wasn’t a tropical storm. Streets and neighborhoods that had rarely flooded were under water for days. After Hurricane Matthew in 2016, the town began updating its stormwater plan and with input from residents developed maps of drainage infrastructures throughout the town and prioritized projects in flood-prone areas.

In January, the town board approved a $514,800 contract for the first three projects to be paid for partly with a stormwater fund derived from a 1-cent ad valorem tax, which was recently raised to 2 cents. The remaining 10 projects are in various phases of conceptual development or design. Approval of a project is subject to a threshold of at least 50 percent improvement in the depth and frequency of flooding.

“What we try to caution everybody is that we’re living on a barrier island in a coastal environment. We can never fix everything.”

David Ryan, Nags Head town engineer

Ryan said the 10-year-old mapping of the drainage systems – pipes, ditches, outfalls and swales – has been updated, although condition assessments are not yet included. A complete inventory of the stormwater infrastructure, including elevations, is underway. Predictive modeling results that look at the largest benefit for the least cost will come into play in scheduling future projects, he said.

According to information on the town website, in addition to 12 outfalls to the Roanoke Sound or marsh areas west of South Nags Head, there are about 55 miles of drainage infrastructure in town. Of that, 20 miles are within the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s right of way. There are also four ocean outfalls in the town and one south of its border that are maintained by NCDOT.

All told, the department operates and maintains one-third of the town’s drainage systems. Although the outfalls are technically NCDOT’s baby, the town’s first stormwater prioritized project is addressing improvements on the upstream end of the outfall of two, 30-inch diameter pipes on the beach near Gallery Row. The area, which is Nags Head’s largest drainage basin, drains poorly and is vulnerable to flooding.

A portion of the outfall pipe will be replaced with a rectangular structure that has a larger flow area and lower elevation. Ryan said that the town had partnered about three years ago with NCDOT on repairs of that outfall’s discharge end, and is currently negotiating to have a similar arrangement with the upcoming project.

A 2016 state Department of Environmental Quality study, “Ocean Outfall Master Plan,” looked with excruciating detail at the outfalls’ impact on the surrounding watersheds including stormwater runoff, drainage and impervious surfaces. Two of the pipes are also located in Kill Devil Hills.

Much of the study focused on pollutants, contaminants and toxins in runoff, whether from bird and dog feces, lawn chemicals and fertilizers or pesticides, with an especially alarming look at the growing risk of septic tank failures as flooding and beach erosion undermine the systems. Sewage-treatment facilities are few on the Outer Banks.

Recommendations in the report included, among others, retrofitting and upgrading existing stormwater systems and using groundwater drawdown to increase storage and decrease runoff.

“It is clear that any path forward will need to be developed by local stakeholders and regulatory agencies to reach a consensus,” according to the report. And most of the approaches, the report said, would be too costly for any one community to handle without help – financial and otherwise – from state and federal sources.

Cliff Ogburn, Nags Head’s town manager, said the outfall report, which was done for the state by engineering firm Moffatt & Nichol, had been shared with the town’s stormwater engineers at the firm WithersRavenel of Cary. But the town opted to go with their engineers’ recommendation to use a passive approach at the Gallery Row outfall site, rather than follow the report’s recommendation to use an active pumping system.

“The solution should aid in managing upstream groundwater levels, reduce frequency of flooding and depth of flooding,” Osborn said in an email.

In addition to the outfall work, the town is planning to install a groundwater-lowering system with well pumps in the Nags Head Acres subdivision, which would hopefully free up more storage in the existing drainage network. A similar system used in a pilot project at the Vista Colony subdivision had encouraging results, Ryan said.

The third project will install a French drain system at Village at Nags Head to alleviate depth and frequency of flooding.

Meanwhile, the town is working to document rainfall, where and how much. It’s not just the amount of rain that has been surprising, it is also that one part of town would be soaked while another barely had a puddle.

“We don’t know how the water table responds,” Ryan said. “We want to get a better understanding of the groundwater response.”

Much comes into play in drainage, he said: How much of the typography is developed? How does it relate to the surrounding elevation? How much natural vegetation is there? What is the type of underlying soil? Does water flow vertically or horizontally?

A study of tidal influences as it relates to groundwater is currently being conducted by scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Ryan said, and the town is working with the Coastal Studies Institute in Wanchese to plan a study that would assess and evaluate the relationship between rainfall events and groundwater levels.

The town is also working with contractors to use low-impact development techniques to address runoff at its source.

“It’s complex when you stand back and look at all this,” Ryan said. “We’re trying to be as progressive and proactive as possible, looking below ground as well as above ground.”

Local governments on the Outer Banks, facing more flooding every year, are all working to get ahead of the curve in management of stormwater.

Dare County, responding to public outcry after prolonged flooding on the north end of Roanoke Island, has worked with NCDOT on an engineering study to evaluate stormwater needs. The study has not yet been completed.

Also, the town of Kill Devil Hills has requested that the county partner with its six towns to establish a stormwater management collaborative to attack the issue more holistically.

The town of Duck has partnered with the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines at Western Carolina University to assess the vulnerability of its town-owned buildings.

“It’s kind of a checklist that we’ll develop,” said Chris Layton, Duck’s town manager. “I guess it remains to be seen what the utility is with this. There’s definitely an interest in the town for us to do something.”

The type of study, which the university program had done for the National Park Service, will look at the location and what exposure it has to a hazard such as storm surge or tidal flooding. At the same time, the sensitivity of the asset and potential mitigation will also be assessed.

The town is also considering a similar study to look at vulnerability of private property, he said. And it is continuing to work with NCDOT to address flooding issues on N.C. 12, as well as studying new property designs that are more resilient to flooding events and rising seas.

“The question becomes a question of adaptability,” Layton said. “We know it’s going to happen. Whatever happens, it’s not going to happen overnight.”

Second of two parts

EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA – Development is frequently associated with increased impervious land coverage, and that can often lead to more polluted runoff reaching ecologically sensitive streams, rivers and sounds.

Hard surfaces such as pavement, roads, sidewalks and roofs affect water quality because the runoff, instead of soaking into the ground and being taken up by vegetation, quickly flows in greater amounts over the developed landscape and into surface waters, explained Lauren Kolodij, deputy director for the North Carolina Coastal Federation.

This polluted stormwater runoff is often the primary cause of water quality degradation, which results in shellfishing waters failing to meet public health standards and why some coastal towns and counties post swimming advisories after it rains, she said. “About 25 percent of coastal shellfishing waters are polluted with bacteria, and most of the coast is now off-limits to shellfishing and swimming after big rain events.”

She said that the federation promotes strategies to reduce the volume of stormwater runoff and improve water quality.

The conventional approaches to stormwater management are to quickly collect and move the water off site through ditches and pipes and into coastal waters, Kolodij continued. “Instead we need to look at a community’s potential to collect the rain incrementally throughout a town to utilize areas such as public rights-of-way, public lands. This is called making multiuse of the landscape for stormwater management.”

Kolodij explained that reducing runoff also can help with minor flooding because the volume of rain that collects in one central location is decreased. “During an average or normal rain event, techniques that reduce the volume of runoff such as infiltration systems, rainwater harvesting, diverting downspouts can reduce the amount of rain that collects at one site, thereby reducing localized flooding.” Rainwater harvesting can be done with rain barrels and cisterns.

There are communities in coastal North Carolina that have taken the volume-reduction approach to stormwater and developed watershed restoration plans. Wilmington, Wrightsville Beach through the Bradley Hewletts Creek watershed restoration plan, Cedar Point, Swansboro and Beaufort have plans and Pine Knoll Shores is in the process of reviewing its nonregulatory watershed restoration plan.

The draft plan for Pine Knoll Shores was presented Oct. 26 during a special meeting of the town board of commissioners. The next step in the process is for the board to hear public comments Nov. 14 during the board’s regular meeting and then vote on the final draft during its December meeting.

Sarah Williams, clerk for Pine Knoll Shores and a federation board member, said her interest in having the town pursue a plan began a few years ago when she attended a conference about watersheds in Wrightsville Beach, which was jointly hosted by the Governors South Atlantic Alliance and the federation.

During the conference, Williams said she learned about the  Bradley and Hewletts creek Watershed Restoration Plan, Watershed EZ tool and Runoff Reduction Scenario created by the federation to assist towns develop restoration plans and toured various infiltration methods, which she said was “eye opening.”

“I learned that there were simple solutions that we could do in town, some even at low costs, to help move water off of the streets and improve water quality at the same time,” Williams said. “I knew it was something that Pine Knoll Shores needed to look into.”

Shortly after the conference, Williams said she worked with Kolodij and students at University of North Carolina Wilmington to draft the plan, which took more than two years.

“We didn’t get to where we are overnight and we can’t reduce levels overnight either. Everyone can help though by doing simple things in their own yard, like having their downspouts go into their yards. The whole idea is to move water to the soil where it can infiltrate,” Williams said.

Swansboro has had in place its watershed restoration plan since Feb. 28, 2017, and have made some progress, even including many aspects from the watershed plan in the town land use plan currently undergoing updates.

Town Manager Scott Chase said that the town adopted the plan with the goal to make a positive change to the environment.

A great deal of development has taken place over the last 30 years in and around Swansboro and town officials understood how the volume of water moving through the stormwater conveyance system would affect water quality as a result, Chase explained.

“It is expected that further development will occur, so we needed to understand locally what our options were for reversing negative trends related to water quality, even reversing the stormwater clock if possible, by reducing the number of gallons of stormwater entering our system,” he said.

“I predict in the coming years language will be amended in our ordinances that will not only serve as a guide for better development related to water quality but require that development adhere to many of the principles of our watershed plan,” Chase said. “Watershed planning is an important menu item for making our community more resilient to adverse weather and less vulnerable in our low-lying areas.

“Our mindset around capital projects development is making sure we are not adding to the stormwater issues facing our community but improving it,” he added.

Swansboro recognizes that watershed restoration adds value to water-based recreation and tourism, Chase continued. Recreational areas such as Hammocks Beach State Park and the Bogue Sound, which are important habitats for several of species, are within Swansboro watershed areas.

“If we are not doing something to preserve our watersheds, for example reducing stormwater runoff, (it) can result in more frequent water quality impairments,” he said. Adding that water quality impairments can destroy the natural habitat, risking the local economy supported by the natural environment.

Since the plan was adopted, the town has received two grants from the Environmental Protection Agency’s 319 grant program and is close to wrapping up the town hall campus retrofit project. The first phase of the project, which is complete, included adding 41 permeable parking spaces and a bioretention area that accounts for the impervious surface area on campus. The town worked with the North Carolina Coastal Federation and Onslow County on the project.

Phase 2 of the project will include the removal of five existing asphalt spaces, relocation of plant material and flag pole, addition of about 34 parking spaces a new access point from West Church Street and a reworking of internal access, according to the town website. A new bioretention area will be added beside the new spaces to retain new and existing stormwater runoff.

Chase said other stormwater control measures are under consideration for the campus because of the EPA 319 funding.

The watershed restoration plan also has helped with flooding.

“Conventional methods for stormwater rely on moving stormwater offsite as quickly as possible. It is effective at deterring onsite flooding but the downstream results can result in an increase in the magnitude and frequency of flooding,” Chase said.

The residents, overall, have reacted positively to the plan.

“We have through our stormwater utility and the restoration plan assisted our residents with a better understanding of how their homes and properties contribute to water quality of the watersheds,” he said. “I believe our residents understand the consequences of polluted waterways, the importance of preserving our natural environment and the negative effects from flooding.”

With the implementation of the town’s stormwater utility, some residents are directing downspouts toward lawns and away from driveways to keep it from flowing directly into nearby bodies of water.

“If all of our residents did such, it would drastically reduce or mitigate flooding for our community,” Chase continued. “Bottom line, if rainwater can be kept on site for longer periods of time it can reduce pollutants that are received by our waterways and reduce the volume of water released into the system thus reducing the potential for flooding.”

Read Part 1: Pine Knoll Shores to Vote on Watershed Plan

Learn More

• Smart Yards Guide

First of two parts

PINE KNOLL SHORES – A handful of coastal communities have taken the initiative to protect their water quality by working to mitigate polluted stormwater runoff.

Depending on how the Pine Knoll Shores board of commissioners votes at its regular meeting in December, this Bogue Banks town could be joining Wilmington, Wrightsville Beach, Cedar Point, Swansboro and Beaufort in adopting watershed restoration plans. A watershed is all areas that drain to a water body, such as a lake, mouth of a river, or ocean.

Pine Knoll Shores has been working with the North Carolina Coastal Federation along with The Eastern Carolina Council and University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Environmental Science Department to develop the draft plan.

Sarah Williams, clerk for Pine Knoll Shores and a member of the federation board, told Coastal Review Online that the town is considering this plan because “Watershed restoration is vital to treat stormwater before it flows directly into the water bodies and (to) improve water quality.”

The town currently has some areas that typically flood during heavy rains, she continued, and a restoration plan will help identify those areas and apply solutions in moving the water.

Lauren Kolodij, deputy director for the federation, explained that this watershed restoration plan will provide the town with a framework for how to deal with runoff.

The draft plan is the start of a “multi-year process to implement and maintain, manage and mitigate stormwater runoff pollution” according to the document. The plan includes the nine minimum elements of a watershed management plan the Environmental Protection Agency recommends to qualify for 319 grants. The EPA funds the grant program named after Section 319 of the Clean Water Act, which is administered by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality to study and find solutions to impaired water.

“Once the plan is approved by the state they will be eligible to apply for EPA Section 319 funding to reduce runoff,” Kolodij said. “They would not be eligible for this funding without an approved plan.”

The federation worked with project partners to help secure state funding to prepare the watershed restoration plan, she added.

Kolodij added that the federation also partnered with Pine Knoll Shores to secure funding for implementation.

“The federation developed a watershed restoration guidebook for local governments to assist them with a step-by-step guide for developing a watershed restoration plan,” she said. “This plan has been prepared using the steps and focuses on strategies for reducing the volume or runoff within a community to reduce the amount of bacteria and pollution reaching local waters.”

The plan “combines low-cost, high-yield strategies such as community outreach initiatives and targeted retrofit projects aimed at reducing the impact of impervious surface by mimicking natural hydrology to reduce flooding, protect water quality, and provide the community with clean, usable waters,” according to the draft plan that was presented Oct. 26 during a special meeting of the Pine Knoll Shores board of commissioners held in the town hall.

“The overarching goal of this plan is to improve water quality in Pine Knoll Shores watersheds and reduce the amount of permanent shellfish closures in Bogue Sound in general,” Mariko Polk, GIS watershed specialist for the federation and UNCW Center for Marine Science doctoral marine biology student, told the room of more than 50 town staff and officials, members of the public and federation representatives.

She began by saying that a watershed is the highest point in elevation in an area and everything that travels downstream. “So no matter where you live, you’re always going to be in a watershed.”

The key, she continued, is managing what’s going on in the watershed because whatever is uphill is going to run downhill and eventually affect your water quality.

“Particularly in coastal environments,” she said, adding that stormwater runoff is a primary concern when it comes to water quality. “What we’re having is bacteria pollutants entering the system” through stormwater.

Stormwater runoff transports into bodies of water bacteria components it has collected while flowing across impervious surfaces such as roads and roofs. Polk added that as development occurs over time, there is an increase in impervious surfaces, which correlates to an increase in shellfish closures in nearby waters. Closures mean that those waters cannot be used for their intended purposes because the quality is not safe.

“The goal is to essentially turn back the clock of time and go back to a point where the amount of water coming off the land is not as impaired or as large of a volume as it is currently,” she said.

UNCW undergraduate student Evan Hill worked on the geospatial portion of the plan. He told the crowd that Pine Knoll Shores consists of seven watersheds: Marina, Salter Path, North, Shoreline, Bogue Shores, Pine Knoll and Mimosa. Some of these watersheds are shared with neighboring communities.

He echoed Polk that the primary cause of water quality impairments for the area is bacterial. “This is generally caused by water running off the land, entering the water body, depositing a lot of nutrients in the water and causing bacterial growth in it.”

Using a baseline year of 1993, Hill said development, woods and open land changes were studied. After calculating how the surface has changed since that time, he was able to find a rough estimate of how the water discharge has changed over time as well.

The increase in impervious surface and decrease in open and wooded areas has led to a large increase in the total volume of water that’s flowing into the watershed.

The average condition in 1993 was around 201.53 cubic feet per second, which doubled in 2014 to 510 cubic feet per second, he said. That led to determining that the target reduction volume is 0.113 gallons per square feet of water to return to the 1993 level.

For every square foot of impervious coverage, the reduction would need to be as much water that would fit into a soda bottle, he said.

Following Hill, Polk explained that the watershed restoration plan will help implement this goal.

“What that really means is there’s a potential to reduce the amount of flooding and … reduce the amount of bacterial input that are running off the land,” she said. “Our focus is to turn back the clock. So we’re looking at taking what’s going on now and reducing it to the point that we’re back to 1993 levels of runoff.”

In reality, she continued, they are simply trying to reduce the amount of water flowing from the land into water bodies.

With that, Polk said, some action strategies to reach that goal are retrofits on public properties, voluntary retrofits on private properties, track progress and monitor incremental improvement in volume reduction. Examples she provided included a rain garden and pervious pavement.

The board will take public comments on this proposal during the Nov. 14 town commissioners meeting at 6 p.m. in the town hall. The final plan will go before the board for approval in December. If the board moves forward, the plan will then go to the state for approval in spring 2019. After this step, Pine Knoll Shores will be able apply for 319 funding with the goal to start projects in late 2019 or early 2020.

Williams said after the meeting that “Most residents seem to be excited about the plan and have shown a lot of interest. I think everyone is concerned with the flooding in town and is happy to see us taking steps to mitigate the effects.”

When asked how the watershed restoration plan will help mitigate flooding in Pine Knoll Shores, she said, “I think mitigate is the key word.”

Williams explained that she anticipated once the plan is in motion, there would be less standing water during normal rain events.

It’s important to know that impervious surface coverage such as from paved parking lots, roofs, driveways, curbs, roads and other similar man-made materials in the town has grown exponentially in the last decade and it will take several years to reach the town’s goals, she added.

“By moving this water that otherwise would cause flooding will help to mitigate those larger rain events. Residents may see some standing water in their yards — and that’s OK! We’re letting Mother Nature infiltrate the contaminants before sending it directly to the waterways,” Williams said.

Learn More

• Pine Knoll Shores Nine Elements Watershed Restoration Plan
• Watershed Restoration Planning Guidebook

Next: Why is watershed management important?

HAMPSTEAD – The Pender County Planning Board has approved rezoning a portion of land near Mill Creek for a controversial housing development in Hampstead.

Board members voted 6-1 Wednesday night to grant, with conditions, the developer’s request following a public hearing in which residents in adjacent neighborhoods expressed concerns about stormwater runoff and its potential impact on Mill Creek, an estuarine tidal creek, and nearly 2 acres of wetlands on the site.

Board vice-chair Elaine Nalee was the sole opposition vote.

Now the decision on to approve development plans and rezone about 18 acres from residential performance to residential mixed-use conditional district 3 is in the hands of Pender County commissioners.

Fayetteville-based RHH Land Investors modified some of the proposed development plans following two meetings with property owners of adjacent neighborhoods, including Deerfield Estates and those along Hughes Road, and last month’s planning board meeting.

Those revisions include reducing the number of single-family homes from 51 to 49 lots, creating natural buffers along the property line and around the wetlands, designing a stormwater runoff system that would route all runoff from the site into retention ponds within the development, and identifying the 1.92 acres of wetlands on the site by placing signs every 200 feet within the neighborhood.

The neighborhood homeowner’s association would be responsible for the wetlands.

Mike Nichols with Paramounte Engineering in Wilmington described the proposed development as one with high-quality, age-targeted, single-family homes in sizes ranging between 1,800 and 2,400 square feet.

The homes would be built on 6,000-square-foot lots, the smaller size designed for “empty nesters,” Nichols said, and within a convenient, walkable distance to shopping and medical services.

While that may appeal to some home buyers, the density of the proposed development and the stormwater runoff created from it worries property owners in the area.

“We know development is happening,” Hampstead resident Steffany Williams-Ward said. “It’s just that we need to do it responsibly. At the end of the day, it’s too many units. That’s the bottom line. That’s the trend. It’s the precedence that it’s setting.”

Doug Holdstein, head of Deerfield Estates’ community association, said he is concerned about the potential effects of stormwater runoff on nearby salt marsh.

“As an old guy I want to preserve the salt marsh,” he said. “With the stormwater going into the salt marsh I’m afraid we’re going to destroy it. Last July we had a lot of rain. Deerfield Drive, it was awash during the entire month of July.”

An engineer for the proposed development said retention ponds will be constructed on site before any grading or building begins and that the developer is required to maintain the current runoff flow pattern and route stormwater to ditches leading to the ponds.

“If there weren’t all these drainage and stormwater issues surrounding this property I’d have no problem with the density,” planning board member Suzanne Rhodes said. “I’m really struggling with this. I’m really honestly struggling with the options, the pros and cons.”

RHH Land Investors President Kerry Avant said his company worked hard to try and reach a compromise with property owners.

He also reminded the planning board that the site could be developed without public input under the current zoning rules.

“When you can put 47 lots there by right then there wouldn’t be a public hearing,” Avant said. “For the additional two lots that we are asking for I feel like we are making a lot of considerations and contributions that we might not get if a neighborhood comes in by right. That’s your choice, their choice here tonight, but we have truly tried to work with everybody. This plan is more expensive to develop. It if is rejected tonight, which I hope it’s not because I think it’s an excellent plan, somebody’s going to develop the property and the zoning is there by right.”

Planning board Chairperson John Fullerton echoed Avant, saying that the land can be developed “with less protection.”

“I don’t think there’s too many people living here who will say they want to take their chances with that,” Fullerton said. “If you own that property you would be able to come in with a lot less planning and put in 47 lots.”

Rhodes, who voted to approve the request, agreed.

“We have the lesser of two evils here,” she said. “If we voted no, the choice would be they could just go in by right and do it or they could choose to walk away. Someone’s going to develop it. It’s prime development land. We can’t predict the future.”

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH – To passersby, it might look like a few simple squares of pavement, but the new and improved cutouts at one town parking lot are reducing stormwater runoff and improving local water quality.

This project that started in November is the latest effort by the North Carolina Coastal Federation, along with the town of Wrightsville Beach and the Hanover Seaside Club, to remove pollutants that would otherwise flow directly into Banks Channel, a popular and heavily used recreation spot.

The work at a town’s public parking lot adjacent to Oceanic Restaurant was the first of a two-phase project funded by a grant from the Clean Water Management Trust Fund to redirect runoff from existing street and parking lot pavement and drains. The second phase is scheduled this winter at the Hanover Seaside Club, just a fraction of a mile away.

“This area is heavily used for swimming, boating, surfing, fishing,” said Tracy Skrabal, coastal scientist and southeast regional manager for the federation. “And it’s also heavily used for traffic and business. Bacteria and sediments are being dumped into the very waters we play in. There’s an economic value to disconnect that process.”

For many of these water-quality projects, the goal is to showcase innovative approaches to educate and encourage these municipalities and agencies, such as the North Carolina Department of Transportation, to design their projects from the outset in a way that saves money and better protects our waters.

“In this particular case, we can demonstrate that there are cost-effective ways to do this,” Skrabal said. Not every project is a new one, but communities and developments can also consider retrofitting paved areas in a way that is both practical and efficient.

During the first phase, workers cut out sections of the existing pavement around the drains and installed pervious pavement around them. Engineers can calculate the runoff that happens in a particular parking area during a typical storm, she said. Using these calculations, they can determine exactly how large a pervious section needs to be to so the water can be filtered before it reaches the waterways.

“Because parking lots are graded, the water flows into these sections,” Skrabal said. “One hundred percent of the rainfall can hit these pervious areas. That stormwater is carrying all the bad stuff that would be large enough to reach the drain and go into the channel.”

The project also includes monitoring, to make sure the outcome is as expected. So far, evidence says these pervious pavement efforts work, said Mike Mallin, a researcher professor at the Center for Marine Science at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. The Aquatic Ecology Laboratory there assesses the components of marine, estuarine and freshwater ecosystems and studies water quality. First, they measure what and how much sediment and bacteria drain into waterways from certain locations, he said, and then return to see if the measures are making a difference.

“When it rains, an excess load of fecal microbes enters the water,” Mallin said. “We have to close waters for swimming alerts. It’s bad for the public and the public perception of our waterways.”

Using these sections of pervious pavement can divert the water into the ground, rather than the drain.

“Wrightsville is a barrier island, and we can use the sand in a positive way,” Mallin said. “This directs runoff from parking lots and roadways to settle down into the soil. It’s highly effective.”

Timothy Owens, town manager for Wrightsville Beach, said that it is always bad news when an area must be closed for swimming and recreation because of runoff. He has seen the benefits of partnering with the federation on such projects.

“We talked about some of the worst offenders in those terms,” Owens said. “They’ve been good neighbors for us in helping us achieve better water quality. I think these are good project for any community to do.”

This is the third large-scale project in a series designed to improve the water quality around Wrightsville Beach. Earlier this year, an infiltration project was installed at the Blockade Runner Beach Resort that redirects much of the polluted runoff from the resort and adjacent roads into the ground through an engineered infiltration system. That project disconnected two stormwater outfall pipes that drained from the 2-acre resort site into Banks Channel.

The stormwater was then redirected into a series of pipes underneath the sound-side lawn of the resort. A 2,100-gallon cistern was also installed to collect rainwater to use for irrigation, reducing the resort’s municipal water use by around 25 percent. There was also a retrofit at a 0.26-acre lot on Lynnwood Drive in the Glen Meade subdivision in Wilmington, which collects about 20 acres of the neighborhood in Hewletts Creek.

Skrabal said she’s appreciative of the Clean Water Management Trust Fund for supporting these efforts to clean up these waterways that are used by so many residents and visitors. This project is part of a $193,000 grant from the fund for a two-phase stormwater project.

“This pervious pavement replacement is Phase 1, which costs approximately $35,000 for design and construction,” she said.

The second, larger phase includes the work at Hanover Seaside Club. The budget also pays for administration and oversight, and for monitoring of the Hanover Seaside Club. The next phase is tentatively planned for February and March, depending on the permitting process.

DARE COUNTY — Anger and angst over extreme flooding after Hurricane Matthew on the Outer Banks echoed the outrage over ponding water here expressed more than a decade ago, but now local governments are actively working to mitigate the problem. At the same time, rising seas and record rainfalls have made solutions more challenging and costly.

The towns of Manteo and Nags Head, for instance, provide telling examples of the complexity – and urgency – involved in managing storm drainage on North Carolina’s low-lying barrier islands.

“I would say it’s gotten more challenging because when you look at these rain events, the frequency and amount is greater,” said Andy Garman, Nags Head deputy town manager.

Rainfall has become more intense and localized, he said, randomly overwhelming different sides of town with stormwater. And there’s just more rain overall. In 1979, the annual average rainfall in the town was 45 inches a year; it’s currently about 60 inches a year. Between October 2015 and October 2016, 70 inches of rain fell. In July 2017, 4 inches of rain was dumped within an hour across a 1-mile area.

Drainage is a problem all over the Outer Banks, a resort destination known for its beautiful beaches. It is also one of the most vulnerable areas on the U.S. coast to the effects of sea level rise. Although higher groundwater levels and increased beach erosion have been issues for years, the relationship between development and stormwater management had been resisted – until it could no longer be ignored.

Back in August 2004, then-state Sen. Marc Basnight, responding to a public outcry, called an informal meeting with citizens on the northern Outer Banks to talk about flooding that had resulted from a series of tropical storms. People were livid about huge puddles standing for weeks in their yards and on roads and were demanding action. Basnight said that he wanted to spur discussion about solving the increasing drainage problems on barrier islands while protecting water quality.

In retrospect, that meeting, which also included representatives of numerous state agencies and local officials, may have indeed galvanized the community to start to address stormwater management in a comprehensive way.

“I would caution us that we don’t study something to death for five or 10 years,” then-Dare County Board of Commissioners Chairman Warren Judge told the overflow crowd that filled Kitty Hawk Town Hall. “It’s time to act. The incidences we have had during (hurricanes) Alex, Bonnie and Charley, we all have to agree, are unacceptable.”

With Basnight’s support, the Outer Banks Hydrology Committee was formed to tackle the problem. Members included, among others, representatives from Dare and Currituck counties and northern Dare towns; the North Carolina Division of Water Quality; the North Carolina Division of Environmental Health; the North Carolina Department of Transportation; the North Carolina Homebuilders and Realtors associations; and the North Carolina Coastal Federation.

After holding 11 meetings and listening to 15 different experts speak on a range of topics, the committee concluded in its November 2005 findings report that “the Outer Banks water budget is grossly out of balance” and that “water resource management on the Outer Banks needs … a holistic approach addressing the entire hydrologic water budget and working across government and agency jurisdictions.

“The committee agreed that we cannot ‘restore’ the hydrology of the Outer Banks,” the report said, “but we need to reconstruct and manage the system in a manner that we hope will ‘do no harm.’”

Thirteen years later, every municipality in Dare County, as well as the county, has implemented more stormwater management rules and practices. Even though the terminology used in planning is mostly centered on flooding causes – ocean overwash, sound tide and heavy rainfall – it is clear that environmental conditions are changing faster than local governments can keep up.

“The town had done a stormwater master plan in ’06 with a consultant,” Garman said. “And it resulted in a list of projects, a lot of which were cost-prohibitive.”

Work had continued on the plan, he said, but flooding from Matthew prompted Nags Head to pick up the pace. An inventory of drainage structures in the town had been done from Jockey’s Ridge south, Garman said, and the northern end – last surveyed in 1982 – was just completed in the spring.

“That’s really the first step,” he said.

Invasive alligator weed that clogs drains and ponds requires treatment and removal, and storm-driven debris has to be cleared out of ditches to prevent flooded yards and streets in Nags Head. Frequent and heavy rainfall raised groundwater levels and leaves the land saturated, allowing water to pool in low areas. During Matthew, one area on the Beach Road had 3½ feet of water.

After prolonged flooding from rains this summer, more than 20 Nags Head residents held an impromptu meeting in September to demand better management of drainage, and it was a prominent issue in recent town elections.

Dave Ryan, town engineer for Nags Head, said that the town’s dedicated stormwater tax of one penny generates $235,000 a year, but it’s not adequate to address all the stormwater management needs, despite the fee being increased over the years. The town recently created a stormwater committee to help prioritize maintenance and capital improvement projects.

“It’s an ongoing effort,” Ryan said.

Long-term solutions could include groundwater manipulation, which uses perforated pipes and a pumping system to artificially lower the water table. But the remedy, which proved effective at the Whalehead subdivision in Corolla, is estimated at $8.5 million and would face regulatory challenges on discharge into Roanoke Sound.

The town has long had a voluntary “septic health initiative” to help maintain water quality, but higher groundwater could eventually compromise some of the systems.

“Over time,” Garman said, “I think there’s recognition that we’re going to have monitor water quality.”

Nags Head had worked with North Carolina Sea Grant in gathering public feedback to establish sea level rise adaptation goals, which are included in the FOCUS Nags Head plan adopted this summer.

When discussions were held in 2015, stormwater issues did not factor strongly, said Jessica Whitehead, Coastal Communities Hazards Adaptation specialist for Sea Grant.

Although it has since become more evident that climate change and rising sea levels influence flooding, answering how to address stormwater issues in that context is another story.

“That’s something we haven’t figured out yet,” Whitehead said.

Away from the ocean over in Manteo, the town has somewhat different challenges with stormwater management that over the years has been hampered by outmoded drainage systems, half of which were installed on private property, and waterfront businesses situated inches above adjacent Shallowbag Bay.

“With anything we do, we’re fighting gravity,” said town manager Kermit Skinner. Drainage outflow into the bay has to be regularly cleared of solids to prevent water from backing up into the streets.

In a partnership with the town, North Carolina State University, North Carolina Department of Transportation, the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund, the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau and the Coastal Federation built a small, man-made saltwater wetland on the corner of Grenville Street and U.S. 64 in Manteo to create a model stormwater treatment.

By holding the storm discharge in the saltwater wetland for 72 hours before it slowly drains into the soil, pollution can be decreased, explained Michelle Clower, coastal specialist in the federation’s Wanchese office.

A recent report on the experimental project found a significant decrease in bacteria levels, she said, although more study is required to determine the role of salt in the die-off.

“I can confidently say it is working well,” Clower said.

For about six years, Skinner said, Manteo has had a 2-cent tax for a dedicated stormwater fund. So far, the town has spent about $2 million for an engineered stormwater conveyance system, which included moving infrastructure off private property and major improvements of drainage lines under several streets. Additional improvements are underway or planned on other roads.

“We have historically had issues with tidal flooding,” Skinner said, adding that it has become more extreme. “Anyone who doesn’t think the seas are rising hasn’t had their eyes open.”

Skinner said that with the drainage improvements, sound tide has been able to drain more quickly. But he does not pretend that there are easy solutions to downtown flooding in coming years.

“We’re fighting a rising tide, and that is going to be a tremendous challenge,” he said. “There’s no doubt in my mind – it is markedly worse than it used to be.”

And this summer’s hurricanes and rain deluges indicate that things are not going to get any better. According to the 2005 hydrology report, to fix the problem without harming water quality would take a long-term commitment to integrate jurisdictional responsibilities and seek flexible solutions “to sustain both the human and environmental ecosystems.”

“There is no single magic bullet to solve the stormwater and flooding problems,” the report said. “The causative factors for the problems on the Outer Banks in the summer of 2004 were generated incrementally with changes in land use associated with the development process.”

Or in other words, there’s less soil and vegetation to absorb water and there’s more impermeable ground cover.

“We have to acknowledge that it’s a mess that we made by not regulating development sufficiently,” then-Manteo Mayor John Wilson said in 2004 at Basnight’s meeting. “We have to look at our future development.”

But in 2017, there’s a lot more water.

Learn More

• Adaptation Planning in Nags Head
• Manteo: Stormwater Resources

Reprinted from the Tideland News

SWANSBORO — It is the classic case of taking down two birds with one stone. In one sprawling project, Swansboro will add dozens of public parking spaces within easy walking distance of downtown and reduce the amount of untreated stormwater runoff reaching the nearby White Oak River.

Making the project even sweeter is the fact that the town will be getting financial assistance in the form of a Section 319 grant, federal funds distributed by the North Carolina Division of Environmental Quality.

“We’ve just received word that we’ve been awarded the grant,” Scott Chase, town manager, said during the last week of July.

The project will add 70 parking spaces and retrofit the town hall campus for better stormwater treatment. It is estimated to cost $284,130. The town was awarded $172,397 in Environmental Protection Agency funds.

Notification came at a very good time, according to Chase. Because, even though the grant “doesn’t come online until January,” knowing now means that work to complete the recent Swansboro Public Safety sleeping quarters project can be upgraded to fit into the goal of the stormwater reduction plans. And that work, including labor and materials, Chase said, can be counted toward the town’s required grant match.

The North Carolina Coastal Federation led the town through the grant application, according to Chase.

“We met with Coastal Federation onsite … we’re wrapping up the public safety facility … and got guidance from them,” he said. “Ultimately, we are going to have a bio-retention area … that will be part of the stormwater plan.”

“This (work on the Public Safety Facility) will make sure we don’t have to go back and retrofit anything.”

The project involves the town buying a vacant 1,200-square-foot house adjoining the town hall campus and next to the fire department, just off N.C. 24. And, other than the purchase price of the house and property – which is still in negotiation – any costs related to the development of the site could be counted toward the match. The property purchase and demolition has been estimated to cost $95,000.

Chase said town crews would do much of the work.

Furthermore, Chase has been in touch with David Cotton, Onslow County manager, concerning the disposal of debris from the home, which will be razed. Chase requested that the cost of disposing of the debris – the “tipping fee” – be waived.

In addition to creating a bio-retention area to capture and treat stormwater runoff, the project includes adding 40 new parking spaces and re-configuring the current spaces to create another 30. Because the project will mean more parking for downtown visitors, the Onslow County Tourism Development Authority found it worthwhile enough to approve a contribution of $17,500, which will count toward the town’s match.

“This is a huge benefit for our campus area … and downtown,” Chase said.

Chase presented the project, dubbed Stormwater Volume Reduction at the Town of Swansboro Municipal Complex, to the state officials considering grant requests in July. Joining him were Lauren Kolodij, deputy director of the coastal federation, and Bree Tillett, engineer intern and coastal specialist with the federation.

The presentation provided a look at the federation’s overall stormwater strategy:

• Working in urban and rural landscapes.
• Using low-impact development techniques.
• Slowing down the flow of stormwater runoff and directing it to soak in.
• Reducing the volume reaching surface waters, thereby reducing the pollutant load.

It pointed out that state officials support the strategy and included a statement from Mike Randall of the stormwater permitting program with the North Carolina Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources. The Division of Environmental Quality, it states, “places a premium on reducing stormwater runoff by infiltrating stormwater into the landscape using cost effective solutions.”

“If you can eliminate stormwater runoff you won’t have to treat it,” Randall states.

Swansboro strategy, made official with a watershed management plan approved in March, matches speaks to this goal.

The town, according to the grant presentation, aims to “turn back the clock” on water pollution. Using shellfish water closings as a gauge, the goal is to lower the amount of untreated stormwater runoff to a time when more shellfish waters were open.

This is accomplished by reducing instances of flooding, aligning future capital improvements with stormwater retrofits, increasing community awareness and positioning the town for future funding opportunities for implementation, according to the presentation.

In addition to retrofits on public properties, the town plan encourages the installation of voluntary retrofits on private properties, tracks progress and monitors incremental improvement in stormwater runoff volume reduction.

The Stormwater Volume Reduction at the Town of Swansboro Municipal Complex, the town will incorporate low-impact development and green infrastructure techniques into a town capital works project that will result in a public amenity for the town that reduces locally generated stormwater runoff.

This work aims to reduce stormwater runoff volume in the White Oak River historic sub watershed by 87,700 gallons for the one-year storm, or 3.5 inches.

And it will increase awareness of and demand for low-impact development stormwater management techniques by installing signage, encouraging media coverage, offering tours to demonstrate stormwater reduction techniques, coordinating with Onslow Soil and Water Conservation District to promote grant incentives to landowners and businesses, educating students about stormwater runoff, water quality problems and management options and field experiences.

Chase told town commissioners of the award at the July 11 board meeting.

“We’re really proud of this,” he said.

Commissioner Frank Tursi, also the former editor of Coastal Review Online, said he, too, was proud of Swansboro.

“I know this will be the first of many,” Tursi said. And, he added, “We are stressing stormwater control.” In fact, the town is setting an example by being a good steward. “We have to walk the walk.”

This story is provided courtesy of the Tideland News, a weekly newspaper in Swansboro. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Tideland to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest about our coast. You can read other stories about the Swansboro area here.

Reprinted from the Outer Banks Voice.

NAGS HEAD  — Homes and businesses in Nags Head were inundated by rainwater twice in the span of six days recently by slow-moving thunderstorms that poured millions of gallons of water onto the town in less than two hours.

Water is receding about as fast as Nags Head can address chronic flooding between the Beach Road and bypass that first came to a head after Hurricane Matthew’s record-breaking rainfall.

The Outer Banks topography is not exactly ideal to handle any significant rainfall, as a “trough” probably best describes the peninsula and island chain. Man-made dunes to the east and much taller natural dunes to the west funnel water in between, where the most structures happen to be located.

Although it usually takes only a few hours for water to percolate into the sandy soil during normal rainfall, the problem is compounded by a drainage system that dates back as much as five decades and can barely handle a heavy rain when it is in perfect shape.

“Ditches full of sand, mud, weeds and water,” said South Wrightsville Avenue resident William Broadhurst. “The culverts under streets and storm drains are choked with weeds and debris. No flow at all. None.”

“We are responding to all inquiries to assess the situation on the ground so that we can take the necessary corrective actions,” said Town Manager Cliff Ogburn.

On July 11, 3.96 inches of rain fell in just 90 minutes at Nags Head Town Hall from the same thunderstorm that garnered attention nationwide because it also spawned numerous waterspouts in the Albemarle Sound off Colington.

The connecting streets between Virginia Dare Trail and Croatan Highway from just north of the Kill Devil Hills line to South Nags Head disappeared under as much as 2 feet of water, and sections of both N.C. 12 and U.S. 158 were inundated, bringing traffic to a near standstill.

Other than video of the flooding on the Beach Road shot by The Outer Banks Voice and shared by The Weather Channel’s Jim Cantore on Twitter, there was no mention outside of Dare County about the freak storm’s flooding.

Water was still standing in the yards and driveways of the homes of permanent residents, vacation rentals and businesses from that storm and several others that passed through over the next few days, when another “frog-strangler” formed early July 16.

During a two-hour period, 4.97 inches of rain fell, sending up to a foot of water into the lowest level of a number of homes.

Since July 1, the town’s rain gauge has collected more than 15 inches of rain, and measurable rainfall had been recorded in 14 of the first 18 days of the month.

“We have had personnel performing maintenance activities pre-, during and post-rainfall events,” Ogburn said.

Broadhurst said the water table is now just 3 inches below the ground surface in the area where he lives, near the corner of Wrightsville Avenue and Blackman Street, and that septic tanks and drain fields are under water.

He said many residents can’t do laundry, take a shower or even flush their toilets.

According to a “Drainage FAQ” issued by the town on Tuesday, “the rainfall frequency is contributing to elevated groundwater conditions, reducing a ‘drying out’ period, as well as the ability for the Town’s drainage network to recover.”

Rainfall runoff is primarily managed by allowing it to infiltrate into the surrounding sandy soils.

But what isn’t absorbed is supposed to move through the network of “drainage infrastructure,” a third of which is owned and maintained by the North Carolina Department of Transportation, including five ocean outfall discharge points.

While those pipes are located at low points in the town, the majority of them were installed in the early 1960s in response to the Ash Wednesday Storm, which inundated nearly the entire northern Outer Banks with primarily ocean overwash.

No design records for the outfall systems are available, according to the town, but the system has a capacity of less than a two-year level of service, or a 2-inch rainfall occurring over a 24-hour period.

Along South Virginia Dare Trail, South Croatan Highway or South Old Oregon Inlet Road, the stormwater systems are owned and maintained by NCDOT.

“A significant challenge exists due to state regulations prohibiting any new outfall connections or size increase,” Ogburn said.

“This is further compounded by the outfalls having a minimal level of service, having to overcome tidal influences to function efficiently in addition to continual maintenance by keeping the pipes free of obstructions.”

The outfall pipes have no control mechanisms, such as a flood gate or valve, which regulate the outflow or inflow of water from these systems, and the town has no means or authority to close or provide maintenance to the pipes.

Kitty Hawk has been installing a system of drains and pipes in key locations since Hurricane Sandy flooded much of the area between the highways.

Temporary pumps are then placed at the end of the pipes to move the water into the ocean.

But Nags Head has yet to move beyond the planning stages on a similar system, and is in the second year of a three-year effort to update its stormwater master plan and a 10-year capital improvement plan.

“All available options will be explored to include both innovative and conventional stormwater management techniques to increase the level of service throughout the town,” Ogburn said.

“In addition, the town is currently working on the development of an emergency pumping plan, which is required to be approved by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality in advance of operation under emergency conditions,” said Ogburn.

“While it’s understandable the unusual rain causes unusual problems, one would think there would be crews out addressing the issue immediately after the rain,” said Broadhurst. “It’s Wednesday now and I’ve seen not a single truck or man with a shovel even. And the water remains.”

“Our initial efforts were focused on the downstream areas prior to our outfalls to ensure that all were flowing and free of obstruction,” Ogburn added.

“We are currently working our way upstream and in some of the most affected areas in an effort to alleviate flooding,” Ogburn said. “It will take some time to cover the entire town, but we ask our residents to be patient until we are able to get there.”

This story is provided courtesy of the Outer Banks Voice, a digital newspaper covering the Outer Banks. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Voice to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest  about our coast. You can read other stories about the Outer Banks here.

CEDAR POINT – Restoring the White Oak River watershed has been a focus since 2006, when multiple agencies, organizations and volunteers began collaborating on a study and restoration plan for a section of the river. Improvements now in place at a popular riverside recreation area provide a model for how to accomplish this goal.

The 48-mile-long White Oak River extends through Carteret, Jones and Onslow counties and has been subject to pollutants that organizations and the town have been working to address. The restoration plan was initiated to reduce runoff into Dubling Creek, Boathouse Creek, Hills Bay and the Carteret County side of the river in Cedar Point.

Partners in the effort highlighted the measures taken to mitigate stormwater runoff, which was impairing the river’s water quality, during the White Oak River Stormwater Solutions Tour and Waterfront Picnic held June 2 at the Cedar Point Recreation Area in Croatan National Forest.

Rachel Bisesi, coastal education coordinator with the North Carolina Coastal Federation, a member-supported nonprofit organization that works to protect and restore coastal North Carolina, welcomed the public to the tour at the Cedar Point Recreation Area, on a salt marsh near the mouth of the river.

“We wanted to invite you out here to learn a little bit more about how the federation has been working with several community partners, including the town of Cedar Point, Croatan National Forest, and ECU, or East Carolina University, to restore water quality in the White River,” she said.

When the effort began more than 10 years ago, the federation worked with partners to study what was impairing the river’s water quality. They found the No. 1 culprit was stormwater runoff. When water from heavy rains and storms hits hard and impervious surfaces such as roads, roofs, parking lots and driveways, it picks up bacteria and other pollutants as it drains into coastal waters.

To combat that issue, Bisesi explained, the federation and its partners worked together to create a watershed restoration plan that “promotes some simple, best management practices that mimic the natural hydrology of this area so that rainwater can soak into the ground and infiltrate instead of having a chance to become polluted stormwater runoff.”

Bree Tillet, coastal specialist with the federation, and Charles Humphrey, associate professor at East Carolina University, were also on hand to lead the tour of the recently installed projects at the recreation area.

Tillett began the tour by showing how a drainage swale that was already installed at the site was retrofitted. Earthen berms were added to slow down stormwater runoff, giving the water a chance to soak into the ground rather flowing directly across the pavement into nearby Boathouse Creek.

“While the swale is much better than a concrete pipe or concrete ditch, the Coastal Federation saw the opportunity to add in a simple retrofit that would help infiltrate the water even better. … It’s a very simple retrofit that does wonders for helping get the water in the ground instead of carrying it straight into our creek,” she said.

Humphrey then led the crowd of about 20 to view the nearby rain garden adjacent to the parking lot, and across from the boat ramp.

“The goal of our project was to reduce runoff with the idea being that if we could reduce runoff, we are going to improve water quality because it’s the runoff that’s really transporting the pollutants,” Humphrey said. Among those pollutants is wildlife waste on the impervious surfaces. “One way to reduce runoff is to retain that water.”

The rain garden was built with that goal in mind. The soil there is sandy, which makes it possible for water to sink in quickly. There are limitations, however, with the rain garden so close to sea level. This means the rain garden could not be excavated too deeply because the bottom would be too close to the water table. So, a berm was created to keep water from flowing directly into the creek. The rain garden was shaped and designed to store a one-year, 24-hour event, or about four inches, Humphrey said.

Humphrey also showed the improvements made to encourage rainwater flow into forest areas on the back of the parking lot. The road is crowned with its highest point in the center, but the previous walkway adjoining the parking lot was sloped in a way that caused water to pond in the parking lot and drain toward the boat ramp. The sidewalk was rebuilt at a grade that allowed water coming off the parking lot to drain into the forest area.

Another measure taken, Humphrey explained, was to add check dams to the drainage ditch that runs alongside the entrance road, an ancient technique recreated here with riprap, or larger rocks, to slow down the water flow into the creek.

Other projects to protect the watershed include three water-control structures in Ocean Spray Mobile Home Estates, just east of the recreation area.

Humphrey said the Ocean Spray project was similar to that in the recreation area. The road there was also crowned, enabling water to run off on the left and right sides, however, grass had grown higher on the sides of the road, forcing all of water to run down the edge of the road and, in the few low places, emptying into the ditches.

“Where it was emptying into the ditches, it was causing erosion but it was also flooding those areas because all the water from the neighborhood wasn’t really making it into the swales,” he said.

For this project, the team took a different approach. They reshaped in about 13 places the edge of the road with an excavator and placed sod there lower than the edge of the road, allowing for water to wash off the road in more places. They also put down culverts with splashboard risers.

Rainwater Collection

The nearby Marsh Harbour subdivision off N.C. 24 also received help with stormwater runoff as part of the project. The federation and Down East Insulation of Jacksonville installed 42 rain barrels to collect rain.

A resident of the neighborhood, Jenn Conceicao, attended the tour and spoke about the effect of her four rain barrels. She said she uses the collected rain water as much as possible to water her flowers.

“It’s not only good for stormwater and protecting the wetland but it’s also really great for plants,” she said.

Linda McGowen of Emerald Isle said she learned a great deal during the tour. McGowen said she was there for two reasons, one being her concerns about a new grocery store that is being built in Emerald Isle. “Acres of maritime forest have been cleared and I hope they plan to use good stormwater practices,” she said, adding “on a personal note, we have an area in our yard that is washing gullies in rain events and I wanted to find out what I can do to make a rain garden and slow down the water progress. It will protect my yard and help benefit other areas from washing hopefully.”

Jeff Kincaid, forester recreation program manager for the Croatan National Forest, was also on hand during the tour.

Kincaid recognized the federation and ECU for their work. “Nowadays, we rely a lot on volunteers and other agencies to work together and these guys do a great job communicating. They did a great job with the project.”

Kincaid told Coastal Review Online in a follow-up email, “The project does more than help to mitigate some of the non-point source pollution associated with run off and parking areas. It is also a great opportunity for education of our forest visitors. The Cedar Point day use area is heavily used year-round by locals and vacationers alike. The public education, I think, is just as important as the improvements to the site. The project also shows how government agencies can effectively work together with our partners in the community to improve the environment and visitor experiences.  I look forward to working with NCCF in the future on existing and new projects.”

Humphrey also provided more details about the project in an email, including funding, which came through the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality 319 Program. The 319 program helps fund best management practices to help improve water quality in impaired watersheds, like the lower White Oak River, using approved watershed restoration plans. ECU researchers met with the federation and discussed the potential for developing and submitting a proposal to NC DEQ to implement some of the suggestions in the White Oak River Plan.

“We developed the proposal together, the proposal was approved, and we have worked together over the past two-and-a-half years to accomplish the project goals,” he said, adding that these practices will help now and in the long run because they should continue to slow runoff during storms, which will increase infiltration and improve the treatment of stormwater.

“The main goal of the project was to reduce runoff by implementing at least 12 stormwater best management practices (BMPs). We used a variety of BMPs including water control structures, check dams, a rain garden, rain barrels, reshaped ditch banks, and other drainage modifications to reduce runoff. We were able to accomplish these goals.”

Humphrey said the project would not have been possible without cooperation from the U.S. Forest Service, Cedar Point, and volunteer property owners in Ocean Spray and Marsh Harbour.

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH — A collaboration to keep polluted stormwater out of public waterways is being recognized for its efforts Monday with the Environmental Protection Agency’s regional 2017 Rain Catcher Award in the community category.

The eight projects implemented by the group from 2013 to 2017 significantly reduced stormwater discharge into waterways, thereby reducing bacteria concentrations that affect recreational and shellfishing waters.

“The real value of these projects is that we now have scientific proof that they’re very effective – not just effective – very effective,” said Tracy Skrabal, Coastal Scientist and Manager of the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s southeast regional office in Wrightsville Beach. “And with that information and the information we gained on cost, we can use these models for other municipalities, other resorts, anybody who has a stake in clean water.”

The team received this award for eight projects under the Bradley and Hewletts Creek Watershed Plan. These projects redirect runoff from hard surfaces and allow runoff to filter into the ground, providing successful demonstrations of options to prevent polluted stormwater runoff for new development and redevelopment scenarios.

Stormwater collects bacteria and other pollutants as it runs off rooftops and across roads and parking lots. Historically, urban planners simply created a pathway for rain to flow directly into sewers and drains, which push it through to waterways. Stormwater runoff is the biggest polluter of coastal waters, according to the federation.

In the late 1990s, research on degrading water quality prompted an approach to urban design that not only tackles the problem of nuisance flooding and pollution to waterways, but looks at stormwater as a resource as well. “Low-impact development” or “green infrastructure” are terms used interchangeably referring to designs that work with nature to manage pollution and recycle stormwater.

Before modern-day infrastructure, people relied on collection of rainwater for their water needs. “We somehow engineered our way into a system of simply getting rain out of the way,” said Lauren Kolodij, the federation’s deputy director. Stormwater management through “low-impact development” redirects stormwater to the ground where soil and vegetation naturally filter and recycle it through groundwater recharge or evapotranspiration. Cisterns may also be used to collect it for re-use.

“We know we’re never going to be able to completely stop pollution at the sources – they’re too ubiquitous and consistent,” said Skrabal.  “And it’s not practical or cost-effective to treat the problem once it’s in the water, so what you have left is in between – and that’s where you want to put your money and your resources,” she said.

In 2013, the federation, which publishes Coastal Review Online, and the National Estuarine Research Reserve developed a collaboration to address the issue. Along with these founding groups, also on board were Wrightsville Beach; Wilmington; the Department of Transportation; the North Carolina Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources; the Division of Coastal Management; the state Shellfish Sanitation Section; the Cooperative Extension Service; the Division of Soil and Water Conservation; the University of North Carolina Wilmington; the Blockade Runner Resort; and professional consultants.

“I think part of the reason we were chosen (for the award) is because it’s pretty unique that you would have all these groups, from municipalities to nonprofits, private businesses and researchers, all working toward the same goal,” said Skrabal.

The projects were funded by grants from the National Estuarine Research Reserve Collaborative grant program, the North Carolina Environmental Enhancement Grant Program, Wilmington and by the privately-owned Blockade Runner Beach Resort.

Each project was designed to work with existing landscapes to redirect stormwater from impervious areas so that it can soak into the ground or into vegetation, essentially disconnecting the pathway to drains and outfalls that lead directly into waterways. Projects included redirecting flow from a disconnected street drain into a large rain garden; retrofitting city curb cuts to redirect runoff into a grassy median and regrading landscape in front of a restaurant to provide infiltration of runoff that was previously flowing into a drain.

The Blockade Runner invested $26,500 and staff time to support installation of a pipes and infiltration chambers to redirect stormwater flow that formerly drained from their property directly into swimming and recreational waters of Banks Channel.  Additionally, they connected a 2,100-gallon cistern to collect stormwater and condensate from their heating and air conditioning systems, and are now using the water to irrigate their gardens.

“We’re saving money and reducing our public water usage by 20 to 25 percent,” said Blockade Runner Environmental Coordinator Feletia Lee. “We’re trying to show that you can be a private business and do something that’s good for the community, because pollution affects everybody.”

Rainfall patterns are increasingly unpredictable and water pollution levels continue to increase due to intense development and a heavily concentrated agricultural industry along the coast. These projects attempted to address the uncertainty about which methods are most effective in protecting water from bacterial pollution, said Skrabal. To that end, the team funded research and monitoring of two sites.

Researchers led by Michael Mallin, a research professor at UNCW who focuses on the causes and effects of excessive amounts of nutrients in water bodies, found that infiltration chambers installed at one site reduced polluted stormwater discharge into Banks Channel by 93 percent, leading to a 96 percent load reduction in fecal bacteria. At another site, curb-cuts, swales, reverse stormwater inlets and the construction of a rain garden reduced stormwater discharge by 50 percent but with that, it reduced two types of fecal bacteria by 57 and 71 percent, respectively, and reduced total suspended solid load by 99 percent. Their results were published in the Journal of Coastal Research in January.

Funding was not available for research at all eight sites, but all have been monitored for effectiveness and have have shown to infiltrate nearly 100 percent of the maximum expected rain on any given day in Wrightsville Beach, and all but two proved to infiltrate runoff from much larger rain events, including during a storm that dumped 10 inches over a 24-hour period in 2016, according to the collaboration’s summary submitted to the EPA.

“I think this project is a great example of how small-scale retrofits can make a big difference in controlling stormwater and protecting coastal water quality, said Whitney Jenkins, the Coastal Training Program Coordinator for the North Carolina Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve and collaborative lead on the stormwater projects.

“I hope that we can transfer this concept to other coastal communities and help them protect their local water quality,” Jenkins said.

The awardees are to be honored Monday during the EPA’s International Erosion Control Association Municipal Wet Weather Stormwater Conference in Charleston, South Carolina.

Skrabal said the opportunity to speak about these projects at an international conference provides the platform to encourage widespread adoption of these relatively low-cost, low-impact designs that can be used on existing development through retrofitting and landscape design or during new development.

“We’re thrilled with this award, which pays tribute to all the partners involved,” said Kolodij.  “The long-term result we hope comes from this is that we foster a new generation of stormwater management.”

Learn More

• Read more about the federation’s stormwater projects

WILMINGTON – Long before Eagle Point Golf Club caught the attention of PGA officials for the site of the 2017 Wells Fargo Championship, May 1-7, the course was in a different type of spotlight. Three years after opening, the club donated 218 acres as a conservation easement to the North Carolina Coastal Federation in 2003. By promising to preserve the land in a natural state adjacent to Middle Sound, the club was left with just 13 acres to control for its facilities.

What captured public attention was not the protection of a priceless shellfish estuary but the club’s $16 million tax deduction. The value of a conservation easement is the difference between the market value of the property before and after the easement restrictions are implemented. The result is a tax deduction for the lost market value of the land determined by an independent appraiser.

Putting aside land for conservation and obtaining a tax break is a common practice. In 2012 alone, the IRS reported that almost $1 billion in conservation easements were donated.

During the succeeding years, Eagle Point’s owners have demonstrated that their donation was more than just a one-and-done financial transaction. The club has annually implemented ongoing environmental improvements, both independently and with partners.

And unlike other golf courses that have donated conservation easements, Eagle Point has no homes lining the fairways. And it never will.

As part of the conservation easement deal, the club agreed to semi-annual inspections by the Coastal Federation. To improve stormwater drainage, the club’s maintenance staff installed buffer zones preventing pollutants from entering Little Creek and feeder creeks. Little Creek flows directly into Middle Sound behind Figure Eight Island. Vegetative barriers were planted around ponds, native grasses replaced managed turf and a closed-loop stormwater pond system was upgraded.

“Conservation measures taken by the Eagle Point Golf Course greatly minimized stormwater runoff into adjacent Little Creek and the estuary,” said Tracy Skrabal, coastal scientist at the federation’s Wrightsville Beach office.

That was the good news. The bad news was that the quality of water entering Little Creek continued to decline. Polluted stormwater from the Porters Neck Development, new residential neighborhoods and added roadways was funneling into Eagle Point. The main culprit was fecal coliform bacteria from domestic and wild animals, along with fertilizers.

Eagle Point elevated its game in 2009 to meet the challenge.

A partnership with the federation, New Hanover County, North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina Wilmington resulted in a new stormwater wetland and two bio-retention areas.

NCSU Professor Michael Burchell and his team created a master stormwater-management plan that identified potential low-impact stormwater-reduction projects. The report also said to pay attention to the needs of golfers.

“Input from the membership will be crucial to get support. It’s important to evaluate how wetland areas might affect play. Wetlands that can act as lateral or water hazards while providing an aesthetic amenity around the course that can be highly desirable,” the report stated.

Burchell’s team also stated that improved course drainage would decrease course damage and allow players to return to the course sooner after heavy rains. And polluted stormwater would be contained and allowed to infiltrate into the ground, protecting the nearby estuary.

Before acting on Burchell’s recommendations, UNCW’s Michael Mallin established a baseline by collecting water samples. The UNCW team found no excessive levels of nitrogen fertilizers. “The course was being managed very responsibly – there was no over loading. However, we did find a lot of fecal chloroform bacteria that was washing onto the course from offsite developments,” Mallin said.

The most needed bio-retention area was created with the help of 75 volunteers. Thousands of lizard’s tail, bullrush, sedges and marsh grasses were planted where drainage pipes dumped contaminated stormwater from an adjacent 750-acre community. When the club’s owners purchased the land for the golf course in 2000, allowing the drain pipes to remain was part of the deal.

“This was absolutely a demonstration project. Not just for golf courses, but for other pieces of land that receive stormwater from neighboring properties,” said Skrabal, who was the project’s manager.

Following the project’s completion, Skrabal said the club invested heavily in further improvements. “Eagle Point has done a ton of work and spared no expense in putting in additional buffers around water areas and replacing fairway turf with vegetation,” she said.

On a golf course, less turf translates into fewer chemicals, and improved water quality.

Mike Giles, coastal advocate with the federation, has conducted the semi-annual visits to Eagle Point for the last 10 years. During and after those visits, the course owners have consulted with him about plantings and improvements.

“When we recommend certain sizes, they usually put in specimens three times larger. The most popular plants selected include palmettos, marsh grasses – native and non-native – wax myrtles and yaupon hollies. They’re all great for improving water quality,” he said.

With this year’s Wells Fargo Championship, the course has required some significant changes to accommodate PGA players, spectators and a national television audience. Eagle Point Superintendent Craig Walsh has worked with Giles to make temporary adjustments including moving trees, plants and turf.

“They spaded and moved a few 30-foot magnolia trees and put down turf for spectators to walk. But they’ll move those trees and plants back after the tournament. It’s been a good partnership,” Giles said.

PGA officials are likely to take note of Eagle Point’s balance of form and function in handling stormwater. Last year, a PGA publication stated, “Water features are more than design elements or water-storage areas; they are living systems that can add ecological and aesthetic value to a golf course.”

What’s next? Giles said Eagle Point is looking to install sturdy plants under the canopy of large live oak trees located in a strategic stormwater runoff area. On small bluff and hills, the club would like to install low growing plants that people could walk on instead of turf.

“Eagle Point is doing it right. They’ve taken the time to consult with one of the area’s leading experts on native plants,” Giles said.

These course changes have not hurt Eagle Point’s reputation. Since 2009, the course has made Golf Digest’s annual list of “America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses,” proving that an environmentally friendly golf course can also be a beautiful and challenging place to play.

And for those wondering about the financials associated with conservation easements, Mallin said, “If that golf course was not there, I am sure it would be full of condominiums today.”

Learn More

• Stormwater Measures Report: Eagle Point Golf Club
• Wells Fargo Championship

RALEIGH — North Carolina’s new stormwater rules take effect New Year’s Day, allowing for more flexibility before construction and a new expedited permitting process, but only time will tell whether the changes do enough to protect water quality.

The rules overhaul was the result of a North Carolina General Assembly mandate that the Department of Environmental Quality provide clear guidelines based on the most recent science. During the three-year development process, DEQ consulted with a group of about 25 stakeholders, including developers, local government officials and environmentalists.

Annette Lucas, an environmental engineer at DEQ who worked on the rules, said the group was diverse in opinions and experiences.

“What we developed is based on a consensus from all those groups,” she said, adding that the new process created rules that were clearer and better organized.

A new fast-track permitting process in the rules gives state-licensed engineers and landscape architects authority to build stormwater systems without state review beforehand. The applicants must send in only basic information to get approval to build the system and the state will follow up afterward with a compliance review.

The new process aims to shorten permit approval times from 90 days to about a month.

The Rules Review Commission adopted 18 of the 32 proposed stormwater rules during its meeting on Aug. 18, but the commission objected to 14 of the rules, based on the way the term “licensed professional” was used in the proposed language. The language was changed to allow licensed landscape architects, rather than only professional engineers, to sign off on submitted plans, and the commission adopted the remaining 14 rules during its meeting on Nov. 17.

The commission received no letters objecting to the new rules. State officials said this was likely because the rules crafted were agreeable to a wide variety of stakeholders.

“The state, in cooperation with a lot of stakeholders, has worked hard to develop rules that will protect our water quality from stormwater runoff while at the same time providing more flexibility and options for designers than we’ve had in the past,” Lucas said.

DEQ staff is working to make available application forms and the stormwater design manual and update the state stormwater permit website by Jan. 1, 2017.

Questions Raised

Despite the wide variety of opinions considered, several concerns have been raised about the upcoming rules.

Lucas said there is “risk” in the self-permitting provision allowing stormwater systems to be built before the state looks at the designs.

“They’re promising it’s going to comply before it’s built and before we’ve reviewed and approved the plan,” she said.

Todd Miller, executive director of the North Carolina Coastal Federation, was a member of the stormwater stakeholder committee that helped formulate the rules. He said the new self-permitting system may discourage engineers who are afraid to take on the project without the state signing off as well.

A mistake could lead to an expensive repair or put at risk the engineer’s license.

“There’s still a lot of question of whether the individual engineers are really going to want to take on the liability that’s associated with it,” Miller said, “so it puts a lot more responsibility on them. If they do something wrong, they’re going to be financially liable.”

However, Miller said the new rules bring some assurance that systems are built according to permits, assurance that is currently lacking.

“There have been issues where the systems have not been constructed as designed,” he said.

Over the long term, however, Miller worries about a larger question: What happens to these systems after they’re permitted and built?

He said that while maintenance is required, in practice, there aren’t enough resources to ensure that stormwater systems are properly maintained over the life of the system.

The lack of maintenance can be easy to spot: a stormwater pond full of cattails or a system clogged with debris. Miller said these are common examples of noncompliance with stormwater permits in the more than 14,000 stormwater systems now in place in the state’s 20 coastal counties.

“If you don’t have a program capable of making sure that things remain in good shape, most of your effort is wasted,” he said.

Miller said his frustration lies in the assumption that systems are going to maintained and upgraded properly.

“That that may be a bad assumption,” he said.

Miller said a selling point for the new rules is that not spending as much time on the up-front review would leave more staff time for oversight of existing systems and maintenance monitoring. Time will tell, he said.

Lucas, of DEQ, said the updated design standards include ways to make stormwater systems easier to maintain over time.

Natural Solutions

Miller and Lucas agree that managing stormwater is especially important in coastal North Carolina. Stormwater carries chemicals, bacteria and sediments and is the biggest cause of water pollution.

Rules to manage stormwater have been introduced and modified since the 1980s. However, water quality issues have led to state and local governments tweaking rules considered inadequate over time.

There has been promise shown in more natural, so-called “low-impact” solutions, including swales, which are shallow ditches that allow stormwater to pool and percolate through the ground. Miller said methods like these, which match the natural hydrology, are easier to maintain over time than complex systems.

“If you can keep the landscape functional and let nature do your work for you, then more passive systems are always better,”

Whether the new stormwater rules work as intended should be evident later in 2017, based on water quality testing in swimming and shellfishing waters.

“That would be the final arbitrator as to whether the proposals are working or not,” Miller said.

Learn More

• Stormwater design manual
• Will new runoff rules protect waterways?

PINE KNOLL SHORES –The town has broken ground on a natural stormwater management system designed to decrease the volume of runoff and alleviate some of the area’s flooding.

Through a partnership with the North Carolina Coastal Federation, the town is in the process of installing three swales, or long, shallow ditches along roadsides, and two bio-retention ponds in a neighborhood prone to flooding.

The installations are part of a broader set of tools known as best management practices, or BMPs, for stormwater, because of their ability to clean and move runoff.

The goal of the retrofits is to get the water off paved areas and onto the ground, where it has the chance to soak in. This decreases volume of stormwater runoff and filters out pollutants.

The systems are being installed on Elm Court, Cypress Drive and Cedar Road, streets also locally known as the “tree streets.” The area and the houses in it are prone to flooding, along with other parts of town. Town manager Brian Kramer said the project began two weeks ago and is expected to be completed by the spring.

In addition to causing flooding, stormwater can contain bacteria, sediments, chemicals and fertilizers it picks up as it moves. This problem is made worse by impervious surfaces, roads, sidewalks and driveways, that make the pollutants more likely to flow, unfiltered, into nearby waterways.

Lauren Kolodij, deputy director of the federation, said stormwater is the greatest pollutant of coastal creeks and sounds, leading to shellfish area closures and swimming advisories. She said that using best management practices reduces the amount of pollution, including sediment and bacteria, that reaches the water.

“If you reduce the volume and the flow of stormwater, none of those things can get to the water,” she said.

A Problem Rooted in History

Kramer said that Pine Knoll Shores, a community on Bogue Banks in Carteret County, has experienced flooding for decades. The problem, he said, began when the area was initially being developed with summer cottages built in the 1950s and 1960s and stormwater systems were not put in place.

“That may have been okay back then,” Kramer said, “but then we built a golf course and then we built a mobile home park and then we built a Hampton Inn.”

As the land became more developed, he said, the water had nowhere to go.

“It’s all caused, and everyone knows this, by development blocking the west-to-east flow of water to Hoop Pole Creek in Atlantic Beach and out to the sound,” Kramer said.

Over time, Kramer said, the east side of town, particularly, has dealt with the effects of flooding. He listed road closures and flooded garages and homes among the problems. Kramer said the town has tried a variety of solutions, including pumping stormwater directly into the ocean and Bogue Sound.

Kramer said the decision to work with the federation on this project was simple. The town was interested in finding methods of dealing with stormwater that were clean and effective.

“We want to have a town that’s environmentally friendly and focused,” he said.

Kramer said representatives from their local government went to Oak Island in Brunswick County to see similar systems the federation installed there and were encouraged by the results.

There has also been a push on the statewide level to address stormwater in recent decades. Bree Tillett, a coastal fellow at the federation, said that after fish kills from water pollution during Hurricane Floyd in 1999, the state government began to encourage the use of best management practices to improve water quality.

“The stormwater rules in the state require the use of BMPs for pretty much any development in the coastal plain,” she said.

A Green Solution

Tillett worked closely with the town and stormwater engineer Larry Sneeden, who also works for AECOM of Wilmingon, an engineering and consulting firm, to draw up plans for the BMPs.

Swales and bio-retention ponds are simple, which is what Kramer said he loves about them. Instead of focusing on reducing pollutants, the systems are designed to reduce stormwater volume, which also reduces the amount of pollutants that reach water bodies.

The swales in this project are 100 feet long. The shallow ditches move the water to bio-retention ponds while also allowing some water to infiltrate. Bio-retention ponds are holes where the water has a chance to sit, allowing it to seep slowly into the ground, filtering the water and keeping it from flooding the area. The town’s public works employees were able to create them without incurring the cost of outside contractors.

Sneeden said that the goal of the retrofits is to get water off of impermeable surfaces so water can soak into the ground, reducing the amount of stormwater runoff.

“They can seem more complicated than they really are but the key is just to give the water the opportunity to get off the pavement, the roads, the sidewalks, the driveways and get it to be able to travel over a grassed surface or vegetated surface and have a chance to soak in,” Sneeden said.

Tillett said the main goal of the retrofits may be to reduce the volume of stormwater, but that the water quality benefits are also impressive.

“Swales and bio-retention can reduce the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, sediment over 75 percent,” she said.

Tillett was clear that the swales and bio-retention ponds were designed for 1.5-inch rainfalls, but not more than that. The retrofits offer a solution to make the situation better in a place with no stormwater system, she said, but they can’t work like systems used in newer developments.

“This is not the cure for cancer of their flooding problems,” she said, “but it will put a dent in it. You’re offering a chance for the water to enter somewhere where it can sit rather than moving over.”

Tillett said that if she saw less water moving between the houses, she would consider the project a success.

Sneeden said property owners can also do their part to lessen the amount of stormwater runoff in their communities. One example of this is to turn downspouts toward yards instead of pavement, like driveways.

“You can reduce the runoff coming off each lot, then you significantly reduce the runoff in the street that’s causing the flooding,” he said.

Other Communities

Kolodij said the federation is also in talks with town officials in Beaufort and Swansboro and has completed successful projects in Wrightsville Beach, as well as Oak Island.

One of the roles of the federation, she said, is to help communities apply for stormwater management grants and to connect towns with geographic information system, or GIS, specialists who can help them plan their retrofits.

“It’s giving local governments a jumpstart by providing them with the background data and the hydrographs so that they can then take that in put it in the template and create a plan,” Kolodij said.

She said there have been signs of great progress in completed projects, including a 50 to 90 percent decrease in stormwater from some BMPs in Wrightsville Beach.

For Kramer, the project has been a test bed. He hopes to demonstrate to the community the potential of technologies such as these. In the future, he said, the town would be interested in installing more.

“We’re really hopeful,” Kramer said, “that we’re going to see positive results from this next storm season.”

OAK ISLAND — They’re simple ditches on the side of a road, but swales and similar, low-impact technologies could change the way coastal towns divert and treat stormwater, with less large-scale engineering and money.

“Aren’t they underwhelming?” Tracy Skrabal, a scientist with the North Carolina Coastal Federation, said about swales “They’re beautiful.”

Skrabal was speaking to a group of about 45 coastal residents, engineers and city government representatives who gathered last month at Oak Island, a beach community on a barrier island in Brunswick County. They came to learn more about how the community is using swales and similar techniques to reduce runoff at six sites on the island.

Swales are trenches on the side of a road designed to catch and hold stormwater runoff until it soaks into the ground. They are one of several types of these infiltration techniques the federation showcased during the tour.

Porous pavement, rain gardens, swales and other types of techniques that force runoff to seep into the ground are better for the environment, Skrabal explained, than simply diverting it into the nearest waterbody. Using money from a federal grant, the federation and Oak Island tried to prove the point by using these mitigation methods at the six sites.

Researchers from the University of North Carolina-Wilmington monitored the sites for several months and concluded that the systems had been hugely successful. The goal was to reduce runoff by 200,000 gallons over a one-year period, but the researcher found that runoff had been reduced by almost 385,000 gallons.

The Problem with Runoff

Stormwater runoff is especially worrisome for coastal communities.

When it rains, water runs down hard pavement and into drains, ditches or pipes that carry the runoff into the nearest waterbodies. As the water flows, it collects bacteria from animal droppings, dirt, chemicals, oils and other pollutants.

On the coast, bacteria and sediment from runoff have been shown to contaminate estuaries and oyster beds, hurting ecosystems and local fishing economies. Stormwater runoff can also contribute to erosion and flooding.

Fortunately, nature has its own way of removing these impurities from the runoff and slowing down erosion, Skrabal said. For example, simply digging a swale next to a road allows the water to collect and filter through the soil, she said. Eventually, this water will replenish groundwater reserves.

Lloyd Young, an engineer with Bechtel Corp., a construction and civil engineering company, attended the tour with fellow engineers of the coastal branch of the American Society of Civil Engineers. He said these simple solutions can reduce the need for more elaborate engineering solutions.

“What we learned today,” he said, “is that underwhelming solutions are often very important to reduce pollution, to reduce stormwater and maintain the quality of life as development takes place.”

Communities Taking Note

Representatives from Pine Knoll Shores, Sunset Beach and Oak Island were also present on the tour. They agreed that runoff is a pressing problem in their beach towns.

Clark Edwards, a councilman in Pine Knoll Shores in Carteret County, said the town’s low-lying streets are often submerged during storms.

“We’ve been struggling in our town, as many have, with the problem of runoff that becomes flooding,” he said.

Sheila Bell, an Oak Island councilwoman, said that continuing development on the island in Brunswick County makes stormwater runoff concerns even more important. “We are growing so fast,” she said. “The concern is that as we clear lots and take away tree coverage, that we are adding to the stormwater issue.”

Other coastal towns have joined Oak Island in using techniques discussed on the tour. Sunset Beach, for example, has begun installing similar methods, said Susan Parker, the town manager. She said they not only provide flood control, but also improve water quality.

Edwards said that Pine Knoll Shores will be working with the federation soon to implement some low-impact solutions there.

All the towns’ representatives agreed they would like to see more of the simple techniques presented during the tour in their communities.

“We’re pushed into the fancy or complicated solutions when really common sense, simple ones often work exceedingly well,” said Edwards.

Long-Term Solutions

The three town representatives said it was too early to know how their towns would pay for the long-term use of these techniques.

Bell said that Oak Island recently created a new position for a stormwater administrator and slightly increased residents’ stormwater fees, which could pay for implementation.

She said she was amazed by the effectiveness of the techniques and thought other council members may support using natural infiltration techniques.

“We know the problem is there,” she said, “and we are very open to solutions that will not cost our citizens. I cannot even fathom that it would not be something that we would consider.”

Edwards said that because of his town’s specific needs, a stormwater fee may not need to be imposed. Pine Knoll Shores, Edwards said, needs to educate its residents about the causes of runoff and how to prevent it.

“We have to educate people to understand that the town next to the road does not have to be a putting green,” he said. “It does not have to be sodded right up to the road.”

Parker said she is hoping the Sunset Beach town council will have a stormwater budget approved during a meeting in this month. This money, she said, will pay for analyzing how best to address stormwater runoff. Recommendations about possible solutions would come next, she said. She said it’s too early to see if a stormwater fee is a viable option the community will support.

“We’re in the very early stages,” Parker said, “but at least we’re moving in the right direction.”

CAPE CARTERET — The N.C. Coastal Federation’s transformation of two Cape Carteret ponds into an innovative, tidal marsh stormwater management system is complete, though people will have an opportunity to add the finishing touches at a community planting Sunday that will also serve as an open house of sorts.

Workers from Backwater Environmental of Pittsboro, implementing a plan developed by Kris Bass of Kris Bass Engineering of Raleigh, put in 18,050 plants, by hand, over a three-day period during the last full week of May.

That effort finished a project that began over the winter, when Backwater started draining the ponds. Once the drainage was finished, the firm used heavy equipment to dig out layers of muck that had supported growth of water hyacinths, which choked the ponds at the Cape Carteret Baptist and Presbyterian churches, severely curtailing their ability to work effectively to hold and treat stormwater runoff from N.C. 24 and many nearby commercial properties, including a shopping center across the road.

Once the plants were in, Bass said last week, workers removed a filter that had been keeping silt from the project from flowing into Deer Creek, which is connected to the ponds through a culvert. Immediately, he said, countless fish swam into the newly created wetlands, as did crabs.

“It was like they were waiting to get into their new home,” Bass said.

Their new home, Bass said, is a first-of-its-kind stormwater project in North Carolina. Water enters the system in the upper part, on the more westerly Baptist church property, which has been reconstructed to have sand and rock layers below the planted vegetation. It serves as a bio-retention area, filtering as much of the pollutants as possible from the collected stormwater. The treated stormwater then flows underground for 200 feet through a massive rock filter field, before discharging into the new saltwater creek on the Presbyterian property.

The federation hopes that keeping bacteria and other stormwater pollutants out of Deer Creek should preserve and eventually, enhance quality in the waters of the sound.

The nonprofit group that has headquarters just down the road in Ocean is paying for the project, which is estimated to cost about $500,000.

Thursday was warm and sunny, and it hadn’t rained since the weekend, but Bass estimated that 100,000 gallons of freshwater a day were entering the system, although some of it is groundwater. When it rains, the volume will be much higher.

Bass said the tidal range in the eastern end of the system will likely be about two feet, enough to give the carefully selected marsh plants good growing conditions. The freshwater plants at the western end can be kept moist by an engineered system.

All of this, Bass said, will be especially crucial until the marsh is fully established. The plants were spaced at an interval of about two feet.

The soil conditions are good, but Bass said it will probably take two or three growing seasons before the spaces between the plants will fill in with additional vegetation.

A tremendous number of sea shells were found in the muck during excavation, which means the area was almost surely a natural wetland at some point, so it’s a suitable place for a new one to take root and flourish, Bass explained.

Seashells weren’t the only things found in the ponds, either.

Andy Wood of Habitat Environmental Services of Hampstead, hired by the federation, said his company caught and transferred to new homes 93 turtles – snappers and box turtles mostly – 25 frogs and toads and about 300 fish, including a few largemouth bass and plenty of sunfish. They also trapped five American eels and three amphiuma, which are large eel-like salamanders than grow to more than three feet long.

The frogs and toads, eels, amphiuma and fish went to nearby freshwater ponds, although some of the larger fish were held, at least temporarily, at the N.C. Aquarium in Pine Knoll Shores. The turtles went into upstream, freshwater portions of the White Oak River.

As far as he knows, none of the turtles he handled – catching them in bucket traps placed in the ground around the ponds – died.

The critters were hauled to their new homes in buckets and tanks, and the sites were not far away and were approved by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.

Wood believes the turtles will be fine, although some might try to find their way back to the church ponds. “All turtles – terrestrial and sea – have kind of a GPS system, like they’re hooked up to satellites,” he said. “They know where ‘home’ is.”

Lexia Weaver, a federation scientist, said she was more than pleased with the project.

“It looks great, and the contractors went above and beyond to address any issues, anticipated or unanticipated,” she said. “We’ve very excited that all of this stormwater is going to be naturally treated before it enters the creek.”

The whole concept of the project goes back to November 2012 when a water-control structure failed and the water drained into Deer Creek. After discussion with the state, Cape Carteret officials enlisted the federation’s help, and planning began.

Money for the project came from the federation’s 2013 sale of a permanent conservation easement for land at North River Farms to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, a part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Last of two parts

NEW BERN — One of the main objections voiced at a public hearing in New Bern on a package of proposed stormwater rules focused on provisions that exclude landscape architects from submitting applications for the new fast-track permitting process.

Current rules allow licensed professionals, including landscape architects, to submit permit applications. As proposed, only professional engineers will be able sign off on projects submitted for permitting under the new expedited process.

“Prohibiting landscape architects from using the fast-track method of stormwater permitting will cost clients additional fees and time,” said Marsha Wyly of Wyly Landscape Architects of Greenville.

Wyly, speaking at the hearing, said the state is “acting as an agent for the engineering profession and suppressing competition,” by giving preference to engineers over landscape architects. “This is a business practice that harms consumers and places a barrier before small and women-owned businesses run by landscape architects. This action is something that is totally against the direction the governor is taking the state of North Carolina in his effort to support small business.”

Annette Lucas of the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s stormwater permitting program told Coastal Review Online that landscape architects and engineers will continue to be allowed to apply under the regular permitting process, which many engineers are expected to continue using as well.

The legislature mandated the fast-track process. The decision to limit fast-track permitting to engineers was based on enforcement controls already in place, Lucas said.

“We have to have a fast-track stormwater-permitting program where the department issues permits with no technical review, but at the same time we have to establish liability and we also have a way to enforce when the minimum design criteria are not met,” Lucas said. “It was a challenge to come up with a way to do that.”

A team that included engineers, a landscape architect, environmental consultants, representatives from the construction industry and local and state government officials worked for more than a year to create the minimum design criteria. The work involved replacing outdated standards no longer believed to protect water quality. It also involved determining which professionals were best suited for the expedited permitting process.

The team decided on a method that requires little review up front in the permitting process, but requires more intense scrutiny of as-built, or post-construction, drawings to ensure compliance.

“The team decided what people were qualified and the team decided as a group that professional engineers would be only type of professional to submit applications under the fast-track program,” Lucas said.

“We wanted to hear about their disciplinary process,” Lucas said of the landscape architect profession. “Professional engineers are a much larger group, with full-time professionals on their licensing board. Landscape architects don’t have as much statutory backing for their ability to design stormwater systems.”

Minutes from the team’s July and August 2015 meetings indicate that there was considerable debate about the qualifications of landscape architects to design stormwater systems. Tim Clinkscales of Paramounte Engineering Inc. of Wilmington and a member of the team pressed for the restriction, which met resistance, especially from Jeff Gray, a lawyer for the N.C. Board of Landscape Architects, but also from others representing the profession.

Clinkscales rejected arguments that landscape architects were generally qualified, as a group, to handle stormwater projects, according to the minutes, saying it was up to the team to determine who was qualified. Clinkscales in an interview said his position was based on his concerns for public safety.

“I don’t think they (landscape architects) have the same education background as engineers. I don’t think the exam is the same background as the engineering exam,” Clinkscales said. “Experience-wise, they may know more than myself but that’s irrelevant. It’s about the safety of the public. When stormwater systems are being designed there’s an element of public safety and I don’t think the landscape architect board is equipped to deal with, or the rigors that public safety requires. This also deals with flood control and, based on what I’ve researched, that doesn’t seem to be in their curriculum.”

Clinkscales noted that the team’s decision was unanimous.

Landscape architects at the hearing said they may be equally qualified to handle stormwater projects, based on their individual education and experience.

Myriah Shewchuk, coastal section chairman of the state chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects, said during the hearing that her profession had been a leader in stormwater design for decades. She said the education and licensing requirements for landscape architects are rigorous and thorough.

“Our understanding of stormwater systems is not trivial,” Shewchuk said.

She said neither all professional engineers nor all landscape architects are experts in stormwater management and each individual must know their limitations and practice accordingly. The proposed exclusion would conflict with other state laws that allow landscape architects to design stormwater plans, she said.

Michael Mullis, a landscape architect with Mullis Design Group of Raleigh and past president of the state chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects, said many of the new rules are welcomed but licensed landscape architects should continue to be considered licensed professionals under stormwater rules.

Todd Miller, the executive director of the N.C. Coastal Federation who also served on the design criteria panel, said it remains unclear whether professional engineers will be willing to risk their license on certifying that a stormwater system was built according to the criteria.

“If there’s an issue, it’s the engineer’s license on the line,” Miller said. “Enforcement would be ultimately filing complaints with the licensing board and the question is, how many engineers are willing to take that risk?”

Lucas agreed. “I think a lot people will continue to use the regular review process. That’s what we do now,” she said. “The fast-track process is risky for the design professionals, who are putting their credentials on the line. They might be subject to enforcement action. I’ve heard a lot of professional engineers say they would prefer to use the regular process anyway.”

Others took issue with the rule changes at the hearing in New Bern.

Knapp Brabble, manager of the Washington County Airport in Plymouth and secretary for the N.C. Airport Association, said stormwater retention ponds that are required for areas with large impervious surface coverage, such as malls, industrial complexes and other large buildings, aren’t appropriate at airports because they attract birds. Airports should be exempted, he said.

“At airports we have a runway cleaner than any highway you can drive on,” Brabble said, adding that birds take flight and scatter when they hear the noise from aircraft, creating a hazard to aviation.

Also, Steven Webb, lobbyist for the N.C. Home Builders Association, said his organization’s members have problems with the rules as proposed, especially changes to definitions relating to storm events and rainfall rates, requirements related to vegetated setback buffers and protections for shellfish waters.

Learn More

• Stormwater rules review and readoption

First of two parts

New state stormwater rules are set to be adopted this summer, but it remains unclear how effective the rule changes will be in terms of protecting water quality.

State officials say the proposed rules mandated by the N.C. General Assembly provide clearer guidelines that are based on the most recent stormwater science, but an environmental advocate says the new rules don’t go far enough to protect shellfish waters and swimming areas.

The public has two remaining opportunities to learn more and comment on the proposed rules. Hearings are scheduled today in Mooresville and Wednesday in Salisbury. The first public hearing was held March 7 at the New Bern-Craven County Library. The public comment period continues through April 18.

The proposed rules continue the legislature’s push for deregulation by authorizing state-licensed professional engineers to design and oversee construction of stormwater systems without state review before construction. It’s part of a fast-track approval process expected to cut permit-approval times from the current 90 days to about a month. Stormwater systems would only be checked for compliance with minimum standards after they are built.

“The whole concept of self-enforcement is an example of a system that hasn’t worked in the past and now we’re getting to use it much more routinely,” said Todd Miller, executive director of the N.C. Coastal Federation.

State officials counter that professional licensing boards will act as a safeguard to ensure design specifications are met. They estimate the proposed rules package will save state residents about $17 million during 2017.

Miller said the self-enforcement issue is just one of a number of changes that may help businesses and developers but do little to protect highly sensitive coastal waters, especially swimming and shellfish areas, from pollution carried by stormwater runoff. That protection is federally mandated.

“The bottom line is all these programs are supposed to be protecting water quality standards, not economics. Any regulation that allows for routine violations of the law is not sufficient,” Miller said.

Annette Lucas, an engineer with the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s stormwater permitting program, disagrees. Lucas said the legislation mandates that water quality waters must be protected. Stakeholders and experts worked exhaustively to agree on design criteria that takes into account the latest stormwater science, she said. Miller also served on the committee.

“They looked at every part of the design criteria to make sure it was protective of water quality and whether they were necessary or not,” Lucas said.

The team included experts from N.C. State University and East Carolina University, Lucas noted.

“They agreed the old criteria were no longer relevant,” she said, adding that the team also agreed the updated rules package was not only more cost-effective but also more protective of water quality.

Legislative Changes

The state’s stormwater management program was launched in the late 1980s. Rules adopted in 2008 added restrictions on new development in coastal counties within a half-mile of high-quality and outstanding resource waters.

The proposed rules, which a state official at the New Bern hearing described as “a reorganization of everything stormwater,” are set to be adopted by July 14. The changes were mandated by a state law passed in 2013 to “impose a less stringent burden on regulated persons,” according to a handout at the meeting, by developing a fast-track permitting process for stormwater systems and establishing minimum design standards for structural stormwater-control measures. The revisions also stem from another 2013 law that directs state agencies to review and update their rules every 10 years.

The rewrites in the proposed rule include efforts to decrease repetition from rule to rule; clarify unclear requirements; incorporate current technology and design standards; improve consistency between the programs; and codify policies that are actually requirements.

For new development in areas within a half mile of shellfish waters, the proposed rules reduce the current capacity requirements for stormwater-control measures from a one-year, 24-hour storm, or more than 3.5 inches in most coastal areas, to a 95^th percentile storm depth, or a rainfall event with a precipitation depth greater than or equal to 95 percent of all 24-hour storms on an annual basis. A 95^th percentile storm event is about 40 percent less than a one-year, 24-hour storm.

The change also adds the requirement of a sand filter system at the outlet of discharging stormwater-control measure, rather than another stormwater system in series. The result is a net savings for developers. Miller said this change eliminates a long-standing prohibition on discharges of stormwater by allowing the option of treating runoff and discharging it.

“This discharging option should be eliminated from this proposed rule,” according to written comments the federation plans to submit to the state.

Lucas said the change isn’t that different from existing rules.

“Both the old and the new rules do allow some stormwater discharge into SA (shellfishing and recreational) waters but the new rules are more clear – you can only discharge when infiltration is not possible,” Lucas said.

She noted that infiltration is the most effective way to treat stormwater runoff, but it’s not always possible in coastal areas. The proposed rules clarify what must be done in those cases.

“A lot of times on the coast you have good soil but there are situations where the high water table prevents infiltration,” Lucas said. The changes specify what is allowed and what is required in these cases, she said.

The proposed rules also slightly increase the size of the required storm depth for other coastal waters from the 1.5-inch storm to a 90^th percentile storm event. This amounts to an increase of about 15 percent more than the 1.5-inch storm, based on the state’s calculations. As far as savings for developers, the change is of minimal effect.

As far as protecting water quality, the changes will “maintain existing environmental protections at an equivalent level,” according to the state.

“If that’s correct then we get more control for the majority of the coastal area, which would more than offset what we’re losing,” Miller said. “Whether that’s sufficient is a huge question. We went to the current design based on the recommendation that water quality was going downhill, based on bacteria levels.”

Changes in hydrology occur because of how people use the land. Most of the problem bacteria that leads to swimming advisories and shellfish closures on the coast are from wildlife. Those bacteria only survive a day or two, so protecting coastal waters is about controlling land uses that have immediate effects on adjacent waters.

Development creates the runoff that carries the pollution, which is a threat to public health.

Miller said the changes may basically be a wash. “The sad thing is, what we had wasn’t adequate, this isn’t adequate,” he said.

The proposed new minimum design standards are to encompass, regardless of location, all requirements defined under the state stormwater program’s best management practices for siting, design, construction and maintenance. These standards are meant to ensure that a stormwater treatment system functions forever to protect water quality standards.

Miller said the flaw in the minimum design criteria is that the capacities specified relate to a single rainfall event and many times rainstorms happen before the stormwater can be absorbed into the earth.

“That’s the fallacy of this storm design, it only captures one rain event. The systems have to draw down before they’re capable of performing at that level again,” Miller said.

Lucas said it would be “very unusual” to have two or more storms of the 90^th or 95^th percentile intensity within a short period of time. It would be like having back-to-back hurricanes, she said. Most permitted designs should be able to handle their respective rainfall amounts within two or three days.

“Nearly all the time, you should have capacity for the next storm event,” Lucas said.

Tuesday: Fast-Track Permitting

Learn More

• Stormwater rules and readoption
• Regulatory impact analysis

WILMINGTON — Wilmington’s Tide Water Power and Light building posed a problem for officials in recent years. When it was built in 1951, it was the height of modernity. But the decades since haven’t been kind. Its classic mid-century architectural details were left to languish. When the New Hanover County Commissioners voted to the renovate the building at 320 Chestnut St., though, the question turned to how to take this tarnished modernist gem and update it for 21st century standards.

Designers and architects restored the property with energy efficiency and sustainability in mind, while also maintaining what makes the building unique. They added windows, a new HVAC system and lighting sensors help cut costs, but its crowning achievement is the green roof and employee break area that looks out over downtown. The idea was not only to make the building more efficient, but to consider the enjoyment of the people who would spend time there.

“It really is something we thought about,” said John Sawyer, whose firm Sawyer, Sherwood & Associate Architecture oversaw the renovation. The building now features windows that open, stairways that are accessible, visible and safe, and more daylight, even in interior offices.

“Windows are designed so that everyone has some access,” Sawyer said. “There won’t be anyone who won’t know it’s raining outside.”

And when it’s nice out, county employees will have access to a plant-covered roof, complete with a path and benches.

The Lower Cape Fear Stewardship Development Coalition, a regional nonprofit organization focused on protecting natural resources, recently awarded the county one of its Stewardship Awards for the redesign of the building.

The building’s livability is exemplified by this green space. “The roof was painted white, which is also energy efficient,” Sawyer said.

The difference is that the glare is inhospitable if you happen to be on the roof. The living roof though, facilitates cooling and lessens stormwater runoff. And its seventh-floor location offers great view of the surrounding city. “It’s the best of both worlds,” he said.

The roof, as well as a section of the second-floor roof that’s visible from the third-floor hallway, comprise about 3,500 square feet covered in sedums. About eight different varieties of these succulent plants were grown in trays in a greenhouse last year.

“They are well-suited to rooftops,” said Scott Spike, vice president at Sawyer, Sherwood & Associate Architecture.

The plants retain water, even when planted in a gravel medium. Although there is an irrigation system to water the plants during especially dry times, our rainfall should keep them healthy and thriving. The sedums also offer color, and flower from June to October, in hues from pink to yellow to purple.

“The flowering overlaps around August,” Spike said. “That’s a good time to be up here.”

Each plant tray on the roof, which measures about one-foot-by-two-feet, interlocks for installation but can be picked up if there’s a problem underneath. The trays sit on two layers of roofing membrane.

As in the past, the roof at 320 Chestnut is still home to mechanical equipment, but updated technology means that it takes up significantly less room. The architects reclaimed part of that space for an employee break room that looks out over the green roof.

Smaller duct work also means that they were able to add room and headspace in the hallways, giving the interior of the building a roomier feel. Offices have individual temperature controls, and the floor plan was altered slightly for ease of use and to add conference rooms for those who work there. The $7.7 million project also strived to maintain the character of the building. Distinctive blue enameled steel panels on the exterior were refurbished, as was the black marble by the elevators on the first floor.

“It’s safe to say that there are only a few buildings of this style remaining in the state,” said George Edwards, executive director of the Historic Wilmington Foundation. “Many have been torn down, but I think we are acquiring a greater appreciation for these modernist structures.”

The design of Tide Water Power and Light was inspired by the German Bauhaus school of design, one of the most influential in the modern aesthetic. “It was built by the regional power company in post-war exuberance, when there was an enthusiasm for the future,” Edwards said. “The city was getting back to normal after the war.”

The building gained the attention of the Historic Wilmington Foundation several years ago, when it popped up on their annual list of threatened buildings. One year it was listed as the most threatened. Since then, the foundation has been among the supporters of preserving the building as the county considered what to do with it. “It was a great decision to restore it,” Edwards said. “It’s a jewel and now it will last another 60 to 75 years.”

Reprinted from Tideland News and updated.

CAPE CARTERET – Andy and Carson Wood of Habitat Environmental Services of Hampstead started living on turtle time Wednesday, as work began on the long-awaited project to transform two eyesore ponds here into an aesthetically pleasing storm-management system that should improve water quality in Deer Creek and Bogue Sound.

The father-and-son duo was on site at the Cape Carteret Baptist Church and Cape Carteret Presbyterian Church ponds – across N.C. 24 from the Lowe’s shopping center – as Backwater Environmental of Pittsboro, under contract to the N.C. Coastal Federation, began work that was expected to continue through the week.

The plan was to lower the water level in the pond, believed generally to be four to seven feet, to just a couple of feet, and to wait for wildlife, including the aforementioned turtles, to start emerging. Thursday and Friday, Backwater was installing fences, which will keep the wildlife within a perimeter near the ponds and out of the nearby traffic, and the Woods were putting in 50 traps – buckets, really – into which the turtles will stray.

Once they’re caught, the turtles will be transported to nearby, suitable habitat, approved by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, probably within a mile or two.

“It’s not required,” Andy Wood said of the effort. “And it’s going to take time, because the water level is going to be lowered slowly, and turtles will come out slowly. But this is a great thing they (the federation and Backwater) are doing. It’s a special effort by everyone involved.”

In fact, Andy Wood said, an effort to capture and relocate wildlife during such a project is downright unusual.

“Most of the time, when people are doing this type of thing, they don’t even give it a second thought,” he said. “These kinds of ponds, stormwater retention ponds, get created, and over time, they become ‘naturalized,’ and when they are altered or filled in, they just do it. This is great.”

One doesn’t want to move the critters too far, Andy Wood said, in part because they prefer not to travel except by their own means, and in part because “they have their own sort of GPS and tend to get disoriented” if they’re moved too far.

As for “turtle time,” he said, it’s impossible to tell exactly when the amphibians will emerge. Since you can’t just sit there and wait indefinitely, all the time, you come and go, checking and re-checking. You don’t, he said, want them to stay trapped long.

Nor does he have any firm idea how many there might be. There could be a few dozen, or there could be a hundred or more.

What he does know is there’s surely an “alpha” turtle, probably a snapper of 10 pounds or more, plus all kinds of other turtles, including sliders and other species, ranging from half-dollar-sized hatchlings to 12-inch adults. The goal is to catch as many as possible, and to take them where they’ll be happy.

Wood is experienced in these things, having done even larger projects in Wilmington and elsewhere, and he says he knows some turtles won’t make it, and some “will end up in people’s homes, because once we get started, kids will be out here checking the buckets.”

But they will do the best they can.

There also will be eels, fish, countless frogs, many snakes and a maybe a few nutria, although Wood said the big critters are notoriously shy of humans.

“They might already be gone,” he said. “They see this truck (from Backwater Environmental) and they say, ‘uh-oh, time to move on.’”

All of the creatures will be moved, if possible.

There also are, or at least have been, otter in the ponds, but Wood suspects they will move on, too, and not be trapped for relocation. Otter, after all, are about as mobile as any critter, and there’s plenty of water habitat for them in nearby creeks. And when the water level sinks low enough, the otter will return from nearby and have a field day feeding on fish in the shallow pools.

The good thing about this, Wood said, is that there’s no real urgency. As long as the weather is relatively cool, the wildlife will be fine, and federation volunteers will help as critters continue to emerge.

Also, the really disruptive work won’t begin for some time; the current drainage won’t remove all the water from the pond, but the roughly four-day effort should lower the water level by several feet.

Once the drainage work is done, the federation’s coastal scientist Lexia Weaver said, actual construction of the new wetlands system should begin, likely by early February. That’s when the action should become noticeable, with heavy equipment on site to start moving dirt around. Below the water, for example, there are a couple of feet of “muck” that will have to be removed.

Contractors will by early spring be ready to take advantage of the growing season by planting wetlands vegetation to replace the overwhelming concentration of water hyacinths that have choked the ponds, limited their functionality and created the eyesore.

There will also be landscaping around the ponds, and Wood believes some wildlife – turtles, for example – will repopulate.

The federation project will connect the two ponds through an innovative underground system.

When complete, the system is expected to effectively and naturally treat stormwater that drains from the church properties, as well as from N.C. 24 and from shopping center properties across the street, protecting and improving the water quality in Deer Creek and ultimately Bogue Sound.

All of the work, which has been in planning for three years, was initially supposed to cost about $200,000, but it could now exceed $400,000 or as much as $500,000. The federation views it as a good deed for the town, and for the creek and the sound.

“The creek has been closed to shellfishing for a long time (because of stormwater runoff and the pollution it carries), and the hope is that someday shellfish harvest might be allowed again,” Weaver said. “There is no guarantee that will happen. But at the very least, we know that every bit of help we can provide for Bogue Sound is a good thing.”

The federation’s work with the town to obtain all necessary state permits took longer than expected.

All told, the federation expects to put in more than 18,000 plants, ranging from wetlands grasses to small trees suitable for the habitat, Weaver said. The organization is working with a top-notch expert, Wes Newell of Backwater and Lumber River Native Plants of Gibson, a nursery that has also worked with the federation on the successful and ongoing effort to return the sprawling North River Farms property in down east Carteret County to the wetlands role the land played before it was farmed for decades.

In addition, the federation has worked with engineer Kris Bass of Raleigh to design the system. Bass also worked on the North River Farms project, Weaver said, and worked at N.C. State University in the engineering department for a decade. He’s an expert in stormwater and ecosystems restoration, and he and the federation came up with an innovative system for the Cape Carteret project.

The stormwater will first enter the smaller, upper (farthest from Deer Creek) of the two basins on the Baptist property. This pond will be rebuilt to have sand and rock layers below the planted vegetation and will serve as a bio-retention area, filtering as much of the pollutants as possible from the collected stormwater.

The water that remains will flow to the larger basin on the Presbyterian property. And the real innovation, Weaver said earlier this year, is that this part of the system will be a tidal salt marsh.

“The idea,” Weaver said, “is not to keep them as ponds; they should be dry most of the time, except when it rains a whole lot.”

Then the federation closed on the sale of an easement at its massive North River Farms wetlands project, and earned $3 million. Federation executive director Todd Miller thought cleaning up the ponds would be a neighborly – and environmentally significant – thing to do.

OAK ISLAND – A project designed to cut down stormwater flow into waterways around this Brunswick County town is proving to be a success.

Preliminary estimates show that the volume of stormwater kept from streaming down a series of town streets and ultimately into waterways around the island has been reduced by about 77 percent.

“So far, we are very impressed with their function and the fact that they seem to be infiltrating in the swales at a very rapid rate, which is owed to the sandy soils in these side street locations that were chosen for the project,” said Tracy Skrabal, a coastal scientist with the Coastal Federation.

She is quick to point out that the project engineer’s estimates are “very” preliminary.

The goal is to reduce pollution going into the waters around the island by at least 200,000 gallons during a one-year period.

An advisory committee of town officials and volunteers earlier this year identified six streets to install stormwater reduction measures. Volunteers are aiding in monitoring these streets through the end of 2016.

Existing drainage swales on those streets have been modified to be deeper and bigger to slow runoff and bio-retention areas have been constructed to infiltrate and clean run-off before it reaches estuarine waters.

“It’s a fairly inexpensive, low-tech option,” Skrabal said. “We’re not done yet. We’ve still some got replanting to do and some other work. We’ll keep watching them until they get stabilized. It’s a process of getting them stabilized.”

The project is part of a 10-year commitment by the Coastal Federation and its partners to mitigate the amount of stormwater pollution streaming into the Lockwood’s Folly watershed.

Projects like these not only solicit public involvement, they educate property owners on how they can reduce stormwater runoff using affordable, low-maintenance initiatives.

“We provide demonstration. We provide the science. We hope that these localities will adopt these practices,” Skrabal said.

Last year, the federation received a nearly $115,000 state grant from the N.C. Division of Water Resources to implement this particular project.

Similar projects in Wrightsville Beach have helped reduce polluted stormwater flow into waters around that beach town in New Hanover County, where the federation is also committed to reducing stormwater pollution in the Bradley Creek and Hewletts Creek watersheds.

Oak Island residents who’ve volunteered to monitor the stormwater flow say they have seen firsthand the difference these mitigation measures make on the streets.

“I’m very happy with the results that have been done on the grading on the street,” said Wendi Schneider(cqtt), one of the residents who monitors stormwater flow on her street. “It’s just done a wonderful job. I think it’s a total success on the street I live on. It’s just way, way, way better.”

The project has opened a dialogue with neighbors, she said, giving her an opportunity to explain how the design works and its benefits.

There’s been plenty to talk about with this year’s abundance of rainfall, Schneider said. Her rain gauge topped out at 11 inches of water following heavy rainfall at the end of September, when a series of coastal storms pummeled several North Carolina beaches.

Her home is one of about 20 lining Southeast 23^rd Street, which ends at the Intercoastal Waterway.

“Water quality, to me, is key to our survival and if there’s things we can do that are easy like this, just making little adaptations to our streets, I want to be an advocate of that,” she said.

Stormwater pollution initiatives are taking place throughout the island. There are stormwater retention ponds and rain gardens. Property owners are using rain barrels to catch and reuse stormwater runoff.

“All of this is taking place on the island, but it’s not being done enough,” Schneider said.

An excerpt from Oak Island’s website asks its readers to consider this: a 60-foot by 100-foot lot can be clear-cut to make way for a house with a two-car garage, creating upwards of 80 percent of impervious surface. One inch of rainfall on a 1,200 square-foot area can generate up to 600 gallons of runoff. An estimated 2,400 gallons of stormwater runoff is created by each inch of rain that falls on a 6,000 square-foot lot.

Schneider moved to Oak Island 12 years ago partly because of the allure of the beaches and waters around the island.

“I want to be in as a pristine environment as I can be,” she said. “I think this is all about just walking your talk. If you love it, you better support it. It’s all about the quality of life we have here.”

Reprinted from the Tideland News

CAPE CARTERET — After more than a year of intense planning and several years of discussion, work is likely to begin by Nov. 15 on the first phase of a project to transform two eyesore ponds in Cape Carteret in western Carteret County into an aesthetically pleasing stormwater management system that should improve water quality in Deer Creek and Bogue Sound.

Lexia Weaver, a coastal scientist for the N.C. Coastal Federation, said the initial work at the ponds, on property owned by Cape Carteret Baptist and Cape Carteret Presbyterian churches off N.C. 24, will involve slowly draining the ponds and installing drainage pipes under Yaupon Drive. The federation is paying for the project.

The planning board reviewed the plan for the project Tuesday and voted 4-1 to send it on to the board of commissioners along with an addendum it asked the project engineer, Kris Bass, to provide after board members discussed several issues with him in a conference call during the meeting.

The addendum is to include plans for construction entrances at both ends of the project site – intended to help keep mud off town streets – and provisions for measuring the turbidity and depth of Deer Creek before, during and after the project. The ponds discharge into the creek, which is considered “impaired” under the federal Clean Water Act because of bacterial contamination from stormwater runoff. The state doesn’t allow shellfishing in the creek.

Planning board member Paxon Holz brought up the issues about the creek’s turbidity and depth. She told the board that she was expressing the fears of residents at Cape Point, a subdivision along Deer Creek. Even though the project is designed to improve its water quality, Holz said, the residents are worried about what might happen during the construction and what would happen if the project isn’t successful.

Holz voted against sending the plan to the town commission. She said that although she is a federation member, is “greener than anyone here thinks” and understands the need for the project to get moving in order to meet a springtime vegetation planting schedule, she felt rushed and wanted more time for review.

Weaver noted that the town had the plan for months, but Holz said the planning board itself had not had it until the last month or two. The plan had been reviewed by Brandon Hawks, the planning director, code enforcement officer and building inspector, but Hawks left the town last month to take a similar post in his native Surry County.

John Ritchie, the planning board chairman, pushed for the construction entrances, and also asked that the plan addendum include details on how the federation plans to keep sediments out of Deer Creek during the work. He also had zoning concerns. The area is zoned residential.

Weaver, who also noted that the town approached the federation about the project, pointed out that the residents of Cape Point had the opportunity, as did everyone else, to comment on the project for a month after the federation applied for the state Coastal Area Management Act major development permit it needed for the work. The federation got that permit, as well as all the others it needs, she said, after a stringent review process.

Ritchie also noted that the Cape Point Homeowners’ Association had been notified of the planning board meeting but did not send a representative.

He said he was generally satisfied with the comments and commitments made by the engineer during the conference call set up by Weaver during the meeting, and urged that residents of the subdivision help with the creek monitoring, since the federation, a nonprofit group, is voluntarily spending as much as half a million dollars on the project, which it undertook to help a neighboring town with an eyesore and to address water quality issues in a town creek. The federation is based in Ocean, a community less than 10 miles east of Cape Carteret on N.C. 24.

Once those ponds are drained over the winter, the federation will plant wetlands vegetation in the basins, and will install an innovative underground system that will connect one pond to the other.

In the end – before summer 2016, Weaver hopes – the system will effectively treat the stormwater that drains from the church properties, as well as from the highway and from shopping center properties across the street, improving the water quality in Deer Creek, which flows into the fragile shellfish waters of Bogue Sound.

Excavation of the muck in the ponds, as well as the vegetation that’s in them, will begin in late winter, probably in February 2016.

All of the work, according to Weaver, was initially supposed to cost about $200,000, but it might now exceed $400,000 and might approach $500,000. The federation views it as a good deed for the town, and for the creek and the sound.

“The creek has been closed to shellfishing for a long time and the hope is that someday shellfish harvest might be allowed again,” Weaver said in a recent interview. “There is no guarantee that will happen. But at the very least, we know that every bit of help we can provide for Bogue Sound is a good thing.”

The federation has worked with the town and has obtained all the necessary permits from the state, a process that took longer than expected. Because of that work, the federation, the town and the churches had hoped would be done this year now must wait for the spring planting season.

All told, the federation expects to put in more than 18,000 plants, ranging from wetlands grasses to small trees suitable for the habitat, Weaver said.

The stormwater will first enter the smaller upper — farthest from Deer Creek — of the two basins, on the Baptist property. This pond will be reconstructed to have sand and rock layers below the planted vegetation and will serve as a bio-retention area, filtering as much of the pollutants as possible from the collected stormwater.

The water that remains will flow to the larger basin on the Presbyterian property. And the real innovation, Weaver said earlier this year, is that this part of the system will be a tidal salt marsh.

“The idea,” Weaver said, “is not to keep them as ponds; they should be dry most of the time, except when it rains a whole lot.”

The area around the former ponds will be landscaped and attractive; the whole project had to be designed to satisfy the concerns of the churches’ officials, as well as town commissioners.

Andy Wood, a well-respected conservationist in southeastern North Carolina, will trap, remove and relocate snakes, frogs, nutria and whatever else might be in the ponds.

“Andy will find suitable, similar habitat for whatever’s in there,” Weaver said.

And some of that trapping and relocation could begin soon, as the draining of the ponds undoubtedly will alter the habitat to the point where the life will want to – and need to – go elsewhere.

A conservation easement allows the churches to install benches, walkways, bridges, plantings and other amenities that would make the pond areas suitable for worship and other passive uses, but still maintain the former pond sites as natural areas.

Cape Carteret Mayor Dave Fowler said he’s pleased. “I’m happy with where we are,” he said last month. “I know it’s been a while, a long process, but I think everyone is going to be pleased. It’s going to look good for the people who go to the churches, and to people who live in town and drive by there and to people who visit us. It’s going to be a big improvement.”

He’s also excited about what it will do for the ecology. The town, he said, wants to do what’s right for the environment, and improving water quality in Deer Creek, and at least indirectly in Bogue Sound, is a good step in the right direction. In addition, Fowler said, the project will serve as an example for how to take a problem and turn it into asset.

“It can serve as kind of a living outdoor classroom for students,” the mayor said. “It’s good for the kids to be able to see something like this” right across N.C. 24, almost from White Oak Elementary School, which has worked with the federation in the past on ecological projects.

Fowler said he’s glad everyone involved has been patient. “There are a lot of stakeholders involved in this project, and I’ve very pleased with the cooperative efforts by the federation, the town and the churches,” he said.

It has, indeed, been a long time coming. Longstanding problems with the ponds were exacerbated in November 2012 when a water control structure failed and the water drained into Deer Creek. Cape Carteret officials contacted the federation to see what could be done, and the organization suggested that the ponds be turned into wetlands.

Weaver said the federation still hopes the project won’t cost quite as much as it now appears it might. One major factor in the soaring cost has been rock – there’s a lot of it involved – but there’s a chance prices will fall by the time it’s purchased. The plants and labor to install them will probably cost $50,000.

But Weaver said that once all the work is done, it should it integrate well with other efforts in the area.

“We’re also doing some restoration oyster habitat restoration work at two private properties on Deer Creek, in Cape Point,” she said. “That will help, too, and we’re working on a Deer Creek watershed restoration plan and hope we can get some EPA money to do some more work.”

Related Content

Restoration Work Set to Begin

From Eyesore to Functioning Wetland

NAGS HEAD — Septic tanks and bird droppings contribute to the stew of pollutants that pour into the ocean during and after storms on the Outer Banks, but measures to remediate the toxic flow could prove to be costly and politically difficult.

A draft report on a stormwater pilot project almost a decade in the making details episodic elevated levels of bacteria from fecal contamination at Nags Head and Kill Devil Hills beaches in the vicinity of nine ocean outfalls – large pipes maintained by the state Department of Transportation.

“The … results from monitoring of outfalls from this study, conducted over a wide range of storm events, clearly indicate that Enterococcus sp. levels along beaches impacted by outfall discharge consistently exceed water quality standards throughout and well after a storm event,” the document said. “Furthermore, the impact of the Enterococcus sp. contamination appears to extend to distances in exceedance of 100 meters up and down the beach from outfall pipes.”

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, or DEQ, paid for report, called the “Ocean Outfall Master Plan.” Done in conjunction with the Coastal Studies Institute in Wanchese and the UNC Institute of Marine Sciences in Morehead City, the report is currently undergoing review. The Raleigh-based engineering firm Moffatt & Nichol submitted a draft to DEQ, which sent it back with comments. Others involved with the project have also submitted comments. Moffat & Nichol will incorporate those comments into the report, which will then be the subject of meetings along the Outer Banks. The final report is expected within a month or two, said Johnny Martin, coastal and hydraulic engineer at the engineering company.

It is, he noted, the first large-scale study of its kind in the state, although the large majority of state-maintained ocean outfalls are in Dare County.

“Once the final report is submitted, we’ll review it thoroughly and determine next steps,” said Tom Reeder, an assistant secretary at DEQ.

Stormwater runoff on the Outer Banks can contain high levels of bacteria from human and animal waste, but it also can carry pollutants from fertilizer, pesticides and petroleum products like oil and gas. Although sewage treatment systems are few on the Outer Banks, their discharges are not released through pipes going to ocean beaches.

The state has been sampling swimming waters at ocean and sound beaches since 1997, said J.D. Potts, manager of the Recreational Water Quality Program at the state Division of Marine Fisheries. About 10 years ago, permanent signs warning swimmers against possible pollution were posted at all the ocean outfalls on the Outer Banks.

Potts said that bacterial contamination is generally highest after rainfall. But since it’s harder to detect when water is flowing from the mostly submerged pipes on the Outer Banks, he said, the agency decided it was safer to have a permanent posting at the drainage pipes warning swimmers to stay 200 feet away.

“We’re hoping people pay attention to the signs,” he said, “because we recognize at times there is a risk.”

Potts said the recreational waters are tested every Monday or Tuesday between April 1 and Oct. 1 at 240 sites throughout the state for excessive levels of enterococci, an indicator bacteria for pathogens found in the intestines of warm-blooded animals. When unsafe levels are found in samples, a swimming advisory will be issued and a sign will be posted until the levels fall.  The bacteria increase the risk of diarrhea, vomiting and skin infections.

This year, there has been only one ocean swimming advisory issued briefly in Dare County, Potts said.  The location, 100 feet north of Jennette’s Pier, was likely affected by pier fishing, not storm drainage, he said.

Still, state testing is not done directly from ditches where stormwater collects from the watersheds, Potts said. Samples are taken about 10 feet from the outfalls. Bacteria levels, he said, would be higher in the ditches.

“These data indicate that while beach closings are a result of sampling conducted at the outfalls, there are water quality issues throughout the town’s watersheds,” the report said. “These must be considered when selecting the appropriate measures to improve beach water quality.”

Much of the issue with bacteria in stormwater, according to the report, can be blamed not only on animal waste, but on the thousands of septic tanks that have been permitted in this resort community, at least some of which may be in poor condition or in locations with high water tables.

Jack Flythe, Dare County’s environmental health supervisor, said about 45 to 60 septic permits are issued each month, based on conditions, among others, that require certain distances from other properties and the mean high water mark.  Inspections take place before the permit is issued and after repairs. But otherwise, he said, it is up to the property owner to monitor the condition of the system.

The report lauded the town of Nags Head for the septic-tank initiative it launched in recent years that involves voluntary citizen participation in inspection and maintenance of septic tanks in town.  So far, Kill Devil Hills has not adopted a similar program. But town manager Debora Diaz said she has made the board of commissioners aware of the draft plan.

“When the final document is presented, the board will review and consider the recommendations for Kill Devil Hills,” Diaz wrote in an e-mail. “The board is interested in learning more about the Septic Health Initiative program that Nags Head began a number of years ago.”

Nags Head officials are also closely following the development of the report, noted Cliff Ogburn, the town manager. “The Town has always been interested in water quality and it continues to pay close attention to information that will help us develop policies and programs to protect the environment,” he wrote in an e-mail. “We hope to leverage this information along with the other resources available to us, including the water quality monitoring data from the Town’s Septic Health program, to see what actions we might consider moving forward to continue to facilitate the proper functioning of septic systems and mitigate any potential impacts to groundwater and surface water quality. This remains one of our most important goals as a community.  We will address the challenges of managing this environment as best we can.”

It is clear that, in general, leaking septic tanks contribute loads of bacteria to stormwater, especially when it rains.  “At mean groundwater table levels, the portions of the study area where groundwater is in the range of 0-3 feet below the surface are largely concentrated in more developed areas, which is problematic because that is where the highest concentrations of on-site septic systems are located,” the report stated.

“During times of high groundwater levels, groundwater passes up through the septic layer and can be seen at or above ground level as standing water throughout significant portions of the study area.

“Not only does this pose a health concern, but it also is an indication of a need for stormwater drainage,” the report continued. “This upward movement through the ‘septic layer’ and out to the surface may be an important dynamic in the high concentrations of fecal indicator bacteria in stormwater runoff events.”

That human waste is contributing to the problem was confirmed by tests done at the Institute of Marine Science.

One blessing is that bacterial contamination of beaches is typically short-lived, thanks mostly to ocean currents and the volume of water in the ocean that dilutes the concentration. But standing water – the impetus for the stormwater study in the first place – is another story.

“It goes way back to Sen. (Marc) Basnight in 2007, when we had a series of rainfall events,” recalled Nancy White, director of the Coastal Studies Institute in Wanchese. “People just went crazy and they inundated his office with telephone calls.”

Basnight, a native of Manteo, was at the time the leader of the state Senate.

Yards, parking lots and roads, especially on the northern Outer Banks, had been flooded by rain, and the increasingly wretched water not only didn’t drain away, it worsened with each storm. For weeks, people had to navigate through huge pond-sized puddles in their neighborhoods or try to pass through fetid rivers of floodwater on roadways.

It was determined that the only entity with responsibility for stormwater management in the county was NCDOT, which was responsible for maintenance of drainage outfalls.

Eventually, it was agreed that it was necessary to find out the volume and bacterial load of the runoff going through the outfalls.

Initially, CSI was actively involved in collecting data for the study and was supposed to analyze the results to determine ways to remediate the stormwater and its pathogen content. For two years starting in 2007, stormwater in outfalls was tested by the coastal scientists.

“There are 900,000 to 1 million gallons flowing through each pipe for every inch or two of rainfall,” White was quoted in a 2009 article in The Virginian Pilot. “There’s tens of thousands of cells of bacteria in every liter of water. The hard part is figuring out where the bacteria is coming from.”

But when about $12 million of the original $15 million appropriated for the stormwater project was diverted to cover construction costs for Jennette’s Pier, the role of CSI was diminished, White said, including work on the study.  “I’m not directly involved,” she said this week.

As part of the state effort to reduce the stormwater bacteria, a pilot study of a “best management practice” was launched at the Conch Street outfall in Nags Head that involved installation of a filter system known as the AbTech Smart Sponge. Designed to capture the majority of the bacteria before the water reached the ocean, the system was enclosed within a concrete vault under the parking lot and directed water through two rows of 60 bacteria-attracting filter packs. Total costs for the device, including construction and a one-time replacement of filters was $1.3 million, Martin said.

The remainder of funds, about $1.7 million, was split between CSI, Moffit & Nichol and IMS for the outfall report, data collection and monitoring.

But the sponge technology, used successfully in Rhode Island, proved to be ineffective on the Outer Banks, partly because the water flows were much higher. “Higher tides impeded flows to be efficiently transmitted through the device,” Martin explained. “When tides were low, measurable treatment was achieved.”

According to the report, the filters were repeatedly clogged by sediment and at times ended up increasing the levels of bacteria discharging from the pipe compared with water going into the pipe. Possible remedies suggested in the report included use of better – and less expensive – filters and installing a pumping system to better control groundwater levels.

Each of the watersheds feeding into the outfalls in both towns were analyzed – size, drainage, permeable land, pathogen loading, number of septic tank repairs – and recommendations were made for managing the stormwater and controlling contamination from septic tanks and animal waste.  The offers several possible solutions:

• Detention basins or shallow marsh systems that allow bacteria removal and provide flood control.
• Sand filters at or above ground to treat large drainage areas.
• Infiltration systems for treatment in limited spaces.
• Pumping system to manage groundwater levels.
• Bio-retention areas that can provide high rates of bacteria removal.
• Catch basin inserts like the Smart Sponge filters at Conch Street.
• Alum injection and UV disinfection systems that can remove high levels of bacteria.
• Multi-chamber treatment units for small drainage areas.
• Electrocoagulation treatment systems that are fully automated and remove high levels of bacteria.
• Deepwater ocean outfalls that could expand capacity for future stormwater improvements.

Various challenges are inherent in each option, whether high cost, inappropriate use with a high water table, unavailable land, intensive maintenance requirements or questionable effectiveness.

“One of the things that makes the Outer Banks so challenging is there’s not a lot of room between elevation of the beach road and the high tide levels,” Martin said. “Part of the issue is there is such a high water table.”

No matter what method, if any, is chosen to address stormwater and clean beaches on the Outer Banks, there is a looming issue not dealt with in the draft report that will only exacerbate the challenge: rising seas.

“If sea level does rise, then we would expect that the issue would be more problematic,” Martin said. “But I think any sort of effect from sea-level rise is a long way off.”

Reprinted from the Tideland News

CEDAR POINT — After months of planning, the N.C. Coastal Federation has begun work with the town of Cedar Point and East Carolina University on a project to reduce the flow of stormwater runoff from neighborhoods into the impaired White Oak River.

The project, which focuses on common-sense, low-cost measures, is literally at the grassroots, or at least grass-blades level: A major effort is to get homeowners to redirect gutter downspouts away from driveways that lead to streets and instead to direct the flow into lawns or rain gardens.

Lauren Kolodij, the federation’s assistant director, said her group will buy and install the needed equipment for homeowners willing to participate. And in many cases, it’s really simple: A $7, plastic downspout extender, available in many hardware departments, will do the trick, and do it well.

Studies by N.C. State University have shown that using the extensions, which direct rain from gutters to vegetated areas instead of to driveways, patios and other hard surfaces, can reduce stormwater runoff from properties by at least 50 percent, and sometimes by as much as 90 percent, Kolodij said. And bacteria- and pollution-laden stormwater, as a previous federation-funded study showed, is by far the major reason why large portions of the White Oak are considered by EPA to be impaired for shellfish growing.

Kolodij said the work done this summer has included neighborhood field surveys, some of which have already been completed, and monitoring done by an ECU team that includes professors Eban Bean and Charles Humphrey. Bean is in the Department of Engineering and is a scientist in the school’s Institute for Coastal Science and Policy. Humphrey is in the Department of Health Education and Promotion and specializes in water quality.

The project is funded largely by a $272,000 EPA grant awarded to the federation.

Going Door to Door

The initial focus has been the Marsh Harbor residential subdivision off N.C. 24. Water from that area drains to Boathouse Creek, which flows into White Oak River. The project is also going to take a look at Ocean Spray, an older neighborhood farther up the creek.

Federation staff members walked the neighborhood earlier this summer, going door to door to look at the downspouts and other stormwater management features and talking to property owners. They found at least 30 downspouts that discharged water onto driveways.

The next step, Kolodij explained, is to talk to those property owners to see if they would be willing to make the improvements. They will also have the opportunity get rain barrels, which store rain water for use on plants and lawns.

Federation and ECU staffers also noticed during their field surveys that the street-side swale system, intended to drain the roads, is inadequate in many places. The federation will get engineers involved in the project to see if there are simple solutions to that problem. It’s possible that the same type of vegetation that’s used in constructed wetlands could be used in the swales to take up some of the water.

Kolodij stressed that none of this implies that property owners have been doing anything wrong; it’s just an opportunity to help them do things better.

“Over the years, we have altered the landscape and modified the hydrology, and to clean up the river, we’ve got to get back as close as possible to where we were before we did that,” Kolodij said.

Long-term Effort

The federation’s latest work in Cedar Point is part of an effort that started in 2006 to restore portions of the lower White Oak River. A study the nonprofit group did that year found very high levels of fecal coliform bacteria in four watersheds near Cedar Point. In the most extensive bacteria testing ever done on the river, more than 200 water samples were drawn from almost 70 scattered sites. Eighty-nine percent exceeded the federal health standard for shellfish waters. Of the 113 samples taken from the largest watershed, Boathouse Creek, all but three exceeded the standard.

Cumulatively, runoff discharges in the White Oak watershed are impairing more than 2,200 acres, or almost two-thirds of the designated shellfishing waters of the lower White Oak River.

The study outlined a series of voluntary steps that could be taken to reduce the flow of stormwater into the river. They included reworking existing storm water drainage ditches to allow more runoff to soak into the ground before it reaches the river, educating people about the effects of stormwater and how to prevent their pets from contributing to bacteria pollution and allowing developers to use more innovative techniques to control runoff.

Kolodij noted that the town has been an enthusiastic partner in the effort to improve water quality. Cedar Point has even encouraged low-impact development, or LID, by posting an LID manual, developed by the federation, on its website.

The goal of the project is to do enough effective work to eventually eliminate an estimated 55,000 gallons of runoff from what is referred to as a one-year storm, which is defined as the worst storm expected in a given year, or about 3.5 inches of rain over a 24-hour period.

While the actual removal of the runoff is important, so is the monitoring by ECU, Kolodij said. “Without monitoring before and after the project – determining the volumes of runoff before and after the changes – you don’t really quantify the impacts,” she said. “It’s important to see what works best and to be able to tell people what they can do to have the most impact.”

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH – Efforts to reduce polluted stormwater runoff flowing into waterways around Wrightsville Beach are turning up dramatic results.

The town’s latest stormwater reduction initiatives have cut the amount of stormwater pollutants coming from one pipe dumping directly into Banks Channel by 90 percent.

“The amount that it cut down was just really remarkable,” said Mike Mallin, a research professor with the University of North Carolina at Wilmington’s Center for Marine Science. “We were really, really impressed by that.”

Financially backed by a National Estuarine Research Reserve grant, the town, with the collaboration of UNC-Wilmington and the N.C. Coastal Federation, has been successful in finding ways to control stormwater runoff.

Last November, the town had a metal infiltration device installed beneath the ground at the end of a pipe along Iula Drive on the south end of the beach. Stormwater flowing through the drainage pipe filters through little holes and funnels into sand before heading into Banks Channel, where several stormwater pipes dump directly into the waterway.

Researchers rigged the outflow pipe with tools that measure the amount of flow going into the pipe and collect samples for fecal coliform and suspended solids, which are indicators of water quality.

“Instead of discharging directly into Banks Channel it leaks into the sand,” Mallin said.

Engineers designed a series of small techniques in the center of town to filter stormwater collected from several streets and parking lots that flows into Lee’s Cut.

“In the center of town we weren’t able to control all of the runoff that’s going in there because we were simply limited by the amount of funds, but it controlled about 50 percent of that area,” Mallin said. “In general, pretty much everything that runs down through the ground there is cleared out. We’ve got really, really high levels of control coming out of there.”

A rain garden at the end of Seawater Drive now collects stormwater once diverted into a drainage pipe.

“That runoff used to go down the pipe and out and now it’s gently filtered down into the soil where it’s cleansed of pollutants,” Mallin said. “When you have so much of the impervious surface here and so much of it is connected to each other it’s just allowed to go straight into these waterways. These techniques clean stormwater of the pollutants.”

That helps local waterways like Banks Channel, where state swimming advisories are posted following nearly every major rainfall event, said Jonathan Babin, Wrightsville Beach’s stormwater manager.

“If we can stop the closures on the Banks Channel side it would be great,” he said. “Hopefully we can do more of those projects like we’ve done on Iula. It’s a huge influence. Hopefully it will get better and better.”

In August 2007 the town contracted with the university to conduct a study to help identify the source of bacteria causing the swimming advisories for portions of Banks Channel.

The study, conducted by Mallin, found that stormwater runoff was among the greatest contributors to contamination. Animals, primarily birds, were also major contributors.

With nearly 650 stormwater inlets that collect runoff and direct it into local waterways, the town has been seeking projects to reduce polluted runoff.

Five, 3,000-gallon cisterns were built last year to capture and reuse rainwater from the town’s police and fire stations. Water collected is used to irrigate one of the town’s recreational fields and wash town vehicles.

The town owns a little less than half of the storm drain pipes, inlet structures and outfalls. The rest are owned by either the N.C. Department of Transportation, New Hanover County and private property owners.

It’s that last group the town is going to have to rely on to help continue reducing the amount of stormwater runoff in local waterways.

The July 2007 Wrightsville Beach Stormwater Design Manual for homeowners explains the implications from runoff and ways to reduce it, including everything from planting shrubs to installing pervious driveways, rain gardens and rain barrels.

The fact that the federation’s office is in Wrightsville Beach is “quite handy,” he said. It is there where visitors can see firsthand various low-impact development, or LID, projects that prevent polluting stormwater runoff.

“That’s the main thing is to keep the stormwater out of the waterways by reducing the volume and the bacterial load,” Babin said.

Last of two parts

SWANSBORO — Folks who live along Hawkins Creek generally agree that dredging the shallow, polluted stream in the middle of Swansboro would be a huge benefit, opening it to navigation and possibly helping to restore it to better health.

But dredging creeks like Hawkins that the state considers to be prime water for juvenile fish and shellfish is generally prohibited and terribly expensive. Decades of uncontrolled stormwater runoff got the creek in this fix. Any long-term solution, experts say, includes meaningful measures to stem the flow of poisoned runoff.

The creek is choked with mud and sand, the result of many years of largely uncontrolled runoff. State tests seem to confirm that. Samples of the creek bottom taken in January indicated pollution, and a larger than expected amount of sand.

And a second analysis released this month found high amount of inorganic sand in the upper sections of the creek and organic mud farther downstream. “The apparent stratification and volume of the sand in the stream bed is indicative of long-term deposition from multiple sources, most likely related to stormwater drainage over a period of time,” the report concludes.

Hawkins, the report notes, is characterized by shorelines that are 76 percent developed, with approximately 22 percent of its shoreline covered by impervious surface. The banks of its upper reaches, close to N.C. 24, are heavily scoured from flash floods of runoff.

“The tidal section of Hawkins Creek has been channelized in the past,” the report states. “However much of it has since filled in. Adjacent to the creek are neighborhoods, with retaining walls in place to limit erosion. Sediment barriers are also prevalent on the majority of the western bank of Hawkins Creek.”

Dredging could help, but Jim Gregson, supervisor of the surface water protection section of the N.C. Division of Water Resources in Wilmington, realizes, as does everyone else, that obtaining a permit to dredge the troubled creek won’t be easy. The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries has long listed Hawkins as a primary nursery area, or prime habitat for juvenile fish and shellfish, and dredging in such areas is generally prohibited.

Nor does anyone have a good idea yet of what it will cost to dredge the creek or who will pay for it. Without effectively controlling the amount of runoff entering the creek, dredging is a temporary fix that would eventually have to be done again. Stirring up the bottom also risks dispersing pollutants now fixed in the mud.

The permit, though, is the first problem. Just how hard would it be?

State law notes that dredging in primary nursery areas “shall be avoided” except – there’s always an “except” — to maintain an existing natural or man-made channel that was either permitted or used continuously if dug before the days of permits. Applicants must prove that dredging is needed to support a water-dependent activity and must place any dredged material someplace where it won’t adversely affect the nursery area.

Eddie Privett and Alex Moore think Hawkins can be dredged while following the law. They live on opposite sides of the creek. Privett is a commercial fisherman, and Moore built a dredge boat and got a permit decades ago to open what he says was a natural channel.

“It was used,” Moore said of the channel. “It was used a lot.”

Roy Brownlow is the Morehead City district manager for the state Division of Coastal Management, the agency that would permit any dredging operation. Getting a dredging permit is possible, he said, but it’s not easy to overcome the nursery status.

“You have to have documentation that you meet the criteria,” he said. “Sometimes that can be pretty challenging, especially for areas that might have been dredged, but not for a long time. In some cases, there are aerial maps (from which) you can actually see the channels. Sometimes people have old permits. But sometimes there just isn’t any proof.”

Even with proof, applicants would have high hurdles to clear, Brownlow said. His agency can’t issue general permits for dredging in nursery areas, he explained. Applicants would have to apply for an individual, major permit. Those applications are reviewed by a dozen or so state and federal agencies, including the state’s fisheries and water quality divisions, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Army Corps of Engineers. Any of them could raise objections that could scuttle a permit application or impose stringent conditions on when, where and how the work could be done.

The major concerns, Brownlow said, are to avoid damage to submerged sea grasses and other important habitat and to avoid disrupting key points in the life cycles of the fish and shellfish that use those habitats.

Some people, though, aren’t sure that Hawkins should be considered a fish nursery anymore. Much of the creek, according to Privett, has so much silt that it doesn’t support much life. In some places, there’s so much sand that it’s more akin to hard bottom than the soft mud generally associated with healthy, coastal creeks, Privett said, and that observation was born out by samples the state has taken in the past couple of months.

Doris Shelton, who like Privett has lived on Hawkins for decades, said she’s seen a marked decrease in the number of birds feeding in the creek and in the quantity of fish and shrimp.

Ann Deaton, who is chief of the fisheries division’s habitat protection section based in Morehead City, said anecdotal observations can be misleading and cautioned that hard, sandy-bottom creeks can be important nursery areas. They can be very productive, especially for juvenile fish, she said.

It’s possible, Deaton explained, to re-classify primary nursery areas, but it generally takes several years of sampling marine life to make that determination.

The division routinely samples nursery areas, but doesn’t do the same areas each year. Sometimes, Deaton said, the division does respond to requests to sample specific areas, and the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission, the policy-making arm of the division, has raised some questions about the whole nursery-designation issue.

“We are putting together some information and will present it to the commission at some point,” she said.

The creek has been closed to shellfishing since at least 1952, when Swansboro started dumping its treated sewage into Foster’s Bay. The town removed the discharge in 2008. But that has no bearing on whether the creek is a functional nursery area, said Shannon Jenkins, an environmental specialist with the state Shellfish Sanitation and Recreational Water Quality Section, also based in Morehead City. And Hawkins, he said, is not unlike many, if not most, urban coastal creeks in that respect.

“There are really not many that are open,” he said. “Most are closed because of stormwater runoff, which carries bacteria, and there really isn’t enough tidal flow to clean them out, in most cases.”

Dredging could help, but there’s not much chance the creek will reopen to shellfishing. Jenkins said that although closures sometimes are reversed, it’s rare in urban creeks subject to heavy runoff.

Privett said he would consider starting a petition to get Hawkins dredged, and John Freshwater, a developer and engineer who also lives on the creek, said he’s also in favor of it.

But, Freshwater said, it would be essential to address the sources of the sediment, too, either before or concurrent with dredging, or the creek would simply fill in again. The town and the state Department of Transportation would need to improve retention of sediments from N.C. 24, and the town might need to consider tougher stormwater rules.

Scott Chadwick, the town’s mayor, said that when he took office, he thought the town should consider adopting a stormwater plan. The town commissioners considered doing so a couple a times in the last few years, but decided each time that state rules were adequate.

“I’d still like to see us consider looking at our own rules,” Chadwick said recently. “I’d also like to see the creek dredged.”

Swansboro Commissioner Jim Allen, who lives on Broad Street, near Hawkins, also said he’d like to see the creek dredged and would like DOT to do more to both improve drainage and catch sediments in the area where Hawkins Creek goes under N.C. 24.

“When those two (washouts) happened, a tremendous amount of sand and dirt went into the creek, and it will happen again,” he said. “Those drains fill up and they just can’t handle all the rain we sometimes get. The water just gushes into the creek and the banks can’t handle that, and they start getting cut away. And that’s just when we get a normal heavy rain. When we get a hurricane…”

The likelihood of dredging is slim and its effects questionable without a commitment to control runoff. Even so, said Gregson, there are numerous things individual property owners could do to help, such as not mowing their lawns right down to the creek, improving their bulkheads to stop sediment from leaching through and planting rain gardens to catch runoff. Those kinds of things and dozens of other smaller-scale measures, such as planting marsh grass and catching rain in barrels to reuse later are what the N.C. Coastal Federation recommends. The environmental group, headquartered nearby in Carteret County, has decades of experience in helping people control runoff. It’s worked for years, for instance, with Cedar Point, just across the White Oak River, on projects to control runoff into the lower river.

Todd Miller, founder and executive director of the federation, said the group would be happy to work with those who want to improve the creek, especially if invited by residents.

“Small-scale efforts on individual properties” are the most economical and often the best way, even the only way, to effectively address water quality problems, he said, particularly in areas, like Hawkins Creek where the shores are largely or totally developed.

“The goal back when these areas were developed was to get the stormwater off the property,” Miller said, whereas the goal now is to keep it there and let nature filter the sediments and pollution, adhering as closely as possible to the natural systems in place before the development occurred.

“There are some very inexpensive retrofits that can make a big difference,” he said. For example, N.C. State did a study that found that a $10 retrofit  – a downspout diverter – to direct stormwater into grass or a rain garden instead of onto a hard surface, such as a driveway or patio can reduce stormwater discharge and pollution by 70 to 90 percent.

“You want to get the stormwater back into the ground,” Miller said. “You want it to run through vegetation.”

Freshwater said he’d like to see a broad-based effort. “I’d like to see everyone who has a stake in Hawkins Creek get together and talk about what we can do,” he said.

First of two parts

SWANSBORO– When he was a young boy living in a house on Shore Drive in Swansboro close to 40 years ago, Eddie Privett and his buddies passed many a carefree summer day swimming in Hawkins Creek.

These days, there’s barely enough water to get your feet wet, and it’s often pretty nasty. One day early this month, it was so shallow that Privett, a commercial fisherman, had to anchor his boat and walk his five bushels of oysters – caught elsewhere, since polluted Hawkins has long been closed to shellfishing – to the dock.

Doris Shelton lives near Privett in a small house on Shore Drive that her late husband moved to in the 1960s. She has watched the creek change and recalls when it was plenty deep enough for watermen to bring their big boats in to shelter from approaching hurricanes. Her son-in-law keeps his boat at her house, but often can’t get out. And her son, who lives and keeps his boat in the nearby Broad Creek community in Carteret County, can rarely get in.

Shelton has noticed, too, that the creek – considered a primary nursery area for fish and shrump– has slowly but surely become less productive. She rarely sees fish and shrimp, and says the birds have noticed, too.

“We used to have those big white birds – egrets, I think – all over in the summer,” she said. “Now you might see one or two during the summer. I don’t think there’s really anything left for them to eat.”

Alex Moore has lived for more than 40 years close to the mouth of the creek on Hawkins Creek Lane. On a good day, he said, there might be a foot or two of water in the creek behind his house. At low tide on a bad day, there might be as little as a few inches. “It’s just a shame” he said, that for most people, Hawkins Creek isn’t good for much of anything except a pretty view.

Moore can still get his boat out to the Intracoastal Waterway nearby because he built a dredge in 1976 and cut a channel and still has a permit to keep it clear enough for a small boat . Few of his neighbors, though, can get their boats out without great difficulty.

It certainly hasn’t always been that way. He recalls his grandfather, who was born in 1906, telling him that at low tide in the old days there was as much as 4-1/2 feet of water. Now, in some places, you can walk long distances over mud flats, assuming you don’t first sink to your knees.

Moore, 71, is, like Privett, a Swansboro native. He made his living on the water as a ferry boat captain and a commercial fisherman before his recent retirement. He knows the water well, and he knows equally well that the story of Hawkins is a sad one.

But he also knows that it’s a pretty common tale, one that has befallen countless creeks in countless urban and suburban areas of coastal North Carolina. It’s a story of development, of course, but also of  well-meaning rules and of equally well-meaning but ultimately futile efforts to fix these once-treasured thin blue map lines that once provided food, recreation and a way of life.

The Hawkins Story

Hawkins Creek’s particular story had been bubbling under the surface, surely unnoticed to almost anyone except those who live there, until recently, when an accidental discharge of water, sand and clay from a stormwater pond brought it into the light again.

This latest chapter of the winding saga started on Jan. 9, when Privett noticed that the water in the creek had risen suddenly, was a different color and was chock full of sediment. He and Tim Simpson, a friend who operates a tour boat from downtown Swansboro, traced the source of the dirt and water back to a pond behind the Hampton Inn and near Swansboro United Methodist Church, where an addition was being built. Both are off N.C. 24, the main road through town.

It turned out that John Freshwater was working on the pond, which catches runoff from the church construction site and from Ward Farm, a mixed residential and commercial development that Freshwater is planning behind the hotel. The state said he had to lower the water level to install a skimmer, which is intended to remove sediment from runoff. The plan went wrong.

The state stopped the pumping after about six hours. Freshwater said he would have stopped it sooner had he known that the water and sediment were getting into the marsh that borders the development and running into the creek. But he caught hell for it. That’s a bit ironic because Freshwater lives on the creek and has long advocated for ways to improve its quality.

Freshwater and his engineer, David Newsom, said they’ve spent a lot of money on fixes, but they’re hoping that the bad publicity will shed new light on the plight of the creek and will lead to something positive.

“If something good comes out of all this, then it will be OK,” Newsom said.

The state Division of Water Resources has taken an interest and has twice sent folks to take samples, not just of the water, but of the sediments at the bottom of the creek. While they’ve revealed a lot of material from the stormwater pond pumping incident, those samples also found a lot of sand. And not all that sand came come from the pond discharge.

Subsequent state studies found that Hawkins lacked the diversity of aquatic insects normally found in healthy coastal creeks. Insects that live in polluted water dominated. A state sediment study completed this month notes that the scoured banks of the upper portion of Hawkins is typical of urbanized streams subjected to flash flooding. State scientists found a deep accumulation of inorganic sand up to 700 yards downstream from N.C. 24.

“The apparent stratification and volume of the sand in the stream bed is indicative of long-term deposition from multiple sources, most likely related to stormwater drainage over a period of time,” the study concludes.

Though the study couldn’t determine the sources of the runoff, most people involve point to the state Department of Transportation, to Mother Nature, to the town and to construction of those very same Shore Drive homes that look over the creek.

Moore pointed mostly to that home construction, 50 or more years ago, noting that countless quantities of sand and dirt were used to build up the lots. “No one cared much about runoff then,” he recalls. “A lot went in.”

Shelton said she recalls Privett’s grandmother, who also lived on Shore Drive, describing standing on her back steps to hang laundry to dry. That’s how narrow the backyards used to be. But the residents filled in the wetlands and some of the creek to create what are now normal-sized yards, significantly narrowing the creek in the process.

No one thought a thing about it.

But Hawkins’ problems almost surely go back farther than that, to the extension of N.C. 24 into Swansboro in 1930, which altered the creek’s natural flow and the flow of stormwater runoff over the land. That was exacerbated when the road was widened in the mid-1970s to accommodate a booming tourist trade in neighboring Carteret County and to handle the traffic to and from growing Camp Lejeune, the Marine Corps base to the west in Jacksonville.

The land in the creek’s headwater was further altered in the late 1990s by the construction of a shopping center that legally filled in wetlands.

Failed Fixes

Hawkins Creek, which drains about 200 acres in the center of Swansboro, starts on the north side of N.C. 24 about where the Post Office is. It flows through a culvert under the road. That culvert has been one of the problems. Twice the road over it has washed out, sending more dirt and sand into the creek. The most recent washout, in late September 2010, followed a record-breaking 21 inches of rain that fell over several days and completely overwhelmed the DOT drainage system.

Topography certainly played a role, according to Newsom and Freshwater, who noted that the flood-prone section of N.C. 24 is at the bottom of a gently sloping V. All the water on either side flows downhill to that point.

When it repaired the 2010 washout, DOT improved the drainage, Newsom said. The town also did some work, putting in a filters on Shore Drive in December 2010 and installing a catch basin and a rock dam in the creek on the south side of the highway in order to stop sediment. Maintenance on them, though, has been spotty at best, and the filter basins now appear clogged and the rock dam isn’t working as it should.

Evidence of the problem was clear on the evening of March 14. After a day of light and occasionally moderate rain, water was flowing straight over the clogged filters and drains and overwhelming the catch basin where the dam is located, Privett said. As a result, plenty of sand from the highway went straight over the dam and into the creek.

“It was a lot of water and it wasn’t even that much rain,” Privett said that evening.

The town had tried to do something on a larger scale, too, prodded by Freshwater, an engineer, and others. It hired Rivers and Associates of Greenville to do a study, which outlined the creek’s problems. Swansboro then installed filters and catch basins at various places in the watershed.

Despite all that, stormwater runoff enters the creek through dozens of outlets, pipes and ditches, Freshwater said. “There are a lot of factors, a lot of issues, a lot of responsibility to go around,” he said.

Freshwater realizes he caught harsh criticism for the Jan. 9 pumping and knows that some people might think his main interest in the creek is related to his development project. He said he doesn’t think of himself as a developer. He wants to do right by the creek, he said.

The long-term fix, Freshwater added, won’t be simple.

“We all want good roads, we all want houses to live in, places to buy the things we need. We fertilize our lawns,” he said. “I don’t think any of these things (that have contributed to Hawkins’ troubles) were based on ill-intent.”

He pointed out that he lives on the creek, too, and loves it, and is saddened by its demise, as is his mother, who also lives there. As for his development, he said he’s always wanted to do it the right way, and wants to do something good for the town and its residents. “There will always be naysayers,” he said. “But I want to do something good. And I have always cared about Hawkins Creek.”

Privett agrees that Freshwater has always supported efforts to clean up the creek, but said the accident at the retention pond worsened the creek’s problems by pushing more sand farther along the stream.

A Jan. 12 inspection report from Karl Hammers, of the state Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources, cited Freshwater’s Ward Farm LLC for failing to meet most of the conditions of its permit. The state, though, took no enforcement action because it said Freshwater worked quickly to resolve the problems.

Shelton, whose husband was head of law enforcement for the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, knows the Freshwater family well and recalls one of Freshwater’s efforts.

“At one point I got a letter from a lawyer in Wilmington trying to get people interested in dredging the creek, asking us to send in a card. I did, although I knew I couldn’t afford to pay anything. I’m on a fixed income. But then I got another letter later that said it fell through. It would be nice if it could get done.”

Wednesday: What will it take to fix the creek?

OCEAN — On the south side of N.C. 24, just west of Riggs Pork Market and about four miles east of the town limits of Cape Carteret in western Carteret County, there’s a small, almost unnoticeable sign.

Like all such real-estate signs, it notes that the land behind it is for sale through NAI Carolantic Realty, based nearly 150 miles northwest in Raleigh. But there is something unusual about this sign. “SEWER AVAILABLE,” it says along the top.

That’s an important amenity. With sewer, much more could be built on those 21 acres than would otherwise be possible on septic tanks. Things like a shopping center for instance. And things like shopping centers can have serious consequences on water quality. In this case, the land drains to Bogue Sound, which carries one of the most sensitive water classifications in the state.

But where would this sewage go? There are no municipal governments on this part of N.C. 24, the main road between Morehead City to the east and Swansboro, with a sewer plant. And there’s no public sewer system in all of unincorporated Carteret County.

There are, however, two large residential developments nearby with private sewer plants. Both are prime illustrations of the boom-and-bust coastal real estate market of a decade ago: Cannonsgate and Bogue Watch.

Both have expensive private sewer plants that were designed to serve houses that have yet to be built. So both have, in the words of the sewer business, excess capacity. Could that capacity be turned into a profitable regional sewer system that could adversely affect the sound?

A Little History

Both subdivision were the subject of intense land speculation during the boom in coastal land prices 10 years ago, but the bubble burst during the Great Recession of 2008 and neither development has fully recovered. According to records at the Carteret County Planning Department, of the 521 lots at Cannonsgate, 25 are occupied by houses. Things are a bit better just down in the road at Bogue Watch where 53 of the 241 lost have been developed.

Those aren’t enough houses to provide the minimum flow that the sewer plants need to operate efficiently and treat waste effectively. Sewage is collected at the plants but is hauled away for treatment. That’s an expensive proposition for the plants’ owner.

That would be Aqua NC, a subsidiary of Aqua America, one of the country’s largest private water utilities. The subsidiary, according to its website, operates 60 private sewer plants in the state. It has an office in Raleigh and lists C. Ruffin Poole as its manager for corporate development.

The last time Poole was involved with Cannonsgate didn’t end well for him. The development figured prominently in the pay-to-play scandal that engulfed former Gov. Mike Easley after he left office. Poole was Easley’s top aide. Federal prosecutors investigating Easley’s political contributions alleged that major contributors called Poole “the Little Governor” because he was the guy tasked with resolving any problems donors faced with state regulators and with lining up appointments for them to serve on state boards and commissions.

In exchange for his work, the donors showered Poole with gifts, prosecutors alleged. He also was allowed to invest in coastal real estate developments at the same time as he was working to secure permits for those projects from state regulators, according to federal indictments.

Wilmington developer Lanny Wilson allowed Poole to invest in Cannonsgate in 2005, and in an attempt to curry favor for permits and an appointment to the state Board of Transportation, Wilson quickly turned a $30,000 profit for Poole, prosecutors said.

Easley and his wife later purchased a waterfront lot in Cannonsgate at a below-market rate.

Poole pleaded guilty to tax evasion in 2010 and spent 11 months in federal prison. The plea came before Poole was to go to trial on public corruption-related charges. Wilson was never charged, but he resigned his seat on the transportation board.

What the Permits Allow

Cannonsgate’s sewer plant would likely serve the 21-acre tract on N.C. 24 because there are no other plants nearby, noted Jim Gregson, supervisor of the surface water protection at the state Water Quality Section in Wilmington.

A flyer by the realty company lists the tract for about $2.8 million and states that “county water is at the site and sewer capacity available at Cannonsgate Sewer Treatment Facility.” The flyer also states that the tract is “zoned B-3 for Shopping Center Development.”

According to Sarah Young, a spokeswoman for the state Division of Water Resources in Raleigh, Cannonsgate and Bogue Watch have state permits to treat and dispose of sewage. The permits don’t allow the treated waste to be discharged into surface waters. It must be sprayed on the ground or sent to ponds on the property. Cannonsgate’s plant has a capacity of 200,000 gallons a day and Bogue Watch 150,000 gallons, Young said.

Although neither plant is up and running, the Cannonsgate permit is good through June 2019, while the Bogue Watch permit expires on April 30, Young said.

The permits, she said, would allow the plants to treat sewage outside the developments, but Aqua NC would first need the approval of N.C. Utilities Commission to expand its service area.

Gregson said it’s not unusual for providers of sewer service in one development to make capacity available to other developments if their treatment plants have excess capacity. “They’re in the business of selling service,” he said of Aqua. “That’s what they do.”

Donald Williams, coastal area manager for Aqua NC, said last week he didn’t know anything about the company planning to provide sewer service to areas outside the developments. The sewer plants are less than a mile apart and are linked together, Williams explained.  Sewage is collected at the plants and trucked elsewhere for treatment, he said.

Aqua, he said, is close to bringing the Cannonsgate plant online, and would certainly like to be able to sell sewer service to nearby property and might do so in the future. But it currently can’t do that, Williams said.

“Our flow right now is only in the low thousands (of gallons daily, from Cannonsgate and Bogue Watch combined),” he said.

Before providing any treatment capacity to properties outside the developments, he said, Bogue Watch and Cannonsgate would need to build more houses.

“We’ve love to be able to do that,” he reiterated. “That’s what we’re in business to do.”

But he said it would be a little “presumptuous” to say that sewer is “available” for the 21-acre tract, because the development isn’t really far enough along to know how much capacity might be available to outside customers.

Williams said Carolantic might have discussed that possibility with Poole. Scott Hadley, the Carolantic contact listed for the land, did not return phone messages. Poole would say only that it is “undetermined” whether sewer would be available. He said he did not recall talking to Hadley or anyone at Carolantic about it.

The two sewer plants must first provide treatment to homeowner in the development. Whatever capacity remains could eventually be available to outside customers.

“It might not be enough for a shopping center or a full development,” Poole said. “Maybe it might just be enough for a convenience store or a small strip mall or a small townhouse community.”

Sewer and Stormwater

Centralized sewer allows land to be developed at higher densities than septic tanks would permit. More paved and built-on areas increase stormwater runoff. This might be especially true of a shopping center, which requires a large, paved parking lot. The 21-acre tract is near a creek that flows into Bogue Sound, which the state classifies as shellfish-growing waters.

Despite the increases in stormwater flow, Gregson said his agency thinks that sewer systems are better for water quality than septic tanks.

He called the Cannonsgate and Bogue Watch plants “state of the art,” and indicated that if the Cannonsgate plant had excess capacity, allocating some of it to another development shouldn’t cause problems.

Todd Miller would argue that point. He’s the executive director of the N.C. Coastal Federation and has seen first-hand what happens to sensitive coastal waters when the land around them urbanizes. Numerous studies, he said, have shown a direct correlation between increases in constructed surfaces, like parking lots and roads, and high levels of bacteria in the surrounding water. The bacteria in the increased runoff, he says, end up closing shellfish waters because the clam and oysters that grow there become unsafe to eat.

“There’s a reason why the waters are closed around all the urban areas along the coast,” he said. “And all those places are served by centralized sewers. Install sewers and water quality will deteriorate unless state and local governments take effective measures to control the resulting runoff. History has shown that they rarely do.”

Reprinted from the Tideland News

SWANSBORO — Recent biological samples taken from the bottom of Hawkins Creek in Swansboro indicate significant problems that could eventually result in state recommendations to improve stormwater management in the area.

Jim Gregson, supervisor of the surface water protection office at the state Division of Water Resources in Wilmington, said Monday that he’d like to get more samples in order to more clearly characterize where sediments in the creek are coming from, but he said the results so far indicate that long-term runoff problems are partly responsible for the creek’s problems, not just the discharge from a local stormwater pond on Jan. 9 that led to the state’s investigation.

If additional sediment samples confirm his suspicions, Gregson said, the state may meet with officials from Swansboro, the state Department of Transportation and others, including perhaps the N.C. Coastal Federation, to try to explore ways to improve stormwater management. Then, Gregson said, it would come down, as it always does, to money, and who would spend it.

The biological samples the state took late last month from Hawkins Creek and from nearby Dennis Creek generally showed that while salinity levels in the two streams are similar, there were far more benthic organisms – worms and such – in Dennis than in Hawkins.

According to an email to Gregson from Larry Eaton, a Raleigh-based benthic macro-invertebrate specialist who does headwater stream biology studies and stream restoration monitoring for the state Division of Water Resources, hard, constructed surfaces in the Hawkins Creek watershed increase runoff that leads greater variability in salinity levels. Highly fluctuating levels could explain the lack of benthic organisms.

“In summary,” Eaton’s email concluded, “Hawkins Creek has problems.”

Pumping water from the pond in January and longstanding stormwater issues along N.C. 24 in western Swansboro may all be contributing to the creek’s problems, he wrote.

This whole issue began with the discharge of stormwater from an infiltration-style retention pond into wetlands adjacent to Hawkins Creek. A state report three days later found Ward Farm,  the pond’s owner, had violated numerous provisions of its erosion- control numerous permit, including failing to properly implement the erosion and sedimentation control plan and to provide adequate ground cover and an adequate buffer. Ward Farm is a mixed residential and commercial development along Hammocks Beach Road in Swansboro.

All of the noted problems were in connection with the retention pond at the construction site for an addition at Swansboro United Methodist Church, which is near the Ward Farm retention pond behind the Hampton Inn in Swansboro. John Freshwater of Ward Farm designed the church pond to operate in conjunction with his Ward Farm pond, which serves the Hampton Inn and is to serve planned new development there.

Freshwater had drained and discharged water from the Ward Farm retention pond on Jan. 9 in order to install a skimmer, as required by his permit. The flow picked up sediment from the church site. That sediment ended up in wetlands and in Hawkins Creek.

The state doesn’t plan to fine Freshwater or the Methodist Church, though the law allows fines of up to $5,000 a day. Bridget Munger, an outreach and education coordinator for the Land Quality Section of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, has said that the state prefers to work with permit holders to try to quickly bring them into compliance to repair any damage to wetlands or surface waters and to make sure the problems do no recur. The section handles erosion control permit.

The owners of Ward Farm worked quickly to fix the problems, she said, and have sent her office daily progress reports.

Gregson said Monday that he’d like to see more samples taken to determine where the sediment is coming from. Once the samples have been adequately characterized, he said he’d like to convene a meeting of all parties involved and work toward solutions.

“We would take a look at the whole watershed and get everyone together to talk about some after-the-fact best management practices,” he said.

As for the sediments that are already in the creek – and likely severely reducing the number of benthic organisms that normally characterize such a creek – it’s not out of the question that some dredging could occur.

Though the it doesn’t support shellfish harvesting, the creek is classified as primary nursery area by the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries. That designation would make getting the necessary dredging permit difficult. But Gregson said there might be an exception, if it can be shown that there is and has been a navigable channel use by boaters over time. If that’s the case, it might be possible to do some dredging so long as that channel is not expanded.

OAK ISLAND – Pat Bruning can pretty much bet she will not be able to gather oysters off the shores of Oak Island after a good rainfall.

“I like to go oystering,” she said. “I’m close to Lockwood Folly and so many times it’s closed because of the downpours. I get to do it once a month if I’m lucky.”

Much of the stormwater runoff on this Brunswick County island goes directly from the roads into the surrounding waterways, including the Lockwood Folly River.

Bruning has joined others who want to see that change. She has volunteered to be part of a project to reduce the amount of stormwater pollution flowing into the river and its inlet.

The project, a collaborative effort between the N.C. Coastal Federation and Oak Island, is to design and install an affordable stormwater system that diverts runoff from natural waterways and, instead, into the ground.

Volunteers monitor stormwater along 18th Street at Oak Island. Photo: Mike Giles

“Since we’ve been doing a great deal of work in all of the Lockwood Folly watershed it seemed like a good time to scale up our approaches to reducing stormwater pollution,” said Tracy Skrabal, coastal scientist and manager of the federation’s  regional office in Wilmington.

The federation in January 2014 received a state grant from the N.C. Division of Water Resources for nearly $115,000 to implement a project that will examine affordable ways in which the town can reduce its runoff into waterways.

One of the project goals is to reduce pollution going into the waters around the island by at least 200,000 gallons during a one-year period.

An advisory committee of town officials and volunteers has prioritized which streets — six in all — where stormwater reduction measures will be put into place and evaluated through the end of 2016.

Half of the streets selected for the project dump into Lockwood Folly. The project calls for taking existing swales at these streets and modifying them by making them deeper, bigger and possibly building up berms to slow runoff.

The other streets where stormwater reduction measures will be implemented lead to Davis Canal, which runs through the middle of the nearly 12-mile-long island.

“These will be more street-end measures,” Skrabal said. “They’ll be much more like small rain gardens, but again the idea is to be fairly inexpensive, fairly low-tech. The idea is if these measures are successful then the town can incorporate these practices in what they do as maintenance on the side street swales so eventually you could apply these techniques throughout the whole town. We’re really looking at something that can be applied to any town.”

Such methods would tie into a broader effort to reduce pollution sources in natural waterways.

Brunswick County has since 2005 been looking into economical ways to restore water quality in the Lockwood Folly watershed.

Tracy Skrabal

In December 2008 the county’s board of commissioners adopted a voluntary low-impact development ordinance manual to help protect the watershed from new pollution sources.

This is a step in the right direction, environmentalists say, but not one that deals with existing runoff sources.

The federation has been training a group of volunteers, including Bruning, to monitor the effectiveness of the stormwater modifications once they’re put into place later this year.

“We’ll have them measuring rain and taking photographs during these rain events so we can see whether the water is infiltrating rather than flowing past these modifications we’re doing,” Skrabal said.

The volunteers did their first pre-monitoring during a recent heavy rainfall event.

“It was pretty astonishing on Sunday (Jan. 18) when we went out at 7:30 in the morning,” said Rosanne Fortner, one of the project volunteers. “Water was just rushing down the street.”

Fortner, who is also co-chair of the Oak Island Preservation Society, said stormwater is a “pretty serious issue” for the town.

“There is a tremendous amount of water that stays on the surface for a long time after it rains,” she said. “I think what this project will demonstrate is a measurable need to ditch along the sides of the roads so that the roads will drain appropriately. If this demonstrates that there are issues on some of the streets maybe they can do some quick determinations of which ones are the worst.”

Fortner was a professor working in Ohio State University’s School of Environment and Natural Resources where she taught about water issues in Lake Eerie before she moved to Oak Island more than 10 years.

She said she volunteered to take part in monitoring this project, in part, because it gives her an opportunity to work in the field instead of a classroom.

“We’re all learning together,” Bruning said. “I have had a home on Oak Island for over 40 years so it’s very precious to me. If we can stop some of this runoff and keep those oyster beds open longer I’m all for it.”

Reprinted from the Tideland News

SWANSBORO – A state investigation of the pumping of a stormwater pond that led to the muddying of a local creek on Jan. 9 found there were a number of permit violations. The agency required immediate corrective actions, which have been underway since.

Meanwhile, this has prompted the state to look into the condition of Hawkins Creek, above and beyond addressing the immediate problems. Jim Gregson, the surface water protection supervisor for the N.C. Division of Water Quality, said that a team from Raleigh took sediment and biological samples yesterday from the creek to try to determine the level of impairment. They were also to take samples from a nearby similar creek for comparative analyses.

“There are a number of residents who are concerned about the condition of the creek, and we want to do our best to see if those concerns are warranted,” Gregson said.

The Jan. 12 inspection report from Karl Hammers of the N.C. Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources noted that John Freshwater of Ward Farm LLC did not properly implementing an erosion and sedimentation control plan, provide adequate ground cover and buffer, maintain erosion and sedimentation control measures and inspect the pond.

The stormwater treatment system, Freshwater explained, serves a hotel, the Ward Farm development project and the Swansboro United Methodist Church, where construction of an addition is underway. Freshwater volunteered to design the church construction pond at no cost, so that it operates in conjunction with his Ward Farm pond, which serves the hotel and the planned development.

Hammers concluded that when Freshwater drained and discharged water from pond in order to install a skimmer, a device that removes sediments from the water, the flow picked up sediment from the church site, which resulted in sediment flowing into the wetlands and Hawkins Creek.

Freshwater, has consistently maintained that he would never do anything intentional to hurt Hawkins Creek.

John Freshwater

“I live on the creek and I have worked over the years to try to improve the water quality, and we’re working as hard as we can to do what the state says we need to do to fix this problem,” he said Monday.

Eddie Privett of Swansboro, a commercial fisherman, saw the pumping operation early on Jan. 9. He said he noticed that the water level was much higher than normal for low tide and the water was a creamy, milky, blue color. He eventually found a 10- to 12-inch pipe discharging water into the creek. He followed the pipe through the woods and found that it led back to the retention pond, where a diesel pump was operating.

Privett and Tim Simpson of Swansboro took photos and video, which they eventually sent to the state. Privett said the water level dropped by about 18 inches within half an hour of shutting off the pump.

Hammers required that Freshwater and his associates, including contractor Joey Humphrey, immediately do a number of things, including using hand tools to remove sediment in the wetlands and implementing new and improved erosion control measures.

Privett said Thursday he was satisfied by the state’s initial response to the incident and by Freshwater and his partner, engineer David Newsom’s, early efforts to quickly address the immediate problem.

Privett added, however, that he hopes someone – Freshwater, the state or anyone, really – can find a way to address the sedimentation problem in the creek.

“There is a lot of sediment in there, and it’s not good,” he said. “It’s covering up all the micro-organisms,” which help make the stream a primary nursery area for shrimp. The creek is too small for trawlers but not for locals who catch shrimp with a cast net.

He said he and others plan to continue to closely monitor the situation.

“It’s always been a problem, but it really got worse last summer,” Privett said, when the construction began on the addition to the church.

Privett met with Hammers on Friday and took him on a tour of the creek.

Monday morning, Freshwater, Newsom and Humphrey provided details of what they are doing. Among other things, they’ve installed additional filter matting around the church construction site pond; put in coir logs, or oak chip-filled filters, downstream of that pond; and designed and built a separate filer that they devised.

That was all working well, Newsom said, and water from that pond was running clear, until heavy rain on Sunday, after which some sediment problems reappeared. They then stopped all discharge from the construction pond. As of Monday morning, they were awaiting delivery of additional coir logs and were waiting until drier weather to begin the cleanup of the sediments in the wetlands.

A big part of the problem, Newsom said Monday, is that the soil on the site includes more fine clay than is normal for the area.

Freshwater said the entire episode has been emotionally difficult. But, he added, “If the end result is something that helps water quality in the creek, I’ll be very happy.”

Freshwater, a developer, engineer and former Swansboro town commissioner, said the Jan. 9 de-watering was a one-time event and called the amount of water released and the related turbidity “inadvertent.”

“We were trying to make an improvement, to do the right thing,” he said.

Reprinted from the Tideland News

SWANSBORO – Two state agencies are investigating the pumping of a stomwater pond in Swansboro that led to the muddying of a local creek.

Eddie Privett, a commercial fisherman in Swansboro, saw the pumping on Friday and called the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, which notified the state Division of Water Quality, said Susan Massengale, a state spokeswoman. The division then notified the N.C. Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources.

That agency is responsible for stormwater permits, while the water division protects surface waters. Both agencies are under the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

The land resources’ office in Wilmington stopped all work at the site Friday, Dan Sams, an engineer in the office, said late Friday. He noted that local developer John Freshwater had a permit to install equipment in the pond, but he said didn’t know if the permit provisions were followed.

“Our job is go see it and ask questions and make sure the permit is being followed,” he said.

Sams’ office sent Karl Hammers, an environmental specialist, to investigate on Monday. The state Division of Water Quality sent Jim Gregson, a surface water protection supervisor in the Wilmington office, to Swansboro Monday.

At issue is whether Freshwater, a partner in Ward Farm LLC, properly followed state rules and the provisions of his permit when he pumped the pond in the mixed residential and commercial development along Hammocks Beach Road in Swansboro. The major concern is whether excess water and sediment from the pond was pumped to Hawkins Creek and adjacent wetlands. It is a violation of state law if too much sediment from a construction site fouls a creek or river.

Freshwater called the problem temporary and inadvertent, and said he was operating under state permits to install equipment called a skimmer in the retention pond. Ironically, skimmers are designed to remove sediment.

Gregson said Monday that he saw pictures and a video taken Friday that indicated a possible violation because of all the sediment in the water. He said yesterday that he didn’t believe there was an intentional violation. Hammers said yesterday that he was in the process of preparing a report, which would be made public.

It all began Friday morning when Privett went to Hawkins Creek. That afternoon, he told the Tideland News, a local newspaper, that he had noticed that the water level was much higher than normal for low tide and that the water was a “creamy, milky blue.” He said he was curious about the cause. He ran into Tim Simpson, a friend who operates a tour boat in Swansboro, at the grocery store. They decided to investigate.

Privett said they found a 10-to-12-inch line at the creek that was discharging water. They trekked through a patch of woods and found that the pipe led back to the retention pond, where a diesel pump “as big as what a fire truck uses” was operating, Privett noted.

Privett and Simpson took photos and video, which they eventually sent to the state, and Privett said he told a person operating construction equipment at the site to stop the pump and call Freshwater.

John Freshwater

The pumped was stopped about 2:30 p.m. Friday, Privett said. He estimated that the water level in the pond dropped by about 18 inches in 30 minutes. He said that the plume of sediment from the pumped water made it to the Intracoastal Waterway, about a half-mile away.

“There was a lot of water going into the creek,” he said.

Freshwater said at the site Monday that he had to lower the water level in the pond so he could install the skimmer.

He was joined by contractor Joey Humphrey of Humphrey Durwood & Sons of Jacksonville and engineer David Newsom, another partner in Ward Farm.

Freshwater, a developer, engineer and a former Swansboro town commissioner, emphasized that the effort was a “dewatering – a one-time event – not a discharge.” Any turbidity, he said, was “inadvertent.”

“We were trying to make an improvement, to do the right thing,” Freshwater said.

He said he didn’t know how much water had gone from the pond into the creek.

Gregson said Tuesday after visiting the site that too much water appeared to have been pumped from the pond too fast. Sediment from an adjacent construction site at Swansboro United Methodist Church construction site was then carried into Hawkins Creek. He said he didn’t think that Freshwater had done anything intentionally wrong.

The stormwater pond, Freshwater explained, serves a hotel, the largely vacant Ward Farm development and Swansboro United Methodist Church, where an addition is being built.

“The facility was designed in compliance with all state requirements as a wet pond, a type of facility which normally discharges collected rainwater to a receiving stream, Hawkins Creek in this case,” he said. “However (Ward Farm LLC owners) several years ago, working with the N.C. Coastal Federation and the state, converted it into an infiltration basin, generally considered more environmentally friendly, as it does not discharge stormwater but infiltrates collected rainwater into the ground.”

This basin, Freshwater continued, is also permitted to handle stormwater runoff from the ongoing construction at the Methodist church. That required installing a temporary skimmer to remove sediment from the runoff. In order to install the skimmer, Freshwater added, it was necessary on Friday for some of the recently collected rainwater to be pumped out of the basin.

“As recommended by the state,” he said, “that pump discharge was directed to a settling/filtering system prior to being allowed to flow offsite. Unfortunately, some unintentional, unanticipated turbidity may have temporarily occurred during that process.

By midday Monday, Newsom said, the skimmer was installed and working and no additional pumping had been needed. Silt fences and other measures were added Tuesday, he said, to control runoff from the church project.

MANTEO — Keep It Simple, Stupid is a universal principle of design that covers almost every human endeavor. Standing in contrast to principles used to create a complex and over-engineered world, it seems to have been introduced by engineers sometime around 1960 and it has remained a part of design mantra ever since. Its acronym, KISS, is easy to remember yet often difficult to achieve.

Here’s an example of the KISS principle at work: For years, downspouts at homes have been directed to pipes and pavement that are part of collection sites, a piece of engineering that insured that stormwater coming off roofs would be gathered and controlled.

Andrew Anderson

Andrew Anderson and Natalie Carmen, engineers with the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service, wondered what would happen if the downspouts drained onto lawns. They tested the approach in the dense, packed, poorly draining soils of Durham and weren’t sure what they would find.

“We were extremely shocked. We were expecting to see 20 percent, 10 percent volume reductions on some of these soils. We saw 50 percent, up to near 100 percent volume reduction on some of these sites,” Anderson said at a workshop last month at the Coastal Studies Institute on Roanoke Island. “We’re seeing relatively quick infiltration rates even in soils that aren’t that good.”

The state Department of the Environment and Natural Resources, or DENR, and the N.C. Coastal Federation sponsored the workshop on low-impact development, or LID, techniques.

The engineers’ sample size was very small, but the implications of the study are significant. Especially in coastal communities with sandy, porous soils, the findings may influence how stormwater runoff is treated.

At its core, LID is the epitome of the KISS theory; rather than design a building or site to withstand or alter the natural environment, the object is to work in concert with nature, treating runoff and making as little of an impact as possible.

It is a view of design that appeals to Andy Deel, an engineer with Creative Engineering Solutions in Manteo. “We’ve been over-engineering things for years,” he said. “If you can eliminate the stormwater you don’t have to treat it.”

There are a number of ways — called BMPs, or best-management practices, in the business — to treat the runoff using LID. You can capture it in rain barrels or cisterns and reuse it to water plants or wash your car. You can plant rain gardens in low spots to collect the runoff or install porous-type pavements that allow rain to seep into the ground. Artificial wetlands, grassed roofs, tree box filters and swales are few other choices. All are designed to work with the surrounding environment.

The complexity occurs in the permitting process, not in the design or construction. With so many choices available, especially on larger projects, permit requests can run into hundreds of pages of notes and documentation. That can delay permits and add to the cost of a project.

A rain garden at Columbia Middle School.

At the CSI workshop, Mike Randall, a state stormwater engineer, told the story of the permit request from Fort Bragg. “Fort Bragg sent me a package that had 32, 33 BMPs and they submitted 32 or 33 plans,” he recalled. “And of course as a reviewer, I’ve got to review each and every one of those supplemental forms and each and every one of those maintenance forms.”

The complexity then, was in the process, not in the design. “It’s important that we facilitate the review process,” Randall said in a later interview.

The federation and DENR have focused on easing and simplifying the LID permit process. The result is called Storm-EZ. The new LID permitting tool consolidates the old forms into one spreadsheet that also calculates how much water can be treated over what period of time for each of the methods available to designers. It can also be applied as a single document encompassing a large project.

“Large developments, 300 or 400 homes, those are the ones that will really benefit from this,” Randall said.

One of the purposes of the workshop was to educate engineers, landscapers, builders and local officials how the new permitting form will work.

It has taken a number of years to develop the form, he noted. LID gained favor, Randall said, as development increased and runoff’s effects on water quality became more apparent. “The choice (coastal) development sites are gone,” Randall said. “People have to be more innovative. We’re looking at alternatives because we have to.”

From the outset, creating Storm-EZ was a collaborative process, noted Lauren Kolodij, the federation’s deputy director. “Mike Randall has been very supportive of this,” she said.

Originally conceived as a way to help coastal developers, the form is now used throughout the state. To be practical, Storm-EZ had to have universal application, Kolodij explained. “The key was having something that everyone could use,” she said.

Despite the advantages, the state doesn’t require that builders use LID to meet its stormwater mandates. The approach remains strictly voluntary. The state would rather motivate than insist on it,” Randall said.

Deel notes, however, that even if there is no requirement to use LID methods or the new form, there is an economic benefit to it. “If you look at this from a cost perspective, the tools are in place to make permitting a two- or three-day process rather than a two- to three-month process,” he said

There is increasing emphasis being placed on environmentally sound development, Randall said, and LID permitting tool is becoming an important component of that process. “From the state’s perspective as far as where we’re going [with] green infrastructure, I think the tools are excellent,” he said. “It’s been a real cooperative effort to get this tool together that complied with all the state requirements that facilitate the state permit review process as well as the permit application process.”

And you don’t have to be an engineer to figure out what LID techniques might work well around your home. There are things any homeowner can do on a small scale. The federation’s Smart Yards is filled with do-it-yourself ideas to reduce stormwater runoff that are affordable and effective.

CEDAR POINT — Would a central sewer system in this small town in western Carteret County improve the health of the White Oak River, as proponents say? Or could the denser development made likely by abandoning septic tanks only increase the bacterial pollution in a picturesque waterway that’s already classified as “impaired” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency?

Those questions are central to the discussions that started several weeks ago between the Cedar Point town board and officials with the Onslow Water and Sewer Authority, or ONWASA, about extending a sewer line across the river and treating the waste at the utility’s plant in Swansboro.

Billy Joe Farmer, ONWASA’s executive director, and Jim Allen, an ONWASA board member and a Swansboro town commissioner, met with town board last month. Allen said he supported the proposal because Swansboro’s plant, which was enlarged several years ago to treat 600,000 gallons of sewage a day, is operating at about half its design capacity.

“I think it would be good for us (ONWASA) and good for them (the town),” Allen said. “It would be good for the environment – there are a lot of septic tanks and (private package) treatment plants in Cedar Point – and good for the White Oak River.”

Like others, Chris Seaberg, Cedar Point’s administrator, said he thought a sewer system for all or part of the town would benefit the environment, because septic tanks and package treatment plants fail and, even when working properly, can pollute, to some degree.

Others, however, say, that’s not at all clear, and point to numerous instances in which sewage treatment systems allowed much greater development density – more parking lots and buildings – which generate more stormwater runoff and more pollution.

Septic Tanks Not Failing

Jim Allen

Billy Joe Farmer

An EPA-funded study almost a decade ago that Cedar Point participated in determined that stormwater runoff, and not failing septic tanks, was the main source of bacteria that has closed shellfish beds in the lower White Oak.

Patti Fowler heads of the state’s Shellfish Sanitation and Recreational Water Quality Section in Morehead City. Repeated studies and surveys have clearly shown that runoff, not septic tanks and package treatment plants, are responsible for the far larger share of the pollution in the state’s coastal rivers, streams and sounds, she said.

Fowler said her office has detected few if any obvious problems with septic tanks or package treatment plants in or around Cedar Point. Water quality is about the same as it’s been for years, with some permanent shellfish harvest closures and other waters open most of the time but closed by runoff after heavy rains.

Troy Dees, head of the Environmental Health Division for Carteret County, concurred. “We really don’t see any major problems there,” he said. “There are no major failures, and I would say that we don’t see a ‘need’ for a sewer system there. But we don’t play a role in that; it’s not our jurisdiction. It’s up to the municipality to decide if it wants sewer.”

Jim Gregson, a supervisor of the Water Quality Program for the state Division of Water Resources in Wilmington, noted, like Fowler, that stormwater runoff is the bigger problem for coastal waters than failing septic tanks. But like Dees, he said the state doesn’t base its permit decisions on “need.” Instead, he said, his program looks almost exclusively at the capacity of the proposed sewer system to handle the flow.

In the Cedar Point-ONWASA scenario, he said, ONWASA would apply for the permit, and if its existing system could handle Cedar Point’s flow, it most likely would be permitted. Such permits, Gregson added, usually are approved 30 to 90 days after an application is submitted.

In fact, Gregson said, the Division of Water Quality generally looks at central sewer as “preferable” to septic tanks and package plants. He conceded that the increased development made possible by central sewer systems can be a problem. Local governments, he noted, can control the level of development with ordinances and zoning.

Stormwater experts, however, noted that Gregson’s use of the word “can” is crucial.

“Central sewer is a great thing … as long as the local government has strong land-use planning and enforces the plan,” said Joe Ramus, a longtime water-quality researcher who is now a professor emeritus at the Duke University Marine Laboratory in Beaufort and a member of the board of directors of the N.C. Coastal Federation. “Is it (increased development and more polluted runoff) automatic with a sewer system? It is if there is not a good plan or if it’s not enforced. If we increase impervious surface, we increase runoff and we degrade water quality.

“It might not happen right now, or it might happen very slowly, because we have a slow economy,” Ramus continued, “but eventually it would happen.”

Seaberg said water quality in the White Oak are very important to Cedar Point commissioners and residents. The town has been working with the federation for years to try to clean up the impaired White Oak River, and recently learned that federation and East Carolina University got a  $140,000 EPA grant to continue that work, addressing problems on a “lot-by-lot” basis. Since 2006, the agency has spent almost $500,000 determining the runoff sources around Cedar Point and installing possible remedies.

The town, Seaberg said, already has good “controls” in place to limit growth. The minimum residential lot size in town is 10,000 square feet – although there are some smaller ones that are non-conforming – and the town years ago adopted fairly good restriction on commercial building size in most areas.

For example, he said, the most prevalent business district, B-1, which generally encompasses most of the land along N.C. 24, has a 25,000-square-foot building limit. The B-2 zone, which is intended for marine facilities, such as marinas, allows buildings up to 50,000 square feet, but there is very little property zoned in that classification. Similarly, while the B-3 district allows buildings up to 50,000 square feet, there is not much of that property in town.

“We think our zoning would control growth pretty well,” Seaberg said in summary.

The town also encourages low-impact development, or LID, a concept that uses best-management practices, such as rain gardens and other natural areas and porous pavement, to try to limit stormwater runoff.

LID methods are voluntary, and Seaberg conceded that not many new projects have used them. If the town did choose to move toward a sewer system, he said, it most likely would need to find some way to “incentivize” use of LID concepts and practices.

New Hanover: A Case Study

Joe Ramus

Mike Mallin

New Hanover County shows what can happen when sewer lines proceed without strong measures to control the resulting runoff.  County commissioners there convinced themselves and voters to support a $46 million bond referendum in 1984 to build the first “countywide” sewer system on the coast. The campaign for the bond was based on the contention that the sewer was needed to clean up polluted shellfish beds, and a system was built.

William B. Farris, a former Wilmington city manager and then a planning consultant, studied the effects of the sewer system on water quality in the county. His 1997 analysis focused on Howe Creek. At the time the sewer was built, about 34 percent of its watershed was freshwater wetlands, Farris noted. The state classified the creek as Outstanding Resource Waters in 1989 because of exceptional water quality.

Ten years later, Farris found, sewer lines extended though much of the watershed. Only 16 percent was still undeveloped. The dense development triggered increased stormwater runoff, and the creek became too polluted for shellfishing.

Mike Mallin, a researcher at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, took a look at Howe Creek in 2011. More than 6,500 people then lived in the watershed. He concluded that the creek was plagued by bacteria, occasional algal blooms and low levels of dissolved oxygen.

EPA had weighed in on coastal sewer systems in the early 1980s when the agency evaluated options for providing sewage treatment on North Carolina’s barrier islands. The study’s main conclusion was that the density of development on land that is marginally suitable for development increases dramatically when centralized sewer systems are built. Land that was unsuitable for septic tanks can be developed once the sewer is available. This increases polluted stormwater runoff, contaminating coastal waterways. Dirty runoff from roads, driveways, yards and roofs overshadowed the water-quality benefits from the new sewage-treatment plants. Because of the EPA study, federal grants to help barrier islands build big new central sewage-treatment systems stopped.

But Mallin said last week that he generally believes in central sewer systems, even when there might not be indications that septic tanks are failing. “In places, especially along the coast where the water table is high and the soil is porous, some of the pollutants in even properly working septic tanks enter the water table and can flow into tidal creeks,” he said. “It’s even been demonstrated, especially in Florida where a lot of work has been done, that outgoing tides can pull the pollutants from the upper portion of the ground water table into surface waters.”

Mallin conceded that absent stringent density controls, increased development and the resulting runoff can render the benefits negligible. But he added that the state’s rules are better able to limit that damage than they were in the past.

Workers with Coastal Stormwater Services install an innovative infiltration system to divert polluted stormwater runoff away from an outfall pipe leading into Banks Channel along Waynick Drive in Wrightsville Beach.

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH – Several retrofit projects designed to reduce stormwater runoff are currently being installed along roadways and other high pollution sites in this beach community.

The new projects are the latest in an eight-year effort to address water-quality issues in Masonboro Sound. The varied projects are designed to help state agencies, nonprofit groups and other communities develop and implement plans to control stormwater runoff, say the projects sponsors. Scientists will monitor the projects to determine how effective they are. The results will direct future plans. A team led by theN.C. National Estuarine Research Reserve, the N.C. Coastal Federation and the University of North Carolina Wilmington is heading the effort.

“We need to do this everywhere, if we’re going to improve our water quality,” said Tracy Skrabal, the federation senior coastal scientist and the manager of its office in Wrightsville Beach.

According to Larry Sneeden, whose Coastal Stormwater Services Inc. is the lead contractor, the six new projects are varied, although they all work pretty much the same way. Three of the sites, he explained, are in the center median of Causeway Drive and are re-directing runoff to the grass, instead of having it piped directly into the water.

Berms were placed in an existing stormwater ditch at another site, along West Salisbury Street, to slow the flow of runoff and allow it to soak into the ground, Sneeden said. A rain garden near the old fire station on West Salisbury is intercepting rain water from the drainage system, he explained.

“Basically,” Sneeden added, “we excavated a basin, and placed sod over most of it, where we’re putting in some wetland plants, mainly to allow water to infiltrate in and pick up nutrients.”

Tracy Skrabal

Larry Sneeden

The sixth site, described by Sneeden, as “the most interesting,” will intercept water from the drain pipe at the end of Iula Street, which discharges into Banks Channel.

“They’ve been getting a lot of high bacteria counts (down there), which have led to swimming closures and warnings,” said Sneeden. “This is going to intercept the stormwater.”

These retrofit projects are just part of what Skrabal described as a “two-prong approach” to the stormwater issue. While encouraging the use of what’s known as low-impact development, or LID, for future developments, the federation and its varied business and government partners are also seeking and discovering ways to correct problems created by existing development.

“We’ll need to build smarter in the future, from the design stage,” she said. “It’s cheaper to design in LID, and we want to encourage that, but we need to look at existing properties, too.

“You could easily do hundreds of these small projects and not run out of locations,” she added. “Many of these techniques can be done by property owners. We’ll take these projects and use them as educational tools; we’ll do tours, bringing property owners and engineers out and train them.”

A $349,000 grant from the University of New Hampshire and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrationis paying for the work.

The project is the latest outgrowth of a collaborative process that the federation organized in 2006 to address stormwater issues in Masonboro Sound. The state’s coastal reserve system, UNCW, the N.C. Department of the Environment and Natural Resources, Wilmington, Wrightsville Beach, other local and state government organizations, land developers and contractors are among the partners. The team has completed several projects to reduce runoff in the Bradley and Hewletts creeks watersheds in Wilmington.

One of the main goals of the original effort was to create and implement a plan to allow regulators, scientists, developers and homeowners to collaborate on projects to control runoff, the largest source of pollution to coastal waters. Locally, that collaboration has extended beyond the 2006 team to include working partnerships with theNew Hanover County Soil and Water Conservation District, the state Shellfish Sanitation and Recreational Water Quality Section, the N.C. Division of Coastal Management and the N.C. Department of Transportation.

The project provides demonstrations of low-cost, effective solutions to direct stormwater runoff away from drains and waterways and into areas which allow the runoff to soak into the ground.

“Part of our job,” said Skrabal of the federation’s place on the team “is to provide staff support and find these partnerships that accomplish our mission. These are the kind of collaborations that we thrive on.”

While much of the collaboration at work on these projects, dating back over many years, appears to be concentrated in organizations, it’s important to remember that these organizations are made up of people, some with their own personal reasons for getting involved.

“My family’s been here since the 1800s,” said Sneeden, a Wilmington native. “Growing up, I spent a lot of time at the beach, enjoying water sports, and my interest in the water carried over to my professional career.”

Sneeden recalled that during his high school days, in the early 1970s, education about the local marine environment was focused more on flood control rather than water quality. That, he said, has changed, now that many local areas are closed to shellfishing, which informs his personal stake in the matter.

“I like oysters,” he said.

Reprinted from the Tideland News of Swansboro.

CEDAR POINT — A town in western Carteret County and a sewer authority in adjacent Onslow County are in early but serious talks about extending a sewer line across the White Oak River to the town.

Billy Joe Farmer, executive director of the Onslow Water and Sewer Authority, or ONWASA, and Jim Allen, a Swansboro commissioner who is on the ONWASA board of directors, met with the Cedar Point Board of Commissioners and Town Administrator Chris Seaberg during a work session in town hall on Oct. 23.

According to all three men, the talks were informative and productive, and Seaberg said the next step for the town board is to decide whether to amend or expand a 2012 sewer feasibility study.

Seaberg, Allen and Farmer all said there is a long way to go before the discussion could bear fruit. Farmer, for example, said he had not even brought the idea formally to his board. Allen, though, said he favors the idea of extending sewer from Swansboro to Cedar Point.

“I think it would be good for us (ONWASA) and good for them (Cedar Point),” Allen said. “It would be good for the environment – there are a lot of septic tanks and (private package) treatment plants in Cedar Point – and good for the White Oak River,” which divides Swansboro, in Onslow County, and Cedar Point, in Carteret.

Jim Allen

Billy Joe Farmer

A federally funded study of four watersheds in Cedar Point in 2005 concluded that stormwater runoff, and not failing septic tanks, was source of the exceedingly high bacteria levels that closed shellfish beds in the lower White Oak. There were no permitted private treatment plants in the study area.

Numerous studies, dating back to the early 1980s, have shown that centralized sewer systems increase building densities and make land unsuitable for septic tanks developable. More density leads to more constructed, impervious surfaces, such as parking lots, driveways and rooftops, which tend to increase stormwater runoff and bacterial pollution of shellfish beds.

Seaberg said that during the Oct. 23 work session, the board agreed to think about the idea and discuss it more in November.

“It obviously is a big step, and if we did decide to move ahead, we’d have to go to the state and get them involved,” Seaberg said. “But there are a lot of people in town who in surveys have said they want sewer.”

The town’s feasibility study strongly recommended that the town pursue a partnership with other local governments or agencies, such as Cape Carteret or ONWASA, if it wanted to provide sewer service. During a February 2013 work session, Gary Hartong of Wooten Co., which did the study, told the commissioners that absent a partnership, the company suggested that the town pursue low-interest loans to build, in phases, a collection, treatment and disposal system that would cost an estimated $35.7 million and result in a monthly sewer bill of about $162 for each customer.

Seaberg, during the same work session, said the town had attempted to contact ONWASA, which provides water and sewer to many areas of Onslow County, including Swansboro, just across the White Oak River.

An obvious plus would be that if Cedar Point partnered with ONWASA, the town would save the money needed for construction of a plant.

However, Seaberg said, the town had not yet received a reply from the utility authority and noted that it would be tremendously expensive and potentially difficult to extend sewer lines from Swansboro to Cedar Point. According to Seaberg and others at the meeting, the state Department of Transportation indicated that lines most likely could not be attached to the bridges that span the river and would instead have to be buried underneath the river.

As a result, the town commission “adopted” the report but has committed to nothing. Eventually, according to Seaberg and Farmer, the town and the utility did hook up for informal talks.

According to Farmer, an area resident with ties to both ONWASA and the town set the wheels in motion by contacting him and indicating it might be time to talk. That led to the discussion during the commissioners’ October work session. “It was a good way to get the conversation started,” Farmer said.

Farmer and Allen both said the line most likely would, at least initially, take the collected sewage to the ONWASA treatment plant near Swansboro, which was expanded and improved in 2006. It currently handles between 275,000 and 300,000 gallons of sewage a day – more during heavy rains – but operates only at about half of its capacity.

At some point, Farmer said, it might be more feasible for the sewage to go to another ONWASA plant, on U.S. 258, which serves Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune; but, Swansboro would be the logical starting place.

Farmer said nothing in ONWASA’s charter prohibits the utility from crossing county lines. In fact, he said, ONWASA already provides water to Surf City, which is in both Onslow and Pender counties. Also, the director said, taking on additional flow from Cedar Point would be good for the utility, both from an economic standpoint and because higher flows mean waste doesn’t stay in the lines as long.

The idea, Farmer said, would be for ONWASA to provide the initial line through town. Developers could build lines to serve their projects off the main line, forming sort of a “spider web.” That would reduce the cost for the utility, which, he said, is big, at $150 per lineal foot of line.

“But that (serving more areas) is part of our mission,” Farmer said. “We feel like it’s good for the environment. Of course, this has to be a good business proposition, too. The state Local Government Commission would get involved, and (before any loans could be approved or bonds could be sold), they’re going to want to see a solid plan” that would ensure debts are paid off, he said.

There are plenty of variables involved, Farmer added, including policies and fees. Fees have to be high enough to pay off debt but low enough that customers can afford them. The town would have to decide who could or would get the service and whether any or all hook-ups would be mandatory or voluntary.

Seaberg, like the others, said he thought a sewer system for all or part of the town would benefit the environment, because septic tanks and package treatment plants fail and, even when working properly, can pollute to some degree.

And the environment, he said, is very important to Cedar Point commissioners and residents. The town has been working with the N.C. Coastal Federation, a Carteret-based environmental group, for years to try to clean up the impaired White Oak River, and recently learned that the federation got a large Environmental Protection Agency grant to continue that work, addressing problems on a “lot-by-lot” basis.

Of course, some people will be concerned that a sewer system could open up Cedar Point for much more development and redevelopment, both commercial and residential, so much that the additional pavement and buildings would create so much storm water runoff that it would negate the benefits of eliminating septic tanks and package treatment plants.

Seaberg said the town already has good “controls” in place to limit growth. The minimum residential lot size in town is 10,000 square feet – although there are some smaller ones that are non-conforming – and the town years ago adopted fairly good restriction on commercial building size in most areas.

For example, he said, the most prevalent business district, B-1, which generally encompasses most of the land along N.C. 24, has a 25,000-square-foot limit. The B-2 zone, which is intended for marine facilities, such as marinas, allows buildings up to 50,000 square feet, but there is very little property zoned in that classification. Similarly, while the B-3 district allows buildings up to 50,000 square feet, there is not much of that property in town, yet.

The one exception – and it’s a pretty big one – is an area at the intersection of N.C. 58 and N.C. 24, which is an overlay zone created back in 2008 when Walmart was planning to build a store there. That overlay would allow one building of up to 125,000 square feet and smaller out-parcel buildings.

“We think our zoning would control growth pretty well,” Seaberg said in summary.

The town also “encourages” low-impact development, or LID, he said, a concept that uses best-management practices, such as rain gardens other natural areas and porous pavement, to try to limit the volume of stormwater runoff reaching the river.

Because they are voluntary, the measures haven’t been widely used by developers. If the town did choose to move toward a sewer system, Seaberg said, it most likely would need to find some way to “incentivize” the use of LID concepts and practices.

This is Dubling Creek, one of the four watersheds in the lower White Oak River, which the EPA considers “impaired.” It was one of the waterways that the N.C. Coastal Federation tested for bacteria levels in 2006. Now the federation hopes to reduce the volume of polluted stormwater runoff reaching the White Oak River by installing and monitoring best management practices. Photo: staff

CEDAR POINT — Could a $6 piece of plastic make a significant difference in the health of one of North Carolina’s most scenic coastal rivers?

It just might, if enough people use the downspout extensions, according to Lauren Kolodij, the deputy director of the N.C. Coastal Federation, an environmental conservation group. If home and business owners combine that inexpensive solution to polluted stormwater pollution with other simple, low-cost best management practices, such as rain barrels and small rain gardens, there’s really no telling, yet, how much the White Oak River might benefit, she said.

The N.C. Coastal Federation aims not only to encourage the use of these small-scale devices and plantings in and around the town of Cedar Point but also plans to measure their effects, as well as those of larger-scale efforts, thanks to a new, $272,000 project funded by the federal Environmental Protection Agency and by local matches and in-kind contributions,.

Studies by N.C. State University, Kolodij said, have shown that using downspout extensions, which direct rain from gutters to vegetated areas instead of onto driveways, patios and other hard surfaces, can reduce stormwater runoff from properties by as much as 90 percent.

According to Kolodij, bacteria-and-pollution-laden stormwater is by far the major culprit in the EPA’s designation of the White Oak as an impaired stream.

“What has happened over the years is that we have altered the landscape and modified the hydrology, and to clean up the river, we’ve got to get back as close as possible to where we were before we did that,” Kolodij said.

Back in 2006, the federation undertook a major study of the bacterial pollution in the White Oak River. Almost two-thirds of the river’s oyster and clam beds are closed permanently to shellfishing or are closed temporarily after moderate rain because of dangerously high levels of bacteria in the water. The study found very high levels of fecal coliform bacteria in four watersheds in the lower river near Cedar Point. In the most extensive bacteria testing ever done on the river, more than 200 water samples were drawn from almost 70 scattered sites. Eighty-nine percent of the samples exceeded the federal health standard for shellfish waters. Of the 113 samples taken from the largest watershed, Boathouse Creek, all but three exceeded the standard.

Volunteers prepare to draw a water sample from a small spring that flows to the White Oak River. Eighty-nine percent of the samples in this study had high levels of bacteria that exceeded the federal health standard for shellfish harvest. Photo: staff

The study outlined a series of voluntary steps that could be taken to reduce the flow of stormwater into the river. They included modifying existing stormwater drainage ditches to allow more runoff to soak into the ground before reaching the river, educating people about the effects of stormwater and how to prevent their pets’ waste from contributing to bacteria pollution, and allowing developers to use more innovative techniques to control runoff.

After that study, Cedar Point partnered with the federation to create an extensive rain garden at the town hall, said Chris Seaberg, the town administrator. Also, follow-up studies showed not only that runoff decreased dramatically, but bacteria and other pollutants ceased making it into the underground aquifer.

“We’re very glad the federation has been able to get this new grant and we look forward to continuing to work with them,” Seaberg said. “We want to set up a time for the federation to make a presentation to our town board and our citizens.

“We know there’s a lot more that can be done, and that it needs to be a group effort, involving not just us and the town, but also the state Department of Transportation and DENR (state Department of Environment and Natural Resources),” Seaberg added. “We’re particularly interested in some of the things we know can be done at the grassroots-level in some of our neighborhoods, such as Marsh Harbor.”

Kolodij said it’s important work, and noted that the town has been an enthusiastic partner in the effort to improve water quality. Cedar Point has also encouraged low-impact development, or LID, by posting an LID manual, developed by the federation, on its website.

“We and the town are committed to reversing the trend of water quality degradation in the White Oak,” Kolodij said. “Through this project, we’ll expand on our collaborative efforts to reduce the volume and flow of stormwater being discharged into the river. Cumulatively, runoff discharges in the watershed are impairing more than 2,200 acres, or almost two-thirds of the designated shellfishing waters of the lower White Oak River.”

The goal of the new project, she said, is to work with the town, East Carolina University and a yet-to-be-selected local project team of committed experts to prioritize, locate, design, build and monitor a series of 12 stormwater reduction measures that will keep an estimated 55,000 gallons of runoff from reaching the river.

Lexia Weaver, a federation coastal scientist who will be working on the project, said the grant was large enough to enable the partners involved to do some things that will make a real difference, and said she’s glad ECU has signed on to do the monitoring.

While reducing the volume of stormwater runoff is important, so is the monitoring by ECU, Kolodij said. “Without monitoring before and after the project – determining the volumes of runoff before and after the changes – you don’t really quantify the impacts,” she said. “It’s important to see what works best and to be able to tell people what they can do to have the most impact.

Lauren Kolodij

“We’ll showcase successes to local residents and the media,” she added. “This promotion will focus on the importance of stormwater reduction on a lot-by-lot basis within the watershed to ultimately achieve stormwater volume reduction and water quality goals.”

None of this needs be hard or expensive for property owners, Kolodij emphasized. For example, N.C. State promotes what it calls a “10-10-10” rain garden plan that’s said to be very effective. You simply measure the roof of your structure, take 10 percent of that, dig a hole that size 10 feet from the structure, 10-inches deep, put in the right plants and maintain the result.

“We could, of course, spend millions in all of our watersheds,” Kolodij said. “But we also know that we can make a big difference by doing much smaller things, by working in neighborhoods and by educating people about what they can do.”

Before starting on the project, the federation and ECU plan  to meet with  potential partners – interested people, town officials  and others – and hold a community workshop to get ideas and suggestions. The original project report had a long list of best management practices and suggestions. “Part of what we want to do is take another look at those and see how we can implement them,” She said.

The river and its tributaries are still fished and increasingly used by kayakers and canoeists. It runs 48 miles, from Hofmann Forest in Jones County, and winds its way, as old rivers do, through many sleepy towns in Jones, Carteret and Onslow counties before reaching the ocean.

“We have to be able to show that water quality improves,” Weaver said. “I’m confident we’ll be able to do that.”

This is one of the kayak launches in River Bluffs, a development near Castle Hayne that sits on the Northeast Cape Fear River. The N.C. Coastal Federation presented its developer, Burrows Smith, a Pelican Award for designing the site using low-impact development, which reduces the volume of polluted stormwater runoff entering and degrading coastal water bodies. Photo: River Bluffs Living

WILMINGTON — Burrows Smith isn’t your typical developer.

“In the development world, they want to do things they did last year,” he said. “I like to do things that make sense, and if it’s more economical, then it makes sense.”

Finding better ways to control the poisoned runoff that is polluting our waters is something that makes sense to Smith. His efforts won him a Pelican Award this year from the N.C Coastal Federation. The annual awards are meant to highlight exemplary efforts to protect the coastal environment.

Burrows Smith won a Pelican Award for promoting and using low-impact development at his 313-acre development on the Northeast Cape Fear River near Castle Hayne. For Smith, using LID made sense because it was better for the environment and saved money. Photo: River Bluffs Living

Smith received his award for the low-impact development, or LID, principles he has applied throughout the design of a 313-acre development on the Northeast Cape Fear River near Castle Hayne. Called River Bluffs, because it sits on one overlooking the river, the development is expected to feature 193 houses in its first phase and a 143-slip marina on the river. Though he initially approached the project with the idea of employing conventional systems for stormwater runoff, a LID conference he attended in Raleigh in 2010 convinced him that using more natural methods was not only the right thing to do, but it would save him and his partners thousands of dollars.

“Man, I thought, our site would be perfect for this,” he said. “I told the engineers to scrap the plans, we were going LID. We threw all the plans in the trash and started over.”

Smith was no stranger to starting over. A native of Wrightsville Beach, and graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Smith returned to Wilmington  and formed Burrows Smith Construction in the early 1980s. In 1988, he merged with A.C. Skinner to form Skinner-Smith Construction, specializing in the construction of sub-divisions in New Hanover County, including Masonboro Landing, Masonboro Forest and Porter’s Neck, to name just a few. His other development projects included Sea Watch at Kure Beach, Wrightsville Sound Office Park and Plantation Landing.

“I sold out of everything in ’05,” he explained. “I felt like there was going to be a recession, which turned into a depression.”

He started over, two years later, when he was approached by property owners, unfamiliar with the mechanics of developing property, about developing the Castle Hayne land. He wasn’t exactly reluctant to get back into the business, but it took a while.

“Someone recommended me, I was interviewed, and we hit it off,” he said. “It took me about a year because I wasn’t in a big rush to go to work for somebody. They bought the property in ’06, I got involved in ’07, and around ’08, we started engineering the site.”
He approached the River Bluffs development, as he had done in the past, looking to conventional means of curbs, gutters and ponds to divert and collect stormwater runoff, until he realized that a traditional wet pond would force him to cut down large sections of the property’s forest and pay for the removal of acres of sandy soil, perfect for the natural absorption of excess rain.         

The meeting in Raleigh offered developers solutions to the often difficult and time-consuming task of complying with a variety of federal, state and local regulations. It convinced Smith of the benefits of LID.

“It is,” said Smith in a River Bluffs promotional video, “kind of a throwback to the way we used to do roads and we’ll actually have no runoff into the river, which makes us very unique.”

Though LID ideas are not new, they have encountered some resistance from some old-school property developers, in large part, because developers are geared toward doing things in a familiar way. What’s different about River Bluffs is the “all-in” mentality fostered by Smith. He hopes the River Bluffs will show other developers in the region that LID concepts work at controlling runoff and save money. As one of many examples, Smith figures that River Bluffs roads, absent the conventional curbs and gutters, will save $500,000. That, he said, should make developers sit up and take notice.

Burrows kept these trees rather than cutting them down to pave a road into the development. This will allow polluted stormwater runoff to drain into the sandy soil and also saved him money. Photo: River Bluffs Living

Other LID concepts were incorporated in the design of the development from the start. Houses will feature pervious driveways that allow stormwater to drain into the ground and cisterns that collect rainwater that will automatically irrigate lawns. Native plants will be used for landscaping because they require less water and fertilizer, and downspouts will direct stormwater to grassy areas, rather than to the streets. The last line of runoff defense will be roadside swales that will collect any polluted runoff before it reaches the river.

Earlier this year, The Wilmington-Cape Fear Home Builders Association announced winners of its 28th annual Parade of Homes and introduced a new Energy Efficiency Award, sponsored by Duke Energy Progress. The River Bluffs Development Corporation’s Covington model won the award, which was based on its final Home Energy Rating System Index score.

Interviewed for a River Bluffs promotional video, Bill Hunt, a professor with N. C. State University, praised Smith’s contributions not only to the site but to the future of LID projects as well.

“Burrows had a lot of stick-to-it-iveness to make sure that this went through,” Hunt said. “What’s been done (there) is that they’ve taken advantage of a lot of the natural infiltration that existed on the property.

“Certainly, because of the trail-blazing nature of this development, and as big as it is,” he added, “I think other developers can begin to feel a little bit more comfortable about the amount of red tape and extra review time that goes into having some more innovative infiltration-based technologies employed on a site.”

Multiple contractors are involved in building the houses, and according to Smith, there has not been a lot of resistance to changes brought about by strict implementation of LID practices.

“A couple of the contractors had done things like this before,” he said, “(and while) there was a little bit of belly-aching about things like pervious driveways, all they really care about in the end is selling the houses.”

Smith grew up in Wrightsville Beach and loved fishing and getting oysters.  “I wouldn’t call myself an environmentalist,” he said. “I’m more of a practical person. I’m not carrying a (North Carolina Coastal) Federation banner, but I do care about the environment.”

The stormwater ponds of two churches in Cape Carteret — the Presbyterian church, pictured left, and Baptist church, right — will soon get a makeover, thanks to the N.C. Coastal Federation. Photo: Google Maps

Reprinted from the Tideland News of Swansboro. 

CAPE CARTERET — The designs are completed, the easements surveyed and soon the N.C. Coastal Federation will file for necessary state and federal permits for the long-awaited improvements at two stormwater ponds in Cape Carteret that have been eyesores in recent years.

Lexia Weaver, a coastal scientist for the federation, said she hopes the work to turn the Cape Carteret Baptist and Presbyterian churches’ ponds into functioning wetlands can begin before the end of this year. That, she said, will depend on the permitting process.

The project, on which the federation expects to spend about $300,000, will not only improve the aesthetics of the area – right off N.C. 24 in the heart of Cape Carteret in western Carteret County – but also should improve water quality in Deer Creek, which gets the stormwater runoff that the ponds hold That runoff comes from adjacent properties, from N.C. 24 and from the commercial development, including a Lowes grocery store and Lowes Home Improvement store on the other side of the highway.

N.C. Coastal Federation staff examines one of the churches’ stormwater ponds in a canoe. The pond is overgrown with vegetation. However, the new design will create a tidal salt marsh that’s higher salinity level will likely kill off the invasive plant species.

“We’re excited that we’re almost ready to start,” Weaver said. “We’ll be meeting with the church leaders and the town officials in the next couple of weeks to make sure they know exactly what’s going to happen. And we’re in the process of setting up a meeting with the agencies to learn exactly how we need to proceed.”
Permits will be required from the Army Corps of Engineers, the N.C. Division of Coastal Management and the N.C. Division of Water Resources.

Cape Carteret commissioners, during their meeting on Sept. 9, said they are eager to see the project started. Mayor Dave Fowler appointed building inspector Brandon Hawks, town attorney Mike Curtis and commissioner Eddie Seegers to serve on the committee to meet with the federation, church and state officials for that pre-application session on the site.

Weaver said the design for the project is innovative and will be aesthetically pleasant. The stormwater will first enter the smaller, upper pond on the Baptist property. This pond will be reconstructed to have sand and rock layers below the planted vegetation and will serve as a bio-retention area, filtering as much of the pollutants as possible from the collected storm water.

The water that remains will flow to the larger basin on the Presbyterian property. And the real innovation, Weaver said, is that this part of the system will be a tidal salt marsh.

“When we took the elevations we were somewhat surprised that it was not far from the elevation needed for a salt marsh,” she said. “We found out that if we dig just a little bit deeper, it can be a salt marsh, so that’s what we’ll do.”

Salt water will flow back and forth with the tide. The salt level will be high enough, Weaver said, to kill off invasive plant species and keep new ones from taking hold.

One of the major fears of some church officials, Weaver said, is that the wetlands vegetation would be so tall that motorists’ views of the churches would be obscured. The salty nature of the wetland will ensure that doesn’t happen, she said.

This map shows the two stormwater ponds next to Hwy 24 and their close proximity to Deer Creek, far right, which flows into Bogue Sound and eventually the ocean. The ponds help contain polluted stormwater runoff from the surrounding roads and commercial properties from reaching coastal waters and degrading water quality. Map: Google

A conservation easement allows the churches to install benches, walkways, bridges, plantings and other amenities that would make the pond areas suitable for worship and other passive uses, but still maintain the former pond sites as natural areas.

Longstanding problems with the ponds were exacerbated in November 2012 when a water control structure failed and the water drained into Deer Creek. Cape Carteret officials contacted the federation to see what could be done, and the organization suggested that the ponds be turned into wetlands.

The then state Division of Water Quality had surveyed the larger pond but said it didn’t have the money to help restore it. The state DOT also declined to help, despite having four pipes that bring water into the pond from N.C. 24. The Army Corps of Engineers said that the pond predated its permitting process, but if the Corps become involved in fixing the pond, a permit would be needed before any work is done.

At one point, all involved envisioned seeking a 60 to 40 percent state grant, meaning the two churches would each have to supply 20 percent of the project bill. The town agreed to act as a fiscal agent for the grant but would assume no fiscal responsibility or liability for the project itself. The churches’ costs were expected to be $20,000 to $25,000 each, and a total cost of $200,000 or so was envisioned.

The church balked at the high cost.

Then the federation closed on the sale of an easement at its massive North River Farms wetlands project and earned $3 million. Federation executive director Todd Miller thought cleaning up the ponds would be a neighborly – and environmentally significant – thing to do.

Sanders Point is a place of worship for Trinity Center and the marsh behind it, a classroom for its environmental education program. Trinity Center and its Sound to Sea educators won a Pelican Award for their leadership in planting a living shoreline to save Sanders Point from further erosion. Photo: Sound to Sea

PINE KNOLL SHORES – It wasn’t just a few trees and a little sand that was saved. The eroding shoreline at Sanders Point is a sacred space for this worship center and an irreplaceable classroom for its environmental education program. One storm at a time, it was slipping away into Bogue Sound.

“While it is one of the most beautiful spots on the property, it is also one of the most exposed,” said Penn Perry, the executive director of Trinity Center, which is the retreat, worship and education center of the Episcopal Church’s Diocese of East Carolina.

Trinity Center could have built a breakwater to help save the holy point from eroding. In fact, they had plans to do so. When two educators from its Sound to Sea education program learned of the plans, however, they took it upon themselves to find an alternative solution that wouldn’t destroy the marsh that they teach about.

“They went above and beyond for the coast and for their kids,” said Lexia Weaver, a coastal scientist for the N.C. Coastal Federation.

Their actions did not go unnoticed. The federation presented Trinity Center and the Sound to Sea educators a Pelican Award for their leadership in building a living shoreline in Bogue Sound. This alternative buffers wave energy and slowly builds up the shore while also enhancing the marsh ecosystem and improving water quality.

The environmental nonprofit organization presents their awards annually to people and groups along the N.C. coast who have demonstrated exemplary commitment and have undertaken meaningful actions to protect and restore the coast.

Sanders Point sits high on the edge of Bogue Banks overlooking the sound. The outdoor chapel has wooden benches, a sky for a roof and an altar framed by twisted oak trees. It’s used for worship, weddings and baptisms. It’s also the entre to the outdoor classroom — the marsh.

Thousands of students of all ages come to Trinity Center each year to participate in the Sound to Sea program, which emphasizes hands-on learning to foster appreciation and stewardship of the environment.

Meghan Dinneen, left, and Mindy Furrer work for the Sound to Sea program. They wanted to find a shoreline stabilization technique that didn’t destroy the environment they teach about. Photo: Tess Malijenovsky

“Science and nature doesn’t mean very much to a lot [of students], so getting out there and getting to hold crabs and talk about why the water quality is important while they’re in the water makes it real for them,” said Meghan Dinneen, the program coordinator.

“And our hope, because they’re not usually from this area, is that they take these lessons back to wherever they’re from and are able to use them as they go and explore their surroundings,” continued Mindy Furrer, the program director.

Dinneen and Furrer have been working together for quite a while. Long enough, they say, that they can complete each other’s sentences. They recognized that it would be difficult for their students to make that hands-on connection if they lost the marsh to a bulkhead.

“We figured since we’re here teaching in the sound to the kids that come here about having a positive impact on the environment, we thought what if there were other ways to [stabilize the shoreline] besides a typical bulkhead or seawall or something like that,” said Dinneen. “So we just wanted to explore our options.”

“We didn’t know what we were going to look into. The terminology we were using with our executive director was soft stabilization versus hard stabilization, and that’s really all we knew,” said Furrer.

With a little research, Trinity Center staff came across a photograph of a living shoreline that the federation helped build. Dinneen contacted the federation to learn more about this technique and present the idea to the center.

“They really took the initiative to do the project,” said Weaver. “To me, they got it and they knew that if they put this [breakwater] in, it’s not going to be as healthy for the stuff that they teach people about – the plants and the animals and the critters that live in the estuary in Bogue Sound.”

Hardened structures, like a breakwater, protect a shoreline for a while until they have to be replaced; meanwhile, the wave energy scours the existing marsh, leaving behind a barren environment. A living shoreline is typically a combination of planted marsh grass and a sill made of oyster shells. The sill slows down the wave energy and knocks down the sediment in the water, which over time starts accumulating and re-building the shore. The grass and oysters filter the water and provide habitat and food for animals.

According to Dinneen, making a case for the living shoreline had two selling points. It had a great tie-in to environmental stewardship, for which both Sound to Sea and Trinity Center advocate. And, it had an appealing price tag.

“It actually was significantly less expensive than a seawall,” Dinneen said.

“That’s what hit it out of the park,” added Furrer.

Volunteers plant spartina marsh grass to complete the living shoreline at Sanders Point. Two sills made of bagged oyster shells in the background will buffer the wave energy, accrete sand, improve water quality and provide habitat for critters. Photo: Sound to Sea

“They were very thorough about their plan, and they persuaded me that the opportunities the living shoreline presented were too good to pass up,” said Perry. “They were willing to oversee the project, their willingness to donate labor made it cost-effective, and the education opportunities it presented for Sound to Sea were obvious. In addition, the N.C. Coastal Federation made clear its willingness to partner with us to complete the project.”

Working side-by-side with the federation, Dinneen and Furrer began and ended the permitting process in 2013 and, with the help of many volunteers, completed the construction in 2014.

“It’s rare that you find someone that actually wants to do something good even though it’d give them more work to do,” said Weaver. “They run the education programs, they’re not in charge of property maintenance.”

“For us it was just getting this one thing done and using it as a teaching tool,” said Furrer, “but the fact that we were nominated for an award and got that award put a bigger scope on the bigger picture.”

“We were pretty proud of what we’d done because we had put the — whew — sweat and tears into it, so we felt really good,” said Dinneen. “But I think this [award] gave us a reason to feel like it was a good example for others. Just people knowing about it could have an impact on decisions they make in the future.”

MOREHEAD CITY — A Jacksonville mom this month went on her Facebook page after nearly two weeks of rain to ask if it would be safe to take her kids to the coastal waters of Carteret or Onslow counties.

Some respondents’ posts said “yes,” some said “no” and some just conceded they didn’t know. The mother ended up taking her kids to a water park “just to be on the safe side.”

That same week, April Clark, owner of Second Wind Ecotours & Yoga of Swansboro, was taking some customers on a kayak trip to Jones Island in the mouth of White Oak River when one of the kayakers saw a reddish coloration in the water and wondered aloud if it was safe. There had, in the wake of the drenching rains, been reports of algae blooms to the south, and the state had placed advisory signs at various locations, essentially warning folks to brave the bacteria-laden waters at their own risk.

Other customers, Clark said, had been hesitant to take to the water at all, given that the state had posted those advisories against swimming at numerous sound and ocean beach access spots along the coast from Dare County south to New Hanover County.

“It was very worrisome,” said Clark, who is a member of the boards of directors of the statewide N.C. Coastal Federation and the White Oak-New River Alliance, two organizations that have long been in the forefront of the fight for water quality in the central coastal area.

“It cost me some business, and if we don’t do something, it’s going to cost me and many others a whole lot more. Good water quality is what we all count on for our livelihoods and for our recreation.”

What concerned Clark most was not that the heavy rainfall forced the state to put up signs – it’s not all that unusual – but that the signs might point to even more serious problems on the horizon.

“You don’t see it so much if you’re in a (power) boat, but when you’re in a kayak, you can really see the sludge on the bottoms of our river (White Oak) and the creeks,” she said. “Then the state gets these high bacteria counts after rain and puts up the signs, and you wonder if this is something that’s going to happen more often, if it’s something we’re just going to get used to seeing.”

The N.C. Recreational Water Quality Program, which put up those signs, operates as part of the Shellfish Sanitation Section of the state Division of Marine Fisheries, headquartered in Morehead City. It’s the same agency that opens and closes shellfish harvesting waters to ensure the safety of the oysters and clams sold to consumers.

According to J.D. Potts, who heads the recreational waters program, the 27 advisories since June along the N.C. coast has been the worst spell, absent a hurricane, in quite some time, truly more akin to the contamination and necessary precautionary measures taken after hurricanes that affect the whole length of the state’s coast. While unusual, however, it’s not unique.

“It reminds me of one we had in September 2010, when we had 12 to 15 inches of rain in a relatively short time,” Potts said. “There was also a time in 2000, I think, when we had 10 or so inches of rain in July and 10 or so more in August.

The program tests 240 swimming sites, most of them on a weekly basis during the swimming season, which runs from April through October. Testing is done less often at other times of the year. Water quality sampling results for all locations are posted on the program’s website, along with an archive of past swimming advisories.

The agency, according to Potts, tests for enterococcus bacteria, which are found  in the intestines of humans and other warm-blooded animals and are an indicator of human waste. While it will not cause illness itself, its presence is correlated with that of organisms that can cause illness. If bacteria levels exceed the state and federal standards, Potts said, the staff sends out a press release to inform the public and an advisory sign is posted at the swimming site.

Those signs blossomed like mushrooms in yards after the recent bout of rain.

“This time we had 10 to 15 inches, in some places five inches in one day. There was so much in Onslow and Carteret that we decided to do that precautionary advisory,” Potts explained. “It generated a lot of publicity and people were talking about it a lot.”

The chatter is certainly understandable. “Waters impacted by these storms can contain elevated levels of bacteria that can make people sick,” Potts noted in a press release. “Floodwaters and stormwater runoff can contain pollutants such as waste from septic systems, sewer line breaks, wildlife, petroleum products and other chemicals. People should avoid swimming near stormwater outfalls and inlets as these areas tend to have concentrated amounts of pollutants.”

Potts noted that because the waters affected were widespread, advisory signs might not be posted in all swimming areas, but the public should avoid swimming in sound-side waters until testing indicates that water quality meets Environmental Protection Agency’s standards. Test results of samples taken from ocean waters have not indicated widespread problems; however, the public should avoid swimming in areas where floodwaters are being pumped into the ocean surf, Potts added.

The source is mostly from stormwater runoff, not from industrial or sewage discharges. Rain washes over impervious areas like streets, roofs and parking lots, picking up bacteria from wildlife before draining into water bodies. There are other areas where direct discharges are a problem.

April Clark

Frank Rush

He emphasized that the state does not, as some mistakenly believe, “ban” swimming at sites were either permanent or temporary signs are posted.

“What we do is give people the information they need to make an informed decision,” he said. “But it is up to the individual.”

Neither the state, county nor any municipality actively enforces swimming advisories. That, Potts said, can be done only by a county or state health director; and to Potts’ knowledge, it’s never happened. He’s fully aware that “some people heed the advisories, some don’t,” and some seem to pick a middle route, maybe wading instead of swimming and going under the water.

The system seems to work – there are few health problems reported – but it also can be a bit confusing and causes some consternation for not just business owners and families but also for local government officials in towns where folks depend on clean water for their livelihoods.

Emerald Isle Town Manager Frank Rush, for example, said beach-goers often don’t fully understand that the advisory signs are very site-specific. Although the signs clearly state that the warning only applies for 200 feet in either direction, many still don’t realize that the danger, if there is any, is supposed to be confined to that area.

“We do get a lot of questions about it and so do our lifeguards in the areas where we have them,” Rush said. “If I’m asked, I’ll usually say that the sign is an ‘advisory,’ that in the end it’s a personal decision, a choice between the risk of exposure and the benefit of enjoying the water.”

At the same time, Rush said, he and others who are questioned by beach-goers most of the time tell people that it generally makes sense to heed the advisory and just move 200 feet in either direction from the sign.

“It’s really not that big an inconvenience to do that,” he said. “We certainly don’t want anyone to get sick, so you don’t want to tell people just to ignore the advisories.”

Still, Rush said, “I wish we could all get together and somehow figure out a way to better convey to people that the advisories are for small areas, and that for most people, the risk level is really pretty low and that even during these things, almost all of our waters are pretty pristine. We’re very fortunate.”

Potts agreed and stressed that North Carolina in general has very clean coastal waters, especially in comparison to many other, more urbanized, resort areas. In fact, the National Resources Defense Council placed North Carolina fifth of the 30 coastal states in its 2014 ranking of clean and healthy beaches.

“Even with all the rain we just had, almost all of our beaches tested fine, especially on the ocean side,” he said. “But there’s no question it all got a lot of publicity.”

Clark, the kayak and yoga business owner and environmental activist who lives and works in Swansboro, said it’s true the publicity is a problem for businesses. Customers, she added, are attuned to stories from elsewhere too, such as news accounts of the sometimes deadly vibrio vulnificus bacteria in Florida and Washington D.C. and recent reports of potentially toxic algae in North Carolina waters.

Steve Murphey, environmental program supervisor within the shellfish sanitation section, said it’s true that vibrio vulnificus  is present in some North Carolina waters and that it thrives when the waters are warm.

However, he said the bacteria are most often found in the more brackish waters, upstream from the coast in rivers and creeks, and are less prevalent in the higher-salinity ocean and the sounds.

In addition, Murphey said vibrio vulnificus is most problematic for people with impaired immune systems – those who suffer from cancer, diabetes or cirrhosis of the liver, for example – or who have open wounds.

There has been at least one death from vibrio in the region in recent years; a Fairmont man fishing in Little River at the North Carolina-South Carolina border died after he cut his leg and contracted the bacteria when he washed the cut with water from the river. And Murphey said vibrio vulnificus is often found in shellfish from the state’s waters, but generally poses no threat unless people with compromised immune systems eat raw shellfish. There are no documented cases of vibrio deaths from North Carolina shellfish, he said, although one North Carolina man did die from eating vibrio-contaminated shellfish from another state.

The bottom line on vibrio vulnificus, Murphey said, is that, “We know we have the bacteria and people should always take the necessary precautions.”

The bacteria vibrio vulnificus as seen through a microscope at 13,000-times their actual size. Photo: Centers for Disease Control

State officials detected algal blooms near ocean piers at Topsail Island, but they moved offshore.

While it’s safe to boat or fish in the affected areas, health officials routinely encourage the public to avoid contact with large accumulations of the algae and to take precautions to prevent children and pets from swimming or ingesting water in an algal bloom.

Algae, generally speaking, are a good food source for many aquatic organisms. But big blooms pose problems and serve, experts say, as a kind of canary in the coal mine, a signal that something is wrong.

When hot temperatures and calm winds combine with waters rich in nutrients, such as nitrogen from stormwater that has washed off fertilized farm fields, nutrient-rich waters, large algal blooms may form that can produce toxins that pose a human health hazard. And when the algae decompose, the process robs the water of oxygen and leads to fish kills.

None of this, Clark said, paints a pretty picture for the future of water-dependent businesses along the North Carolina coast. People need to embrace the steps necessary to safeguard and improve overall water quality, she said. Developers need to implement buffer zones and other storm water management practices, and homeowners and business owners need to retrofit solutions to prevent runoff, if possible, Clark said..

“It’s all about awareness and education,” which is what environmental groups like the federation and WONRA are all about, Clark said. “If we don’t do something, it will affect tourism. A sick river indicates a sick community. We all need to take whatever small steps we’re able to take, but a lot of people don’t even know there’s a problem and don’t know what solutions are available.

“All of this is a wake-up call for us,” she continued. “We (at Second Wind) try to do our part. When we do our paddles, we pick up trash. We want people to notice, because if you notice, then you’ll want to do something.”

Members of the project team peer into a storm drain in the Hewletts Creek watershed to try to determine the flow of stormwater.

The project team prepares to embark on a boat trip  in Hewletts Creek.

WILMINGTON — The message in a Wilmington neighborhood where efforts are being led to reduce stormwater runoff is simple: Even the smallest changes can help make a difference.

Portions of driveways at six homes in Raintree, a middle- to upper-class subdivision built in the 1980s off Greenville Loop Road, have already been replaced with pavement that will allow runoff to absorb into the ground. In the second part of the project, modifications, most of them subtle, will be made on eligible homes. Cisterns and rain gardens could be added to yards.  Flexible tubes could be connected to downspouts on homes to reroute stormwater away from paved surfaces.

The city plans to retrofit a road right-of way in the neighborhood into a bioretention area to capture and treat stormwater runoff.

All of this is part of an ongoing endeavor to restore Hewletts Creek, the city’s second-largest watershed and one riddled over the years with pollution from stormwater runoff.

About 85 percent of the creek’s nearly 12-mile watershed is developed. Stormwater flowing from the rooftops, driveways and streets of those developments, including half of the Raintree subdivision, has polluted the creek so much so that it is closed to shellfishing.

“We understand that in existing neighborhoods we’re not going to tear up roads and we’re not going to tear up houses,” said Tracy Skrabal, a coastal scientist with the N.C. Coastal Federation. “The philosophy is for these existing neighborhoods to disconnect the sources of stormwater runoff. Everybody can do something around their yard. These are very simple techniques. Just by doing one thing you could probably make a significant difference in stormwater runoff and in the creeks.”

The stormwater reduction project in Raintree is part of a larger collaborative effort led in part by the federation to protect and restore the waters of Masonboro Sound and the watersheds that feed into the sound.

The project is being paid for by a grant from National Estuarine Research Reserve System’s Science Collaborative, a partnership program between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of New Hampshire.

A portion of a driveway in Raintree is replaced with pavement that will allow water to soak into the ground.

The grant covers a variety of ongoing stormwater reduction efforts being made by a team of stakeholders that include the federation, the N.C. National Estuarine Research Reserve, the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, Wrightsville Beach and land developers and contractors.

Using Raintree as a model, the federation plans to educate people and encourage other neighborhoods to use simple  techniques that reduce the flow of stormwater.

University researchers will monitor stormwater runoff flow from the neighborhood into Hewletts Creek, collecting runoff amounts before, during and after the project is complete.

“The major portion of the work still has to be done there,” said Mike Mallin, a research professor at UNCW’s Center for Marine Science. “We have some complicating factors we’ve found. There may well be leakage from sanitary sewage from the storm system up there. Right now there’s some pretty high fecal bacteria loads that come through the stormwater drains in the Raintree area. We’re currently investigating that and if that is indeed a leak from sewage that’s certainly going to be complicating our efforts.”

Federation Deputy Director Lauren Kolodij describes the neighborhood project as “a work in progress.”

“We’ve got some retrofits in the ground,” she said. “We’ve pulled up sections of impervious driveway made of concrete and replaced them with pervious surface. We want to substantially reduce the amount of volume that is going into Hewletts Creek from that neighborhood.”

The Raintree project is part of a larger effort to reduce the flow of polluted runoff running into Hewletts Creek. Photo: City of Wilmington

Stormwater runoff from about half of the Raintree subdivision– 40 or so homes – directly flows into Hewletts Creek watershed.

Homeowners are being asked to volunteer to join in the effort by doing things as simple as allowing the installation of tubes to redirect the flow of stormwater from downspouts to changing out a portion of their driveways with pervious concrete.

“We chose six properties that had regular impervious driveways and we cut out a section of the driveway pretty close to the end of the driveway and replaced it with a section of pervious pavement,” Skrabal said.

Her driveway was one of the six.

“The water comes off the house, down the downspouts, hits the pervious pavement and goes right in,” she said.

Retrofitting a driveway is, of course, a more costly stormwater reduction project. The price tag anges anywhere from $1,500 to $3,000.

Reduction methods such as downspout diverters and rain barrels are much cheaper.

“What we’re trying to show is that we can go into these areas where shellfishing has been closed for decades and we can get to a place where we can open these areas,” Skrabal said. “If we are successful in this neighborhood then we can start going to other neighborhoods. We can use these retrofit approaches in existing and new neighborhoods and not write off our creeks. We have a lot at stake here keeping these waters clean for our future generations.”

NEW BERN – For close to a decade, the N.C. Coastal Federation has actively promoted low-impact development strategies as a method to continue needed economic development while protecting the ecosystems that make people want to live and work along the coast in the first place.

The advocacy has had some notable successes: rain gardens have blossomed at schools and residential subdivisions all along the coast; local governments, such as Wilmington, Brunswick County and Cape Carteret in western Carteret County have approved LID techniques as options to conventional runoff controls; and the state has incorporated LID in its stormwater rules.

Now the federation can prove to developers that LID saves money or real estate on large commercial projects with a recent study that compared the cost of using a conventional system versus LID at a Harris Teeter shopping center in New Bern.
In a world battered in recent years by economic woes, saving money has become more important than ever to most developers, especially when it comes to complying with regulations. The mostly common sense strategies of LID, says Lauren Kolodij, the federation’s deputy director, when applied at the appropriate time, can save considerable amounts of cold, hard cash.

“We thought that one way to promote the use of LID and gain interest in its implementation would be to demonstrate real cost savings with the approach,” she said, “especially on very valuable commercial real estate.”

Lauren Kolodij

Owners or developers of such properties tend to be reluctant to experiment with their or their clients’ money. So Kolodij and others hatched the idea of doing a serious, impartial study of an already planned commercial and permitted project, engaging an engineering firm to “start at the start” and do a cost comparison of how the project would have fared using LID concepts. The federation obtained a $15,000 grant from the state Attorney General’s Office’s Environmental Enhancements Grant Program for the work.

“We assembled a subset of the project team, including the state Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources, Swain & Associates real estate developers, Withers & Ravenel engineers and the federation to redesign a large commercial shopping center with LID stormwater techniques,” Kolodij said.

They chose the Harris Teeter shopping center in Carolina Colours in New Bern as their test site. It had been designed and permitted using conventional stormwater controls.

“The idea was to compare LID and conventional stormwater designs side-by-side. The redesign helps illustrate the environmental and economic benefits of LID over conventional stormwater designs,” said Kolodij.

The study showed that the LID stormwater measures would have cost $200,000 more than the conventional system, but would have required less land. The redesigned project ends up with a little more than two more acres that could then be developed.

Generally, according a report by Withers & Ravenel, the idea was to make use of natural landscaping as much as possible to filter the pollutants from the stormwater, instead of collecting it through drains and pipes and sending it to a large constructed wetland. The LID option proposed a one-acre stormwater wetland on the west side of the site, using the outfall to reduce pipe sizes and lengths for the storm sewer network in the originally permitted plan.

In an effort to further reduce the infrastructure costs, the Harris Teeter building itself was moved 10 feet to the east, making room for a vegetated swale behind a loading dock. That resulted in the elimination of one row of parking, which was regained through parking lot reconfiguration.

And the parking lot, according to the report, was reconfigured to incorporate vegetated stormwater storage areas, including tree boxes with filters and vegetated swales, but without hampering traffic flow. The reconfiguration did require relocation of one outparcel but the net parking total actually increased.

Another key was the conversion of the conventional parking lot to pourous concrete, allowing rain to infiltrate down to a 2-inch thick gravel base and gradually discharged into the drainage system through perforated pipes. If that layer – with a 130,000-gallon capacity – were to fill with water, the system would overflow into catch basins.

The whole system could drain by gravity, or it could be connected to the development’s irrigation system for re-use, reducing the overall water demand on the site.

The redesign included an artificial wetland to treat stormwater such as the one pictured above at the renovated Sidwell Friends School, the Quaker school of choice for the Obamas, the Clintons, the Gores, the Bidens, the Nixons — practically every member of Washington’s politocracy. Photo: Andropogon Associates

The addition of the vegetated stormwater storage areas requires a smaller artificial  wetlands the report states, and “the addition of integrated stormwater controls within the site results in a more efficient land use on the parcel as a whole,” allowing for creation of a second outparcel.

In summary, the report states, “The proposed LID elements combined to provide a total of 72,755 cubic feet of water quality storage,” and meet the state’s requirement for retention of a 1-inch rainfall.

The report also notes that another option – a green roof – that was not incorporated, could have been, and that would reduce energy use in the grocery store building and eliminate roof runoff, saving an additional 23,000 square feet of allowable impervious surface or a further reduction in the size of the constructed wetlands.

Withers & Ravenel also noted that even more LID functionality could have been achieved if the soil on the site had been sandier, because the permeable paving-and-drainage system would have been even more effective, reducing flow to the wetlands by more than 90 percent. That improved infiltration, combined with even more use of the vegetated swales could have totally eliminated the need for the downstream constructed wetlands.

In conclusion, the report states that a large percentage of the land in coastal North Carolina would be even more amenable to dramatic reductions in infrastructure costs through LID strategies.

And the all-important bottom line?

Excluding the green roof, which is not required to meet stormwater regulations, construction costs were estimated to increase from $2 million to $2.2 million for the LID aspects of the design, which is a 10 percent increase.

“Compare that to the 16.7 percent increase in buildable area,” the report states. “This shows that though slightly more expensive, the value gained … exceeds the cost.”
Kolodij stressed that all this was possible even with the challenges imposed by the poorly-drained soils at this site. She also noted that project’s basic layout was already determined before alternative stormwater designs were considered. LID works best, she said, when it’s included in a projects earliest planning stages.

The study shows that LID can be done anywhere, even when soil types are a limiting factor, Kolodij said.

“Better soils and the opportunity to design the shopping center from the outset using a LID design would result in significant cost-savings in building a stormwater management system,” the report concluded. “Therefore, this case study helps to demonstrate that LID stormwater management systems are economically viable for commercial development projects in eastern N.C. Given that such systems have been shown to provide better water quality protection, this case study indicates that LID is a prudent affordable strategy to protect coastal water quality for fishing, shellfishing and swimming in eastern N.C.”

The federation, Kolodij said, plans to use the study as often as possible in discussions with developers.

“For example, we recently worked with Gray Engineering Consultants Inc. and the vice president and senior real estate manager of Paramount Development Corp out of Myrtle Beach to discuss the possibility of incorporating LID design into a newly proposed Wal-Mart in southeastern coastal North Carolina,” she said. “Based in part on the presentation about Carolina Colours, the developers are pursing infiltration in the parking areas of the new Wal-Mart.”

Withers & Ravenel presented the project at the 2013 international LID conference that was attended by over 800 participants and held in St. Paul, Minn.

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH — Though her depiction isn’t likely to appear in a brochure for tourists, Tracy Skrabal of the N.C. Coastal Federation describes this beach town near Wilmington as “a very small, but impervious town, surrounded by water.”

There, she’ll tell you, lies the problem.

The goal of the plan is to reduce the flow of polluted stormwater into Bradley Creek.

Most problems, though, have solutions, and one is beginning to take shape here behind the fire station, but more on that in a minute. First, let’s look at how we got to where we are.

Development along the shoreline over the years has traded soil, trees and marshes for concrete, asphalt and other hard building materials that have robbed the land of its ability to absorb rainwater. Confronted by these so-called “impervious surfaces,” rain from storms has drained into waterways instead of soaking into the ground. This runoff is poisoned by the detritus of society – excess pesticides and fertilizers from lawns, asbestos from brake pads, oil and gasoline byproducts from vehicles and unhealthy bacteria from animal droppings that have closed areas to shellfishing, and in some cases, even swimming. You won’t find those facts in your average tourist pamphlet either.

“This stormwater runoff,” said the executive summary of Wilmington’s 2012 watershed restoration plan for two local, polluted creeks, “picks up bacteria and transports them… much like a bus picks up and discharges its passengers.”

The plan to clean up Bradley and Hewlett’s creeks is a no-holds-barred attempt to reverse declining water quality and restore these waterways to their original condition.  Instead of tackling the much more difficult task of eliminating multiple sources of bacteria — the passengers on the bus — the plan looks to alter the dynamics of the transportation system: In essence, shutting down the bus line and denying the passengers their ride to the water. That water is instead routed to more useful destinations.
No small feat, as a 107-page restoration plan would indicate, but at the plan’s core are two very simple ideas: Increase public awareness through education and find workable solutions.  The plan devotes much space to that last item. It stresses the simplest solutions, such as encouraging residents to redirect roof drainpipes away from driveways and sidewalks and toward a garden, lawn or other water-absorbing surface. They could use a bucket, rain barrel or high volume cistern to collect the runoff from the drainpipes. With the addition of a pump, the stored water can then be used to irrigate plants and water lawns.

Here the project team gathers in front of a cistern. The team includes staff from N.C. National Estuarine Research Reserve, the University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wrightsville Beach, Wilmington, the N.C. Department of Transportation and the N.C. Coastal Federation.

Workmen install one of the cisterns.

The Wrightsville Beach Fire Department has even discovered it can be used to wash fire trucks. That effort has just begun, with the addition of a 25,000-gallon system of cisterns in and around the town’s Public Safety Building, which opened in the summer of 2010.

The point, it should be noted, is not the storage of water for plants or washing vehicles. It is, said Wrightsville Beach’s Stormwater Manager, Jonathan Babin, about “the ability to eat seafood out of Hewlett’s and Bradley creeks again.”

With help from the federation, the town received grants to buy and install five 3,000-gallon cisterns at the Public Works Department. Town officials soon discovered that a half-inch rain easily produces 15,000 gallons of water, filling the tanks to capacity. They applied for a grant extension, again with the federation’s assistance, and bought a 10,000 gallon tank, which was installed just outside the recreation fields, directly across from the Public Safety building. A pump brought the overflow from the smaller tanks to the larger tank. The water from the larger tank is used to irrigate the playing fields.

“The fields were taken completely off the water grid,” explained Babin, “so there’s no aquifer impact.”

Babin reported that 27,985 gallons of rainwater was stored and reused last month alone.

“It makes a big difference,” said Skrabal. “They’re capturing all of the runoff from this very large building. It’s a great reuse, watering all these fields with rainwater.

There is more to be done. Wrightsville Beach has also overseen the installation of pervious concrete parking lots and passed strict regulations governing new construction in the town.

“If you build a house or business in Wrightsville Beach, over 500 square feet,” said Babin, “it has to have a stormwater control measure. All of the rainwater has to be contained on your property.”

The town is doing pretty much all it can to meet the goals of the multi-decade watershed restoration plan. Skrabal said.  “The burden,” she said, “is on the town and us to make people understand why they have to do this. As it is, they don’t make the connection between the water on their property and the water they recreate in. People need to hear the message over and over. It’s one of the reasons we’re here.”

Front to back: Tavious Welch, Tevin Richardson and Jeffrey Smith work carefully to plant native plants in a rain garden along the YouthBuild building. Photo: Sara Hallas

ELIZABETH CITY — It’s just a narrow strip of a garden on the edge of a brick building, bordered by a Taco Bell parking lot, but Tavious Welch, wearing gardening gloves and armed with long-handled shovel, was tackling the planting like a seasoned green thumb.

After breaking the root ball of the plant apart — first with a screwdriver, then a borrowed knife — he placed it in the hole he had dug and gently patted it down with the edge of his sneaker, making a recessed circle with a little rim, the plant perfectly centered.

“I want to learn a variety of skills,” says Welch, a 20-year-old Elizabeth City resident, smoothing the soil with the flat of the shovel. “ I also like hands-on activity. I feel like hard work pays off.”

But the upbeat young man and the modest rain garden are part of a much bigger story. In a partnership with the N.C. Coastal Federation, the N.C. Aquariums and N.C. State University’s Cooperative Extension, the rain garden project has expanded the reach of the non-profit YouthBuild program into the natural environment.

With about 60 plants — 12 species of native perennials — planted alongside the YouthBuild building, the rain garden will help drain and filter runoff that would otherwise go into the waterways. A 550-gallon cistern at the back of the garden will collect rainfall that can be used to water the plants.

Cisterns and rain gardens are among the low-impact development, or LID, techniques to control stormwater. Such methods attempt to mimic the land’s natural ability to absorb runoff.

Sara Hallas, an educator with the federation, said her group has partnered with nonprofit River City and its YouthBuild program for about three years. Students have traveled from Elizabeth City to the Outer Banks to help build the “living shoreline” oyster reefs at Jockey’s Ridge State Park and at Durant’s Point and helped install rains gardens at First Flight Middle School and Kitty Hawk Elementary School.

Hallas also provides classroom lessons about water quality and other coastal issues at the YouthBuild center.  Last year, the program won the federation’s Pelican Award.

An additional grant is pending from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation this year, Hallas said, to not only continue the program and LID training for YouthBuild students, but to expand it into the nearby community for local residents.

Welch, 20, along with 11 other young men, is currently working on earning a GED program at YouthBuild. The pre-apprenticeship certification, part of the Home Builders Institute’s construction curriculum, requires 380 hours of training. A third of the time is spent in the classroom and the rest onsite learning carpentry, landscaping and other job skills.

Another YouthBuild gardener, Tevin Richardson, 18, of Elizabeth City, joined the program in November.

Kathy Mitchell, a N.C. Aquariums conservation horticulturist, reviews the planting design with, from left, student Jeffrey Smith, construction assistant Dendrae Thomas, and students Tavious Welch and Tevin Richardson. Photo: Sara Hallas

“I just have to say, that is a fantastic planting,” Kathy Mitchell, conservation horticulturist with the aquarium, told Richardson, who beamed in response.

Mitchell, who helped design the garden, says the New England aster she was admiring is an example of an ideal plant for rain gardens because it does well in droughts and floods.

“You want a landscape that’s going to be self-supporting and low maintenance,” she says, “and that’s why so many of our native plants that have adapted to the local environment are suitable.”

Before the planting began last week, the students had to haul in about a ton of nutrient-rich soil, which was spread on the site so the garden was lower in the middle, directing runoff so it will drain through the soil and the plants. A row of decorative rocks was laid along the edge of the building’s exterior wall to prevent grass from taking over.

Richardson says that before being accepted into the program, he was in was in trouble a lot and even was arrested once for a minor offense. But since studying and working in YouthBuild, he says that has changed.

“I like it because everyday, we learn something new,” he says. “It’s better than being in the streets or being home in bed. It’s given me a change in perspective and a new look at life. I meet new people being here.”

Run by River City Community Development Corp., YouthBuild, which started in Elizabeth City in 1999, is a national program focused on helping at-risk young people ages 16 to 24.  With a successful combination of education, job skill training, community service, mentoring and myriad support systems, YouthBuild has a proven track record of turning around troubled lives.

Angie Wills, the YouthBuild program manager, thinks it’s more accurate to describe YouthBuild as a “youth transformation” program.

“They come in one way, and they leave completely different,” she says.  “They don’t go back and do the same thing.”

Most of the participants in Elizabeth City come from low-income families, are high school drop-outs and are mostly men from minority populations. Some have had run-ins with the law.

Measurements of success for graduates, Wills says  include a 70.9 percent rate of placement in higher education or employment; a 60 percent rate of obtainment of a degree or a training certificate with a  72 percent retention rate for more than nine months; and zero percent recidivism rate with the same criminal offense.

Mitch Woodward, outreach specialist with N.C. State University Extension program, was also a partner in this project. He led classroom and field training on low impact development and, as pictured here, helped install a cistern at the YouthBuild building. Photo: Sara Hallas

“Our program has become very effective in our community,” she says, adding that it serves Perquimans, Gates, Pasquotank, Chowan and Camden counties.

Focused on guiding disadvantaged young people into secondary education and providing job skills training and help with job placement, the program reconnects them to their community through service — for instance, rehabilitating low-income housing. At the same time, the young folks are learning skills that foster confidence, self-respect and marketable job skills.

Dozens of YouthBuild students have earned community service hours by volunteering with the federation. The program is part of AmeriCorps, which provides an award that can help pay for college if students complete 450 community service hours in a year.

Willis says that the fruitful partnership with the federation blossomed after federation founder Todd Miller and River City CEO Lenora Jarvis-Mackey

sat together at a meeting a few years ago and saw great opportunity in combining forces.

“Ok, there has to be some synergy,” Willis recalls about River City’s initial reaction. “We have young people. They have projects.”

Not only would the partnership benefit both organizations’ mission, it expanded the horizons for the urban youth, many of whom had never or rarely been to the coast. By working on the coastal projects, they see, smell, hear and feel nature, and in the process gain an appreciation for its value.

“It’s been wonderful because now we’ve been able to expose them to issues about the environment,” Wills says, adding that the experience enriches understanding of their own surroundings.

“We have them take pictures of their neighborhood – good and bad – and then bring them back because we want them to become agents of change,” she says. “So it’s not just about fixing what’s bad. It’s about transforming the lives of others that they’re around.”

Participants in YouthBuild must apply to the program, Wills says, showing the self-motivation and “mental toughness” necessary to succeed.

“They’re coming in on their own free will,” she says. “We’ve found that if it’s mandated . . . they’re not team players, they’re late; they’re not attending, they’re distracted.”

YouthBuild students prepare the site for the rain garden by excavating and grading the area to make a shallow slope. They removed about a ton of dirt. Photo: Sara Hallas

Those who are good candidates have to agree to random drug-testing and to commit their time to the program. In return, a comprehensive support system is provided, including help with managing child care, transportation and family issues, as well as teaching parental and general life skills like financial literacy.

Despite its proven success in job training and transforming troubled youth into productive citizens, the program received no federal funds last year, forcing the program to scale down from serving 60 students to only 20.

Wills says she is hopeful that a recent application for a $1.1 million federal grant will be approved so that the full program can be restored.

One graduate of the program, Arsenio Moore, 24, says that YouthBuild kept him from doing things like selling drugs to make ends meet. Moore is now working as a resource developer for YouthBuild, and plans to attend college to pursue a nursing degree, or possibly an airline pilot program.

Joe Shefflett, 22, who dropped out of high school in his junior year, secured his GED and a certificate in carpentry from YouthBuild. He credits the program for encouraging his talent in art, and he plans to get a college degree in graphic design.

“River City — they help you,” he says. “They will get to the bottom of what’s going on with you. They don’t just help you with school work. They help you with life.”

Hallas said the YouthBuild rain garden was paid for by a grant from the Conservation Fund’s Resourceful Communities Program, Creating New Economies Fund.  LID technical training was provided by Mitch Woodward, an area specialized agent for Cooperative Extension.

Scott Stewart, a landscape architect, once considered his relationship with environmental groups like “oil and water.” Then, he started working with groups like the N.C. Coastal Federation on low-impact development. “Now, we’re chocolate milk,” he says. Photo: Tess Malijenovsky

RALEIGH — Hundreds of people filed into the convention center in late March for the Low Impact Development Summit to learn about an emerging approach to stormwater management that appeals to businessmen and environmentalists because it is often cheaper and better at controlling polluted runoff than ponds and other conventional methods.

Rick Catlin is certainly a fan. He is a state representative from New Hanover County and one of the meeting’s featured speakers. “It provides a way to lower the cost of development while at the same time enhancing environmental protection,” he said of low-impact development, or LID. “That’s a win-win solution for all of us.”

LID is a term used to describe an emerging land planning and engineering design approach to managing stormwater runoff. It emphasizes conservation and using a site’s natural features to protect water quality. LID techniques, such as rain gardens, are usually engineered, small-scale controls that attempt to replicate the pre-development hydrology of a site and to detain stormwater close to its source

The two-day meeting, organized by the N.C. Coastal Federation, featured presentations from academic experts, national speakers, development professionals and government leaders on LID: its benefits, its impediments and its potential. There were also panel discussions on successful and practical applications of LID in residential, commercial and public projects from the coast to the mountains.

“I heard from several attendees that this was the best environmental conference they have attended in years,” said Tracy Davis, the director of the N.C. Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources.

There are many reasons for people to tune in and turn on to LID. Stormwater runoff is now the largest sources of water pollution in the state. It is, for instance, the main source of the bacteria that closes shellfish beds on the coast.

Conventional methods of stormwater management usually channel runoff as quickly as possible into ugly ponds, where it’s held for a time before discharging into surrounding waters. Despite many years of regulating polluted runoff, the quality of the state’s waters continues to worsen.

The Low-Impact Development Summit in Raleigh drew an almost packed house. Photo: Tess Malijenovsky

“The science and the history of watching our attacks on stormwater problems have led us to the conclusion that we truly want to mimic and design with nature,” said Charles “Pete” Peterson, a distinguished professor at the University of North Carolina’s Institute of Marine Sciences in Morehead City and a speaker at the summit.

Untouched coastal landscapes produce very little runoff because they have a natural ability to handle stormwater: the sandy soil filters it; plants absorb it; and heat evaporates it. A development project, then, is considered to meet the principles of LID when the volume of runoff leaving the site before and after development are equal, as defined the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Pete Peterson, a UNC researcher and professor, said past failures to control stormwater have made LID a realistic alternative. Photo: Tess Malijenovsky

LID employs a suite of simple techniques, such as rain gardens, using permeable pavement and rerouting downspouts to lawns, that slow the flow of runoff and allow it to soak into the ground. Developers can eliminate ponds, maximize the amount of land to develop and save some money while improving water quality.

“The new tools and permit applications being unveiled today are a big step forward in helping to make LID projects not only the preferred environmental alternative, but also the best economic alternative for land- development projects,” said Catlin.

New chapters on LID in the state manual for approved stormwater designs were among the tools revealed for the first time at the meeting and were the fruits of a yearlong collaboration between the state, the federation, N.C. State University, development professionals, local governments and private engineering firms.

Storm-EZ, an interactive spreadsheet that can be used for both LID and conventional projects, was also discussed at the meeting. It helps the developers who choose LID to demonstrate compliance with state rules and regulations, making the permitting process much easier.

Promoters of LID say the collaborative effort to develop these tools shows how LID is appealing to business, regulatory and environmental groups. “This ability to work together to find solutions to problems is rare these days, and should be applauded,” said Catlin.

As an example of this new-found cooperation, Lauren Kolodij, deputy director of the federation, stood at the podium on stage beside, panelist Scott Stewart, a landscape architect, developer and general contractor who gave a presentation of his LID residential project in Wilmington. He and the federation, he said, used to be like “oil and water.”

“Now we’re chocolate milk,” Stewart said.

Only our imagination is limiting our application of LID, said Larry Coffman. Photo: Tess Malijenovsky

A hurdle to some will be an opportunity to others. And what was a mandate to improve water quality is now driving economic development, said Larry Coffman, who is known as the pioneer of LID.

Coffman is currently working for the Maryland Department of Environmental Resources in Prince George’s County, Md., to meet water quality goals for Chesapeake Bay. He spoke of the untapped potential for public-private relationships, which would drive millions of dollars into the local economy, and a whole new world of technology.

“Urban retrofits are really going to be a driver for future generations of LID technologies,” Coffman said.

Meeting participants seemed excited about the prospects that LID offers to protect the environment and to meet a rapidly growing population.

“Not using the land is not a feasible approach,” said panelist Chris Widmayer, the vice president of investments for Regency Centers.

He worked in partnership on building a Whole Foods Market in Raleigh, which produced less runoff after development than pre-development. “The results were staggering and opened my eyes to what we have accomplished,” said Widmayer.

“I’m here to save the world,” said Stuart. “Every little bit helps.”

New possibilities and ideas were shared over the two days, like the mushroom mycelia filter strips used at a public project in Mars Hill. “The only thing limiting us is our imagination and creativity,” Coffman said.

All of Currituck Sound, large chunks of the White Oak and Pasquotank river basins and even little Greenfield Lake in Wilmington will likely be added this year to a list of dubious distinction: Water bodies in North Carolina that no longer meet pollution standards and must by federal law be cleaned up.

More than 82,000 acres of marshes, lakes and sounds and 50 miles of rivers and streams in coastal watersheds will be added for the first time to the state list of waters that have exceeded water quality standards to the point where the state must come up with clean-up plans.

Under the federal Clean Water Act, states must compile their lists of so-called “impaired waters” every two years. North Carolina recently submitted its draft 2014 list – all 158 pages of it – to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

With the new additions, North Carolina now has more than 3,004 miles of rivers and streams on the list. If the segments were connected end to end, they would replace the famed Congo River in Africa as the ninth-longest river in the world. The almost 2.5 million acres of marshes, lakes and sounds on the list would cover Yellowstone National Park or the Everglades.

Though the 1972 federal law requires states to come up with plans to bring the water bodies on the list back to standards, don’t hold your breath. Many of the waters on the N.C. list have been there for decades.

Tom Reeder

North Carolina isn’t alone. A U.S. Government Accounting Office report on the EPA program, released in January, found that more than half of the nation’s assessed waters fail to meet water quality standards. It identified 500,000 miles of impaired rivers and 12 million acres of impaired lakes and sounds. Under current funding levels and restoration rates, the report said, it would take at least 1,000 years to restore the water bodies, many of which have been blighted by agricultural and stormwater runoff.

In North Carolina, significant coastal waters that for the first time made the list of the state’s most impaired waters include more than 69,000 acres of Currituck Sound on the northern Outer Banks, 3,158 acres of the White Oak River in the central coast, 9,186 acres of the Pasquotank River in the northeast coast and 75 acres of Greenfield Lake, a historic lake that is the centerpiece of one of Wilmington’s oldest and most popular parks.

High concentrations of enterococcus, a bacteria found in human and animal waste, were found in Currituck Sound and segments of the White Oak, which also had low dissolved oxygen and pH levels. Sampling in Greenfield Lake found high chlorophyll levels, which trigger algal blooms and fish kills. Copper is the problem in the sections of the Pasquotank River that made the list.

That Currituck Sound has high bacteria levels was news to Currituck County Manager Dan Scanlon. Concerns have been raised in recent years about salinity, turbidity and decreases in aquatic grasses, he said, but not enterococcus levels. Scanlon said that recreational water quality tests –although suspended for part of last year – have not revealed any persistent issue.

“I’m curious to know why Currituck County has not been notified,” he said of the impaired listing. “I am generally aware if and when they have a bad sample.”

An Army Corps of Engineers water quality study of the sound that the state sponsored is on hold because of lack of funding, said Corps’ spokesman Hank Heusinkveld in an e-mail. The project, he said, was “zeroed out” last fiscal year by the state legislature.
Required under section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act, the state’s bi-annual listing has included some unhealthy water bodies over and over again; new names are added when their troubled condition reaches a rank of five. The federal law defines impaired waters as those that require more stringent regulations to meet a state’s water quality standards. Each state must set priority rankings for the listed waters and calculate the maximum level of pollutant the water body can receive – known as total maximum daily loads, or TMDLs – and still meet water quality standards.

Over the years, runoff from agriculture, development and industrial animal farms – known in the trade as “nonpoint” sources — has increased, dwarfing pollutants coming directly from wastewater systems and chemical plants, or “point” sources. But the 42-year-old Clean Water Act does not address the modern reality of chemicals and fertilizers on lawns, farms and golf courses, or the massive amounts of waste produced by hog and chicken operations.

“All of that was written as if pollution came from point sources,” said Kathy Stecker, a supervisor with the state Division of Water Resources. “Then it did. Now it doesn’t.”

Stecker said that the list does not identify the sources of pollutants.

Threatened waters in the White Oak River Basin are most likely related to nutrient runoff from fields, said Dale Weston, executive director of the White Oak-New Riverkeeper Alliance. “The farming business is pretty uncontrolled,” he said. “There’s very little water quality monitoring up there.”

The problem is probably more widespread, said Todd Miller, executive director of the N.C. Coastal Federation. His nonprofit group sampled more than 200 sites in the lower White Oak several years ago. “Everywhere we looked, we found high bacteria levels,” Miller said.

Those tests, he explained, detected bacteria levels that exceeded the state standard for shellfish-growing waters in roadside culverts, boat ramps, drainage ditches in residential neighborhoods and even in canals in a national forest.

Genetic testing of bacteria showed that they came from animals. Miller noted.

“Bacteria are part of nature. They’ve always been there,” he said. “But we have so altered the natural landscape with our ditches, roads and parking lots that a moderate rain now carries that bacteria to the nearest water body.”

The EPA’s attempt to tighten the TMDL regulation by requiring better identification of sources of impairment and monitoring to verify improvements in water quality was rejected by Congress in 2000, according to the GAO report.

Ana Zivanovic-Nenadovic

Mike Mallin

Even after the state identifies action to bring down levels of pollution to acceptable standards, and its plan is approved by the EPA, the federal agency does not have the authority to enforce implementation of any remediation, nor does it give the state that power. The state, however, can force improvements through its permitting of point sources, Stecker said. Also, the state rule-making process has also been used effectively to manage nutrients in several water basins, she said. Otherwise, the state can apply for EPA-funded grants to create plans to address non-point sources, she said, and seek assistance from private groups.

The TMDL is valuable, Stecker added, because it provides an assessment of water quality where the state is conducting monitoring, and it is helpful for local planning purposes.

But of the more than 50,000 TMDLs developed nationwide, many have not achieved what was intended.

“So there’s a lot of them,” she said, “ but I don’t know that there’s a lot to show for them.”

According to information provided by the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the department is responsible for compiling the list for the EPA, but many others – local governments, state agencies and watershed groups – work towards restoration of listed waters. The federation, for instance, used federal grants to devise restoration plans for portions of the White Oak River and for the Lockwoods Folly River in Brunswick County. It’s also on the state list.

Money from federal, state and outside grants and loans, however, are limited, and likely not enough to fully implement all TMDLs, an issue for all states, a spokeswoman said in an e-mail.

Budget and staff cuts imposed by the N.C. General Assembly on the state’s environmental agencies over the last two years would seem to make restoring impaired waters virtually impossible. But the state has the resources to continue oversight of its waters, according to a state administrator.

“The N.C. Division of Water Resources has the adequate number of staff to conduct monitoring operations,” Tom Reeder, the division’s director, said in an e-mail.

Doing individual TMDLs in coastal watersheds impaired by stormwater runoff can be costly and time consuming, agreed Ana Zivanovic-Nenadovic, program and policy analyst for the federation. Numerous studies over the last decade have shown that rapid development of the coastal landscape has changed the hydrology of land, which has increased stormwater runoff into sensitive coastal waters, she said. The federation has put together a Watershed Restoration Planning Guidebook that it posted on its web site yesterday. The guidebook provides detailed guidance, information, resources and techniques about how to create a watershed restoration plan and ultimately clean polluted water without first calculating a TMDL, Zivanovic-Nenadovic said.

“The novel method presented in the guidebook relies on reducing the total volume of stormwater runoff that reaches the water bodies rather than on traditional methods such as end-of-pipe treatment and source treatment that are not working,” she explained. “The guidebook presents strategies and low-cost tools, such as low-impact development, that are easily available and affordable to almost anyone.”

Water quality in the state has suffered from nutrient overload in stormwater runoff and fecal bacteria from warm-blooded animals, usually waterfowl, dogs or humans. Recreational waters are monitored by the state on a regular basis, mostly in the summer, although some sites were cut back last year, said J.D. Potts, who heads the sampling program for the state Division of Marine Fisheries. Potts said he believes that funding has been restored this year for the full program.

According to the GAO report, local officials reported that only 20 percent of assessed national waters affected by runoff or other nonpoint source pollution had reached clean-up targets.

Greenfield Lake in downtown Wilmington illustrates an ongoing issue with nonpoint sources, specifically nutrient overloads in several tributaries feeding the lake, said Mike Mallin, a research professor at the Center for Marine Sciences at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. The lake is routinely plagued with algal blooms, fish kills and high fecal bacteria levels.

One tributary’s samples, he said, exceeded water quality standards for fecal contamination by 100 percent.  There are also heavy metals in the lake sediment. Despite its issues, Greenfield Lake is still a popular recreational lake for fishing and small-scale boating, he said, although swimming is not permitted.

Mallin welcomes the new listing because it will qualify the lake for EPA funds to help address the nutrient overloading in the lake.

“I am optimistic because Greenfield Lake –it’s not like it’s some stream hidden away in the woods,” he said. “It’s got high visibility. So I’m pretty sure remedial action will be taken by a combination of the city and private resources, and the university.”

But Mallin did not speak as hopefully about the chances for other compromised water bodies.

“Certainly, a lack of funding is a biggie,” he said. “We’re hamstrung by a General Assembly that could care less about clean air and clean water.”

CASTLE HAYNE – Like other developers, Burrows Smith used pipes, ponds and other conventional techniques to direct and control stormwater runoff on his projects. But he’s made the switch to a relatively new approach that attempts to mimic the land’s natural ability to absorb rainfall. He’s happy he did and next month will tell a big roomful of people why.

Smith is likely to tell people at the N.C. Low-Impact Development Summit in Raleigh on March 26-27 that using LID, as it’s called, is not only good for coastal waters, but it is often good for the developer by saving him money. He’ll talk about the real and perceived obstacles of implementing LID and about the money he has saved using simple techniques known to control runoff.

The two-day meeting will bring over 250 people together to share success stories on residential, commercial and public LID projects, and the latest information on LID tools and standards.

“I look at [LID] as a tool,” said Smith, who’s been specializing in the construction of new developments in New Hanover County for 30 years. Most of those years were spent building project that relied on conventional techniques to control stormwater, now the largest sources of water pollution along the coast.

Developer Burrows Smith has learned that low-impact development is good for the environment and his pocketbook. Photo: River Bluffs

In the 1980s, curb, gutters an ponds became the way to develop, Smith said. “Everyone started putting in wet ponds, and we thought that was the way to do everything,” he said.

These conventional systems have become ingrained in the designs of developers, engineers and regulators. LID is a new tool in the box. “If you’ve been using one type of screwdriver and a wrench you’re whole life, and all of a sudden I say, ‘Well, you can use these other tools to do the same deal.’ You’re going to be like, ‘No, I’m just gonna stick with my screwdriver and wrench,’” said Smith, who understands the perspective of the traditional developer.

However, conventional systems for treating stormwater runoff are not only expensive, but they concentrate pollutants and eventually direct them into coastal waters. Today thousands of acres of shellfish beds are closed across the N.C. coast because of the dangerous levels of bacteria found in stormwater.

“Although I wouldn’t call myself an environmentalist, I am very in tuned to water quality,” said Smith. He grew up along Wilmington’s Intracoastal Waterway, fishing and catching clams and oysters. As a contractor and developer he observed the ineffectiveness of the wet ponds.

Smith is working on a planned development on the Northeast Cape Fear River near Castle Hayne called River Bluffs. Smith’s 257-acre development will have 193 homes in its first phase and a 143-slip marina on the river.  The gated community will sit on a bluff overlooking the river with native a hardwood forest expanding over its rolling terrain. To put in a traditional wet pond, Smith would have to cut down swaths of the forest and pay to remove acres of sandy soil that are perfect for naturally absorbing excess rain.

When the state released new guidelines for LID in 2010, Smith was happy to redesign River Bluffs, switching from the traditional wet ponds to LID techniques. These techniques allow for stormwater runoff to flow over the natural landscape, soaking into the soil where it does not cause a problem for water quality.

More than a third of the forested land at River Bluffs will be preserved as green space. Photo: River Bluffs

The roads in River Bluffs will not have curb and gutter, a cost savings of $500,000, Smith estimates. For the developer, one of the greatest benefits of LID is its cost savings, Smith said. With LID, homeowner dues will be quite less than is typical because it’s easier to mow a park than slopes of ponds all summer long. Neither will someone have to maintain the ponds.

Rather than clear an 80-foot wide path through forest to put a stormwater pipe into the ground, the lower forested areas will double as green space for the residents and stormwater management systems. “It would look like Interstate 40 going through there where I’d cleared all these trees to lay a piece of pipe,” said Smith. “With the LID I’m not being forced to pipe water through some of my terrain.”

That’s another cost savings.

Smith is building a model house to present some of the LID techniques that the homes will feature. “I want to be able to show people an example of each to alleviate some of the fears,” he said.

Those features include pervious driveways that allow stormwater to penetrate into the ground; cisterns that collect rainwater that will then be used to automatically irrigate lawns; native plants for landscaping, which require less water and fertilizer; and downspouts that direct stormwater to grassy areas rather than to the streets. The last line of defense will be roadside swales, which will collect any polluted runoff before it has the chance to reach the river.

Making the switch from conventional development to LID is not difficult, Smith will tell summit attendees. In fact, the summit will unveil new tools that will make LID easier than ever.

In the past there were fears that the permitting rules of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, or DENR, prohibited or severely impeded the use of LID because state regulators had to approve each individual technique.

Mike Randall, who works for the N.C. Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources in stormwater permitting, said, “The problem is that all of our forms and the permitting process were geared for more conventional design.”

Model homes are going up to demonstrate the various LID methods that will be used to control runoff. Photo: River Bluffs

Until recently, filling out supplemental forms for a couple of methods wasn’t a big deal. For 27 varying methods, however, “It would require [developers/engineers] under the existing process to submit 20 to 35 supplement forms each, which are 4 or 5 pages long, along with a maintenance agreement and some soil samples for each one of those,” Randall said.

Over the last few years, local governments, the N.C. Coastal Federation and DENR have been developing tools that simplify the permitting process. At the summit, Randall will talk about some of these new standards and tools, like StormEZ, an interactive spreadsheet that allows engineers to demonstrate compliance to rules and regulations in one form instead of potentially 30.

“They just enter what they know about the project and let the form do the rest of the work for them,” said Randall.

While the state will be using StormEZ for all its projects, local governments have the choice of adopting it. Randall hopes they will.

“We’re hoping that it will simplify [the permitting process] so that if you’re a developer you don’t have to worry whether you’re submitting one form to the state and a different one to the local governments,” Randall said. “But that will be a decision that the local governments have to make.”

The meeting in Raleigh will be a way to learn about the benefits of LID. It’s open to everyone, and there will be plenty of experts making presentations, sponsoring displays and answering questions.

“I hope this summit will serve as a springboard for the widespread use of LID, not only at the coast but across the state,” said Lauren Kolodij, deputy director of the federation.

WILMINGTON – A young woman’s idea to build a rain garden to help two impaired coastal creeks has now become a collaborative effort among two universities, two nonprofit groups, a local business and the city.

“This project is important to the City of Wilmington as there is a major push to address the health of Hewletts and Bradley creeks,” said Roger Shew, a professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, one of the partners.

The tidal creeks are on the federal “black list” of sorts for polluted waters, known as the 303(d) list. It’s named after the section in the federal Clean Water Act that requires states to periodically list waterways that no longer meet water-quality standards and then come up with plans to restore them. The state recently released its draft 2014 list.

Hewletts and Bradley are on the list because they’ve been polluted to the point where harvesting oysters and clams is no longer allowed because of high levels of bacteria. The culprit is polluted stormwater runoff, the number one cause of water quality impairment along the N.C. coast.

The N.C. Coastal Federation has been working in the Bradley Creek watershed for years. Here, the federation is helping students and staff at Bradley Creek Elementary School build a rain garden on the school’s campus.

In the middle of the two is Tidal Creek Food Co-op, Wilmington’s cooperative food market. Like so many other businesses, the store has two parking lots. A grassy strip of land intersects the two where a deck was built. Parking lots, rooftops, roads and the like are considered “impervious surfaces” because they prevent rain from soaking into the ground. During a storm, rain rushes from the parking lots into the grassy area, which is unable to absorb the large volume of water. The now contaminated runoff floods onto Oleander Drive, where it drains into a grate on the roadside.

“Once that water gets into the stormwater system, it goes straight to Hewletts Creek and there’s no filtration,” explained Erin Carey, Wilmington’s watershed coordinator. “There’s no treatment of that water at all.”

The rain garden project began in 2011 with a phone call to Kathryn Waple, a Tidal Creek employee. Waple has short curly hair, a bright smile and a baby on the way. Three years ago she didn’t know much about rain gardens or watershed restoration.

Sean Ahlum, chair of the Surfrider Foundation, called to ask if Waple would spearhead the foundation’s “Ocean Friendly Garden” program in Wilmington. She agreed. “I thought it would be a good fit because I had this experience organizing a community garden downtown on Castle Street,” said Waple.

The Surfrider Foundation is an international non-profit organization that works to protect the world’s oceans and beaches through a grassroots activist network. Their “Ocean Friendly Garden” program aims to educate people about the benefits of maintaining one’s yard in a way that reduces the ocean’s primary source of pollution.

“There are just better ways to handle your yard than to have golf course, manicured, super-neon green grass that we see around here so much,” said Ahlum.

Installing rain gardens and using native plants are two methods of controlling stormwater pollution. A rain garden functions as a bowl collecting polluted stormwater runoff, which then filters into the soil where it does not cause a problem for water quality. Native plants not only drink up the water but their roots create resistance to the flow, prevent erosion and aerate the soil for draining water. And native plants, already conditioned to the environment, require less fertilizer and water to grow.

Roger Shew

Surfrider Foundation was looking for a “centerpiece educational garden” in Wilmington. Waple began by identifying an area in her community suitable for the project. She didn’t have to look far. The co-op seemed like an ideal location because its runoff affected both creeks.

“It’s a place where we can show people how they can do stormwater retention, native gardening, in an easy, low-impact way that will have a significant impact on the stormwater,” said Waple.

Craig Harris, the store’s general manager, jumped right on board. “Our namesake and where we live, it just makes total sense,” he said. “If you think about what the co-op is as opposed to your traditional for-profit, part of our mission and values is supporting the community and supporting the environment. So when they talk about something that we could do literally at our store that would help, there really wasn’t any question in my mind.”

In the project’s preliminary stages, two UNCW professors, Shew and Anthony Snider, supported the effort to have the rain garden installed as a learning opportunity for their students, people in the community and city officials.

“I thought it was a great opportunity for UNCW to partner with a business, the City of Wilmington Stormwater Services and non-profits to do both something good for our watersheds and to provide an educational benefit to the community,” said Shew.

The next hurdles were convincing UNCW, which owned the grassy area outside of Tidal Creek, that it was a valuable cause and worth investing in and then to find an engineer to design the garden.

In November of 2012, Wilmington hired Erin Carey to implement the Bradley and Hewletts Creeks Watershed Restoration Plan. The plan’s approach to restoring water quality focuses on reducing the volume of stormwater runoff reaching coastal waters—rather than addressing pollution sources such as pet waste—with the use of rain gardens, and other methods.

“When Erin got on board, she helped tie everything together. That’s when it really started moving forward,” said Waple.

Once UNCW’s administration gave permission to use the land, Carey reached out to Bill Hunt at N.C. State University, an internationally recognized stormwater engineer.

“When I saw the site, I realized how good a location this was for a stormwater management facility, meaning that the design would be simple enough that a student team with limited experience could do a good job,” said Hunt.

He assigned his design class the task of designing the rain garden for their senior project.

Shew also involved his environmental science students by having them conduct tests on the site and share the results with the NCSU students. The professor intends to continue having a class design and monitor the site.

The N.C. Coastal Federation and Surfrider are helping fund the project. Shew and Snider also received a grant from the Center of Teaching Excellence at UNCW to support the project.

“This will be a major achievement for us and the City of Wilmington as we try to get more businesses and residents to adopt methods for reducing stormwater runoff,” Shew said.

The NCSU students finished the engineering design last fall. Construction of the garden could begin this spring.

“The spring is a great time because people are thinking about their yard; they’re starting to get back outside,” Carey said, “and it’s a great time to reach out to people to tell them about native plants, tell them about rain gardens, explain about rerouting downspouts.”

Not every stormwater control method requires an engineer. Anyone can reroute her downspout or plant a rain garden and play an important role in restoring coastal water quality. In fact, a communitywide effort is the only way to restore our coast.

“It’s that idea that you just contribute what you can, when you can, and something good happens because of it,” said Waple. “If everybody is doing a little bit then nobody is burning themselves out trying to do it all.”

OCEAN — Today more than 63,000 acres of shellfish and swimming waters in coastal North Carolina are legally impaired because of polluted stormwater runoff. It wasn’t always that way.

Changes to the landscape over the last 40 years to create fields for agriculture and highways, shopping centers and subdivisions for cities and towns have changed the way water moves across the surface of the ground, or what a scientist might call the natural hydrology. Unable to penetrate asphalt and concrete, rain water runs across these hard, impervious surfaces. Or it drains into ditches dug along farm fields. Either way, this stormwater collects bacteria before draining into surrounding bodies of water. The volume and rate of stormwater runoff have dramatically increased, bringing unacceptable levels of bacteria into coastal waters.

Source: National Institute of Building Sciences

This is not a problem unique to North Carolina. Many coastal communities throughout the United States are facing the same water-quality impairments. In response, the N.C. Coastal Federation has been working over the last year on an online Watershed Restoration Planning Guidebook.

Soon to be released, the guidebook is the first of its kind to provide clear, detailed guidance to local governments on how to develop a watershed restoration plan that improves water quality by reducing the volume of stormwater runoff. The concept is relatively new and may expedite restoration efforts at a lower cost.

While it presents a method and philosophy that could be adapted to coastal watersheds throughout the country, the guidebook provides resources specific to North Carolina. Also, it targets those smaller portions of watersheds that flow directly into shellfish or swimming waters. By focusing on smaller drainage areas, local and state governments can make smaller changes for lower costs. The result can have significant benefits, including the reopening of closed shellfish waters and a decrease in swimming advisories.

A group of nine graduate students interning with the federation’s Coastal Advocacy Institute put together the first draft last summer under the direction of Ana Zivanovic-Nenadovic, the federation’s program and policy analyst.

“This is one of the first efforts to put numerical value to the volume of stormwater reduction needed for the improvement of water quality,” she said.

Traditionally, methods for reducing the amount of pollutants in impaired waters have been to either eliminate the sources of bacteria—a feat that is nearly impossible given that most of it comes from wildlife and pet waste—or expensive stormwater treatments at the end of pipes that remove contaminants before water is released into water bodies.

The federal Clean Water Act requires that states set goals to reduce pollutants to impaired waters. States attempt to do that by calculating what the law calls the “total maximum daily load,” or TMDL, which is simply the maximum amount of a pollutant that a water body can receive and still safely meet water quality standards.

Ana Zivanovic-Nenadovic

Under the law, states are also required to develop a plan for each impaired water body that lays out how the TMDL will be reached. However, a TMDL study and restoration plan can cost thousands of dollars and take several years to complete.

Rather than treating or removing bacteria from stormwater runoff or focusing on the sources of contamination, the method outlined in the federation’s guidebook aims to reduce the transport of bacteria by cutting the volume of stormwater runoff. If polluted stormwater runoff stays on land, the bacteria never reach coastal waters.

Coastal communities can do this by mimicking the natural surface water hydrology; or in other words, keeping stormwater on land where it does not cause a problem for water quality. Very little storm runoff drains into surface waters on a natural coastal landscape. Much of it soaks into the sandy soil instead. Depending on the type of development and soil composition, there are different methods that can be used to mimic this natural process.

“In the case of residential developments, low-impact development is the best solution,” said Zivanovic-Nenadovic.

These types of techniques are simple and cost-efficient—from redirecting a downspout from facing the driveway to facing the lawn, to installing rain barrels and cisterns that collect rainwater. (You can learn more about these methods in the federation’s Smart Yards booklet.)

The federation initially developed and implemented this method in three watershed restoration plans: White Oak River in Onslow and Carteret counties, Lockwoods Folly River in Brunswick County, and Bradley and Hewlett’s creeks in New Hanover County. These projects confirmed that one of the best ways to restore water quality was to reduce the volume of stormwater runoff. The method was further tested and refined in three other watersheds: Howe Creek in Wilmington, Williston Creek near Beaufort, and Mattamuskeet Drainage Association in Hyde County. In fact, the guidebook is an outgrowth of the EPA grants the federation received to implement the watershed restoration plans.

Rain barrels can be inexpensive ways to control stormwater at home. Photo: Rain Solutions

The basis of the watershed restoration plan is the volume reduction goal—the number of gallons of stormwater runoff that needs to be reduced in order to restore water quality. “We look back at when the hydrologic changes started and whether they are caused by residential development, agricultural conversion or something else; and they are different for each case,” said Zivanovic-Nenadovic.

Using aerial photography and information about soils, development history and water quality, engineers can determine a quantifiable goal by creating a hydrograph, which shows the flow rate of water over time.

“This is a long-term management approach and it will take years for the water quality to be restored, just as it took years for it to be degraded. We are still working on the case studies, but some preliminary assessments of the stormwater volume reductions show that projected volume reductions will not only be achieved but also surpassed with the restoration efforts we have in one of the three case study sites,” said Zivanovic-Nenadovic.

The volume reduction goal can be used instead of a TMDL. In fact, the guidebook frequently references the nine elements of a plan required by the EPA so that the plan can serve in place of a TMDL and qualify for federal grants.

Even if a TMDL has already been completed, the guidebook can complement restoration efforts by presenting strategies to control non-point source pollution, such as runoff from driveways. Also, the guidebook can be effective for those who want to take proactive steps in maintaining water quality for water bodies that were not considered legally impaired when the Clean Water Act was established in 1975.

The guidebook is in its final revisions and will soon appear publicly on the federation’s web site. It will be presented at various conferences including the N.C. Low-Impact Development Conference in Raleigh in March.

Volunteers start creating a rain garden in front of the Habitat for Humanity house.

LELAND – A little rain didn’t keep volunteers from helping the Alvarez family plant native plants and build rain gardens at their new Habitat for Humanity home. Not only did it ease landscaping by softening the soil, but the rain was symbolic of what the volunteers were doing: Helping to preserve and restore a river by reducing the amount of polluted runoff that flowed into it.

Native plants and rain gardens are just two of the simple and inexpensive stormwater management techniques known as low-impact development, or LID. As a part of their ongoing work in Brunswick County to help restore the Lockwoods Folly watershed, the N.C. Coastal Federation partnered with Brunswick Habitat for Humanity to retrofit and implement LID designs at two housing projects.

“We want to work with all different types of groups to show that LID can be done anywhere, on small residential houses up to commercial buildings,” said Lauren Kolodij, deputy director of the federation.

Habitat for Humanity is a non-denominational Christian organization with a vision for a world where everyone has a decent and affordable place to live. Founded locally in 1994, the Brunswick affiliate has built over 40 homes for families with small children, single parents and the disabled. Homes are built by volunteers using tax-deductible donations and sold to families with no-interest loans. Homeowners not only help build their own house but the homes of others before every receiving the key to their front door.

Veronica Carter and homeowner Jose Alvarez are all smiles after a hard day’s work.

Another depression that will become a rain garden starts to take shape.

“I like the idea that the homeowners are involved. They have to put some sweat equity in it; they have to qualify and pay the mortgage. So it’s a hand-up rather than a hand-out,” said volunteer Al Hight, New Hanover county extension director for the N.C. Cooperative Extension.

Over a dozen volunteers showed up last month to show their support and do their goodwill under the wet weather. The group included students from the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, volunteers from Habitat for Humanity and the federation, members of the New Hanover and Brunswick counties Cooperative Extension offices, the Coast Guard and experts on plants and landscaping techniques in the region.

“I think it’s important to always give something back,” said Hight, who has worked for the extension for the last 10 years. He was also a landscape contractor and “an old farm boy” in another life, he says.

“A lot of time it’s stuff that I know how to do a lot better than some other people know how to do, so I feel like it’s imperative that I help out, you know?” he said.

Veronica Carter, who serves on the board of both Brunswick Habitat for Humanity and the federation, rallied the group of volunteers. “We want to help people when they get affordable houses, like the Alvarezes will hopefully get in a few days now, be able to sustain their neighborhood and the aquifers and themselves because they’re going to be able to reuse some of the rainwater that we collect here today.”

Rainwater harvesting systems, like a rain barrel or cistern, can be used to collect stormwater from a downspout and use later to water the garden. Using native plants is another LID technique. Native plants require less effort to grow and less money to maintain because they’re conditioned to living in the coastal environment, unlike ornamental, nonnatives that may require fertilizers and heavy irrigation.

Directing volunteers on Habitat’s behalf was Linda Rudick, the volunteer landscape coordinator for the last 10 years. “I consider the landscape as the jewelry to finish the Habitat house,” Rudick said.

Since undertaking the LID project, she’s widened the scope of her landscaping to include native plants and rain gardens.

A rain garden is a depressed area that acts as a bowl collecting stormwater from the areas of higher elevation in the yard. Rain gardens can reduce polluted runoff from a site by 90 percent or more. Plants in a rain garden not only use the water to grow, but their roots create resistance to the flow, prevent erosion and aerate the soil for draining water.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2007 funded a three-year study in the watershed that revealed the need to reduce the flow of stormwater from all land contributing to surface runoff. Specifically, 94 percent of developed land in the watershed needed to be targeted for stormwater retrofits.

“The only way to protect and restore coastal water quality is to maintain or mimic the natural hydrology. And the only way to really accomplish that is to deal with stormwater on a lot-by-lot basis,” said Kolodij.

Native plants will help absorb stormwater.

The N.C. Cooperative Extension has been working with the federation for the last decade on the Lockwoods Folly Watershed restoration project. The two groups have similar goals, Hight said.

“As far as trying to do things that help us clean up surface waters, keep our environment in good shape so that we can keep a healthy population and healthy wildlife and good tourism,” he said.

An EPA grant paid for the LID project and partnership with Habitat for Humanity. The federation hopes that it will serve as a model for future Habitat housing projects and demonstrate to the community that LID techniques can be affordable for any and all homeowners.

“We’re going to use this blueprint to give to Habitat and say, ‘Guys, incorporate this in the rest of what you do,’” said Carter.

Dee Antonio, executive director of Brunswick Habitat for Humanity, said she hoped to continue using LID in other projects. However, the labor required to build rain gardens will depend on volunteers, she said.

“Most of our volunteers are retired people in their 60s and some of them into their 70s so I think we’ll struggle each time we have a project to be able to find folks to do those basins,” Antonio said.

Toni and John Cornelius wanted a house that went beyond green. They wanted to build simply.

Rain gardens in the backyard are attractive landscaping features and also effective stormwater controls. Photos: Tess Malijenovsky

WILMINGTON — There will come a day when low-impact development is simply development. When that day comes it may look something like the residential property of Toni and John Cornelius tucked away beside a shaded edge of Summer Rest bike trail.

Examining a lot before building, its trees and vegetation, the way the water and air move or the site’s exposure to the sun aren’t just environmentally responsible meditations. They are the preliminary steps to designing a home that is resource and energy efficient and minimized stormwater runoff. Doing so is good for the environment and your pocketbook. In short, it pays off to think ahead.

When the Cornelius family moved to Wilmington they found a lot hidden in the woods, not far from the water. There, they could build a home for their three kids and dog to grow up in.

“We wanted to build beyond just green: build simply,” said Toni Cornelius.

John and Toni brought on the expertise of Lara Berkley, landscape architect, and Scott Ogden, an architect with B+O Design Studio, to design the house that would meet their family’s wants and needs.

“We—Toni and John included—are interested in what is called modernist design, which tends to be resource efficient in general,” said Berkley. “We’re not huge fans of ornamentation in architecture or landscape and find that simple, clean design gestures and site-specific design make for more interesting and special places.”

In the respect that less is more, the architecture firm appreciates and takes advantage of a site’s existing features, minimizes disruption of the natural environment, salvages its great trees and makes use of its water, paying particular attention to where it goes.

“First thing is to figure out where the site disturbance can happen,” said Berkley.

In this step of determining where the house will be built, an effort is made to minimize the amount of land disturbed during construction, which saves money from bringing in fill or excavating it.

“What was really neat about that site was that they had a lot of awesome native buffer around the perimeter and we really didn’t want to mess with that,” Berkley said.

The team, for instance, went to great lengths to keep a tree in the center of the driveway alive by working around it.

A 1,000-gallon cistern made from a culvert pipe captures runoff that is then used to water plants.

To save a tree, the driveway goes around it. Photos: Tess Malijenovsky

Plus, incorporating native plants into the landscape designs can save landowners time and money. Because they are adapted to the coastal environment, indigenous plants require less care and eliminate the need for pesticides, fertilizers and irrigation. The plants also prevent erosion and increase soil permeability, which reduces stormwater pollution by absorbing and slowing the flow of runoff.

Polluted stormwater runoff is the leading cause of degraded coastal water quality. Whenever rain falls on an impervious surface, like a roof or driveway, and the runoff drains into the street gutters it carries bacteria and other pollutants into our coastal waters. This is why more and more waterbodies are off limits when it comes to fishing clams and oysters. Allowing this runoff to soak into the ground as it naturally would is the key to low-impact development.

Rather than paying for someone to fill a depression or natural swale in the Cornelius lot, Berkley recommended they build a rain garden. Rain gardens are small, vegetated areas lower than the surrounding lawn that captures rain during storms. They not only help reduce flooding during heavy rains, but the plants and soil soak up the rainfall before it has a chance to become polluted runoff.

Many hours were spent observing the site before B+O Design Studio went to the drawing board. Berkley collects data from a geographic information system (GIS) to study how water moves on the surface of a property. “We want to allow the flow of water to go where it naturally wants to, while also allowing it to return to the groundwater—down into versus across the site,” she said.

To do so the yard is designed in concert with the house. The two-story deck is slightly slanted so that rain is directed into a 1,000 gallon, bright red cistern conveniently and purposefully located close to Toni’s raised garden beds. “Where possible, we look for opportunities for reuse, storing closest to where the client’s needs are,” said Berkley.

Cisterns and rain barrels are containers that collect and store rainwater. They double as a solution for reducing stormwater pollution and as a free source for watering a garden or lawn.

Bill Christopher, who built the house, also custom-built their cistern from repurposed culvert pipe. “[He] was a very creative contributor in terms of construction materials, methodologies, re-purposing and using salvaged materials,” Berkley said.

The roof of the Cornelius house is also slanted, guiding rainfall to a downspout by the back porch. The downspout then sends the water down a clever and beautiful channel of stones outside the perimeter of the concrete porch, allowing the water to eventually drain into the nearby ravine.

The finished landscape design produced a backyard big enough for the kids to play in and small enough to maintain easily, utilizing every square foot as responsibly as possible. “We didn’t want a huge lawn that we had to mow and a bunch of shrubs that we had to prune, so it was all about it being natural,” said John Cornelius.

That’s what we call a smart yard. The N.C. Coastal Federation created a Smart Yards publication that anyone can reference for simple, do-it-yourself solutions to reduce stormwater pollution.

Reprinted from the Tideland News

SWANSBORO — Though it is a relatively small project, the Parrish Green subdivision is significant. Proposed by Jordan Building Company, the five single-family building lots on Swansboro’s Phillips Drive will be the first low-impact development subdivision in Onslow County.

For Parrish Green Phase I to be developed LID, Swansboro had to relax a couple of code requirements. The board of commissioners’ recent action to approve the project was unanimous.

David Newsom of Crystal Coast Engineering, representing the developer, asked town commissioners for two variances at the Aug. 20 meeting. He offered details on the project that he and his partner, John Freshwater, put together. Specifically, the builder needed a variance from Article 20, Sections 20-18 and 20-21 of the Subdivision Ordinance related to the curb and gutter and sidewalk requirements.

Lauren Kolodij

“This will be John and mine’s first LID project,” Newsom told the commissioners during a public hearing on the request. “It will be the first in Onslow County. I think it will be a real boon to the town if we do this.”

Using LID as opposed to conventional development involves different methods of controlling stormwater that mimic natural hydrology. Channeling of runoff by curb and gutter must be limited, as must the amount of impervious surface within the development.

But first the developers needed variances to two town ordinances. Swansboro’s Subdivision Regulations state: “Curb and gutters shall be required in all subdivisions unless a variance from this requirement is specifically granted by the board of commissioners.” Also, the ordinance states: “Unless a variance for this requirement is granted by the board of commissioners, sidewalks are required along both sides of all streets constructed in an approved subdivision …”

What Newsom was asking for was the ability to develop a 10-inch concrete edging, rather than a curb and gutter, and to eliminate the sidewalk on one side of the street. The variances would allow the development to meet the standards of LID, which is aimed at providing on-site treatment of storm water.

By eliminating the curb and gutter, runoff would be unhindered in flowing to the onsite stormwater control measure. Eliminating sidewalks on the north side of the street reduces the amount of hard surface in the development.

“I could not make it (the LID project) fit the criteria with sidewalks on both sides,” Newsom told commissioners. “It is that tight.”

Many towns have impediments to LID built into their ordinances, noted Lauren Kolodij, the deputy director of the N.C. Coastal Federation. The federation, a longtime proponent of LID, advised Newsom and put him and the developers in touch with state water-quality officials, she explained.

“We knew we could only help facilitate change by getting all the players together in one room to look at various options and understand the benefits of low-impact development,” Kolodij said.

Newsome welcomed the advice.  Engineers resist change, he said, and often prefer to rely on conventional designs and permitting approaches.

“As a result, it took significant time and consideration for me to become convinced that LID is indeed a superior and more environmentally friendly design and development process,” Newsome said. “I owe a debt of gratitude to both NCDENR Division of Water Quality and the Coastal Federation for their efforts to promote LID and to educate the design and development community as to its use and benefit to us all.”

While there were no comments from people during the hearing, Swansboro commissioners had questions.

Commissioner Junior Freeman asked if there would be any home sites on that side of the street. Newsom said there would be no homes fronting on that side of the street. However, the side of one home site in Phase II would border Phillips Drive.

Commissioner Jim Allen asked if the developer would have to pay the “in lieu of” fee for the sidewalk that would be eliminated.

Dave Harvell

Dave Harvell, town manager, told the commissioner that the fee would be due, per town ordinance. The sidewalk fee is charged of property owners when they develop or redevelop property to the point that sidewalks are required but not installed.

This prompted Commissioner Gery Boucher to say that it appeared counter-productive to charge the fee when the development was being improved – from an environmental standpoint. Stopping short of suggesting the fee not be paid, Boucher did say it is a situation that needs to be investigated.

“We need to have a deeper conversation,” he said.

Freeman agreed.

“I think the sidewalk (issue), we are going to have to address at a later meeting,” he said.

Freeman also questioned Newsom about a dedicated pedestrian easement between the neighborhood and Swansboro Elementary School.

Newsom said there is a 10-foot-wde pedestrian easement between lots four and five, from Phillips Drive to the school property.

Jennifer Holland, town planner, provided information that the Swansboro Planning Board recommended the variances be allowed.

The motion to approve the variance requests was approved 5-0.

• Map of project

BOLIVIA — When restoring water quality boils down to the actions each property owner takes, imagine what a community with over 1,100 properties can accomplish for their local watershed working together.

This is why Winding River Plantation Property Owners Association won a Pelican Award from the N.C. Coastal Federation for developing model community landscaping guidelines that promote environmentally friendly yards.

Residents of Winding River Plantation build one of the rain gardens in the community.

The federation’s annual Pelican Award recognizes exemplary actions to protect or restores the coastal environment.

Winding River Plantation in Brunswick County got its name from the Lockwood Folly River which winds through the planned golf course community like the letter “S.” Retirees and families charmed by the water views, wetlands, natural preserves and river accesses come here to live and play. With the territory comes residents who get caught up in the idea that they have to preserve the resources that they enjoy living on.

One morning reading the newspaper resident Pam Duncan came across an article inviting the public to help the Coastal Federation build rain gardens at the government center and decided to volunteer. Building rain gardens is a low-impact development, or LID, technique that mimics nature by slowing, pooling and filtering stormwater runoff. At the event she met another Winding River neighbor, Rich Peruggi, who joined the federation after attending a public meeting about the Lockwood Folly River.

“We knew that all development in our community, as well as others, has an effect on what winds up in the river,” said Peruggi. “You start looking for ways—without making it difficult for people to enjoy living—that can still help the environment. This whole approach with the low-impact development seemed like such a natural thing. We started looking for ways to make it real, to make it happen.”

Duncan and Peruggi took the first step by forming a rain garden committee, pitching the idea for building rain gardens in Winding River Plantation to the board of directors.

“Everybody got together down here in the middle of the street talking about rain gardens,” Duncan said.

They received $12,000 in state grants to share with their neighbors in the River Run Plantation community.

Volunteers came out to help build the two rain gardens near the boathouse and marina in the fall of 2010. “I’ve got to tell you, putting those rain gardens in took us six months of paperwork and three days to put in, and their were times when I was ready to throw in the towel,” said Peruggi. “Either of us alone, this wouldn’t have happened; the two of us together, we got it done.”

	The finished rain gardens collect and absorb stormwater and are attractive landscaping features.

Duncan and Peruggi gave presentations on rain gardens to the alliance group that represents all nearby subdivisions so that the LID efforts could catch on in the other Lockwood Folly communities. However, to make LID a staple in the future maintenance and development of Winding River Plantation, Duncan headed an effort to revise the homeowners association’s design and planning documents to include LID designs. These guidelines provide property owners and builders with a detailed set of standards for new construction and modifications to existing residences. Since only 50 percent of Winding River Plantation is developed, all future construction will adhere to the new, greener guidelines.

“My philosophy is don’t sit on the sidelines and bark at people: get involved. And, if it was important to me to have the low-impact development piece in here than I needed to get involved in doing it,” Duncan said.

Keeping up with Winding River’s 1,000 acres calls for a robust homeowners association with all its different review boards and committees, rules and guidelines. As an example, residents must submit formal landscape plans to the appropriate committee for approval before removing a tree or starting a garden.

“There’s a fine line between landscaping and going natural, and it’s a vibrant community so we have to landscape,” said Lee Burton, chair of the Landscaping Committee, who introduced curbside lawn debris recycling and helped two vacant lots transform into a butterfly park, among other things.

“We take all of this very seriously because we have a lot of water, not only the Lockwood Folly, but we have about 16 ponds and a lot of natural swales. Whether you sit next to the water or not, you feed to the water here,” said Duncan.

The landscaping section of the guidelines especially encourages taking a proactive role in preserving and protecting the coastal environment with simple and specific examples like choosing native plants, which save money on irrigation, fertilizers and pesticides because they are adapted to thriving in the local environment. The federation has been sharing Winding River Plantations landscaping guidelines in workshops and with Brunswick Forest.

“Our vision 2015 has been used for a model in a number of plantations around here because most people don’t have a plan like this,” said Duncan.

ENGELHARD — Breezes were pungent with a smell of swampy dirt dug up by machinery at Mattamuskeet Ventures, a farmers’ partnership that is in the midst of a revolutionary hydrology project in Hyde County.

As onlookers stood nearby, the claw of the excavator stopped its work long enough to allow a peek deep into the ground. The earth was striated, with a slate-gray sandy loam on top and black organic material in layers beneath it. Water streamed from seams in the dark dirt, as if directed through small pipes. It flowed continually, spilling down the side of the dike.

	Road coring in progress. Once the roads around the perimeter of the project are cored, water will not be able to seep out of restored wetlands and back into the association’s drainage network.

If anything illustrated the value of management of water on this vast farmland, it was this striking underground view of the natural hydrology of the land.

“When they open it, if there was water over there,” said Gene Fox, an environmental scientist employed by the partnership, pointing to wetlands behind the ditch, “you’d see water coming out of here like a fire hose.”

The first phase of construction of an ambitious hydraulic restoration project that will redirect millions of gallons of polluted farm field runoff away from estuarine waterways began recently within the 42,500-acre Mattamuskeet Drainage Association, which for about 30 years has managed stormwater through numerous canals that run to the Pamlico Sound, the Alligator River and the Intracoastal Waterway.

“You can see how the roads and the canal system creates a grid,” said Erin Fleckenstein, project administrator for the N.C. Coastal Federation. “And nature wasn’t gridded out like that.”

The federation is leading collaboration between farmers, N.C. State University, USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and several other state and federal nonprofits and agencies to restore 2,750 acres of wetlands and filter millions of gallons of stormwater runoff from two large Hyde County farms.

That’s quite an expansion of the federation’s initial goal 15 years ago to restore the oyster population.

“We originally got interested in working with the farmers because of the shellfish closures in Pamlico Sound,” Fleckenstein said during a recent visit to the project site. “It’s good for oysters, it’s good for water quality and it’s good for the farmers and what they need to do.”

By directing field runoff to restored wetlands, nutrients will be able to drop out of the retained water and be processed by vegetation. Any overflow would be able to seep into the land and channeled to flow off the farm.

“We’re trying to point this water in the same direction it would have been historically,” Fox said. “That would be mostly toward the north and west – the Alligator River.”

An excavator began in late July to core the first of the 14,000 feet of dikes — at a rate of about 500 feet a day — that will line the project’s perimeter. Ten swales and two sloughs that will direct the water flow through the wetlands will also be constructed, and the drainage water will be retained in one of three shallow areas adjacent to the farmland.

Organic soils allow water to seep out of restored wetlands into the association’s drainage network unless properly cored.

The canals that crisscross the farm will be retrofitted with pumps and weirs that will redirect stormwater during heavy rains into the wetlands, rather than allowing it to discharge into the sound. The dikes will prevent the water from running back out from the wetlands.

Pumps in five pump houses on canals in different spots along the perimeter of the property are turned on as needed. Most of the time, the pumps are idle in the summer, when crops suck up rain, but they’d be activated during a tropical storm.

The end result when the project is completed next spring will be positive all around, Fleckenstein said. Farmers will have access to irrigation in the dry months and be able to manage excess water flow and limit saltwater intrusion that damages crops. Fish and aquatic life in the estuaries will be able to thrive in cleaner water.  Wildlife will gain healthy habitat.

“Everybody is starting to look at projects that benefit the environment,” said Jamin Simmons, referring to the farming and fishing community.

Simmons is one of Mattamuskeet Ventures’ five partners, and his company is one of 42 landowners in the association.

Another property owner in the association, Wilson Daughtry, an owner of Alligator River Growers and Lux Farms, is also working with the federation on a similar project on his land.

Funding for the projects has been provided from a total of about $2.6 million in grants from the N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund, the Natural Resources Conservation Service Wetland Reserve Program and the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership. Additional funding was provided by matching state grants and in-kind work.

Although skeptics remain, Simmons said that more often than not, people who work with nature see the value in protecting nature. “When I put the group together to buy this farm, the common thread was wildlife,” he said. “The next common thread was the environment.”

Bumping along in his pickup truck down some of the 57 miles of roads through his farm, Simmons, a native of Hyde County, chatted amiably about his regard for conservation and the environment, frequently interrupting himself along the way to point out sightings of bear, deer and numerous quail.

Jamin Simmons

Simmons is no stranger to outdoor life. His family’s hunting and fishing guide service that his grandfather started was the among the first guide businesses in Hyde County, and he and wife recently started their own guide business, Dare to Hyde Outdoor Adventures.

He also is an owner of Mattamuskeet Management and Consulting, which had helped install the first wetlands restoration project in the country in 1992. The company also worked with numerous public agencies to develop the first system in North Carolina that recovered tail water, the water that is discharged from a pipe. Mattamuskeet Consulting partnered with N.C State in designing the current Hyde project.

A member of the Coastal Resources Commission for going on three years, Simmons lauded the federation’s way of getting divergent parties –farmers, environmentalists, regulatory agencies – to work together in creating innovative models that aim for the mutual good.

“They are being proactive and making the system work between different factions,” he said. “I really think the approach the Coastal Federation takes is the way to go. It’s a win-win situation.”

In 2010, Mattamuskeet Ventures had partnered with the federation on construction of a model hydrology management project that created 600-acres of shorebird habitat on the farmland.  The project was one of the first collaborations in the region between farmers and conservationists.

“What has happened over the years is if somebody said ‘conservation,’ landowners would run from it,” Simmons said. “But most landowners want clean water. They’re not against the environment; they’re against regulation.”

Polluted runoff is now the largest source of water impairment along the coast, but many think that the state’s evolving regulations are working to control it.

There are 2,219,032 acres of classified shellfish waters in the state, according to the N.C. Shellfish Sanitation Section office in Morehead City. Of those, 1,777,349 are considered open to harvest, either “permanently” or conditionally. Another 441,683 acres are closed, either permanently or conditionally. That condition, essentially, is rain. Moderate rains wash enough bacteria into the water to make the shellfish unsafe to eat.

The N.C. Coastal Federation and other groups in 2008  sponsored an oyster roast for legislators in Raleigh to support stronger stormwater rules,

And although the state has generally been on the drought side of the scale in recent years, there’s enough variation that section Chief Patti Fowler has trouble saying whether closures are on the rise, holding steady or decreasing.

“What we try to do now is manage,” she said. “When it’s possible to open, we open. Our goal is to keep as much open as we can, as much of the time as we can. But we have to be able to prove to the FDA (Federal Food and Drugs Administration) that what we do is effective.”

The good news to Fowler is that the shell fishermen and the public seem to understand the effects of stormwater runoff and the need for closures far better than in the past. The agency doesn’t get nearly as many angry calls when closures occur.

“That used to be fairly common,” she said. “I think the public is aware of what we do and how we do it, or at least a lot more aware than in the past.”

But are state legislators? Do they understand?

One good sign might be that the current conservative N.C. General Assembly rolled back environmental rules, but hasn’t really made a serious effort to change the stormwater regulations.

Tom Reeder, director of the N.C. Division of Water Resources and who championed stronger runoff rules, believes that lawmakers get it when it comes to stormwater. “I do believe they understand, especially the coastal legislators,” he said. “They know very well the importance of good water quality to the economy along the coast: tourism and fishing. When I talk to coastal legislators, they’re very in tune to what we are trying to protect.

Charles Peterson

But Charles “Pete” Peterson, a longtime member of the state’s Environmental Management Commission before the legislature fired the commission members this year, isn’t so confident, for a variety of reasons. A researcher at UNC’s Institute of Marine Sciences in Morehead City, Peterson has also been on the science advisory panel for the state Coastal Resources Commission and was integrally involved in formation of the original stormwater rules and in the 2008 update. He said he agrees it might be too early to gauge the success or failure of the 2008 rules, but isn’t sure the state is even capable of doing so.

“We don’t have nearly the resources available for monitoring that we had a relatively short time ago,” he said. “During this period of declining state revenues, there have been significant cutbacks in the staff at the Division of Water Quality (now a part of Reeder’s division).”

He’s also not sure that legislators really understand the importance of stormwater management. “From what I see and hear, I’m not convinced that on environmental issues, all the factors and implications of potential policies are being discussed,” he said.

Another problem, he said, is the state’s news media don’t devote as many resources as they once did to reporting on environmental issues, including water quality. “I get my news like everyone else these days … in bits and dribbles,” he said. “From what I do get, I don’t think there’s enough discussion. But at the same time, there’s not as much information about what is or isn’t being discussed. And because of the political climate, you can’t be assured that state agency folks are able to speak as candidly as they could.”

Fowler’s shellfish sanitation office also is responsible for the safety of another key to tourism industry that Reeder cited as a major justification for effective stormwater rules: recreational swimming waters. That program is headed by J.D. Potts.

A plume of pollution from a stream of stormwater spreads off the Outer Banks.

According to Potts, the office tests 240 swimming areas along the coast. They are divided into three “tiers.” Tier 1 sites are along the ocean, and generally are thought to be used for swimming daily during warm weather months. Tier 2 sites are mostly in the sounds and rivers near relatively populated areas and are used three or so times a week for swimming. Tier 3 sites are generally in more remote, less populated areas, where swimming is estimated to occur about four times a month or less, but which may be used intensely for such events as the swimming portions of triathlons.

The 100 most popular swimming areas, including the ocean Tier 1 sites and the Tier 2 sites, are tested at least twice a week in spring and summer, while the Tier 3 sites are sampled at least twice each month.

There are 57 sites in Dare County and 56 in Carteret. Third on the list is Brunswick County, with 39 sites. There are 16 in Onslow County.

Samplers test for enterococcus, another bacterial organism commonly found in the intestinal tracts of warm-blooded animals. High levels of enterococci are considered an indicator of the possible presence of human waste – from sewer system spills or from stormwater runoff – which can cause serious human health problems. Swimming in polluted waters can lead to a variety of gastrointestinal ailments, as well as staph infections, ear infections and skin rashes.

If samples show bacteria levels that exceed state safety standards, Potts and his staff post warning signs at and around the sample site and notify media. The signs stay in place until bacteria samples drop to safe levels. The state generally cannot force people to stay out of the water, but officials say most who see the signs heed the warnings.

Potts said that just like shellfish waters, the key to closures is rainfall and runoff. This year, he said, closures are occurring at about the same level as last year. Because of cutbacks, the office is operating this year without summer interns for the first time in years. And a bigger fear, he said, is federal funding.

North Carolina’s program began on a relatively small scale way back in 1996, but began to grow in 2000, after Congress passed a law authorizing the Environmental Protection Agency to make grants to states to help fund the effort. Since then, according to Potts, the program has received about $300,000 a year from EPA. That money pays for lab supplies and equipment, and also pays about one-fourth of Potts’s salary, plus portions of the salaries of three other staffers and the full salaries of another three.

Although the funds were threatened last year, the grant did come through. But so far, Potts said last week, the federal budget doesn’t show the grant funds. And if that were to become reality, the office might have to cut as many as half the testing sites next summer.

At any rate, while Reeder thinks North Carolina needs to stay focused on stormwater, he doesn’t think there is any need to toughen the rules.

“I don’t hear too much opposition to them any more, not like when they were first adopted, but I don’t think there is any reason to do any more right now,” he said. “It really hasn’t been that long since these went into effect. I certainly wouldn’t want to go any further until we know that what’s in place is working or not working. If it’s not working, you wouldn’t want to put new rules on top of ones that aren’t working. And if they are working, how much further do you go? I can’t see that anything more at this point is likely to be acceptable to society.”

Bacteria in stormwater are the main causes of shellfish closures.

First of two parts

On July 12 and into the morning hours of July 13, rain came in periodic torrents along the N.C. coast, filling and overflowing shallow ditches along roads and running off parking lots and roofs in sheets and rivulets.

By early morning, 2.5 inches had fallen in Emerald Isle and 5.4 inches had drenched Wilmington, with varying amounts recorded at points in between. At one of those points – the N.C. Shellfish Sanitation Section office in Morehead City – section chief Patti Fowler and her staff knew what that meant: shellfish water closures. And at 9:45 a.m., they sent the word to the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries office in the same building, and the division got the word out instantly: virtually all the waters in Brunswick New Hanover, Pender, Onslow and Carteret County were shut down to the harvest of clams. While that’s a hard economic pill to swallow for some, it has a wider meaning, too, as the health of shellfish waters is a harbinger of sorts, the proverbial canary in the coal mine.

Closures like the one on July 13, though usually smaller in scope, take place on the coast virtually every time there’s a downpour, and Fowler and her people have been on the front lines of it for so long that they know what they have to do without even sampling the waters. Generally, 1-1/2 inches is enough to cause a closure in most places. In some areas, based on reams of data from prior rainfalls and sampling efforts, the benchmark is an inch, and in others it might be 2 or as much as 2-1/2 inches. Rainfall of that magnitude invariably washes enough pollutants off the land to necessitate closures in some streams.

The runoff, once thought benign, contains a literal stew of stuff that’s bad for water and the life in it: leaks from septic tanks, chemicals and heavy metals, oil, fertilizers from lawns and farm field, among them. One of the key problems is nitrogen from fertilizer, which increases organic growth that depletes oxygen and leads to fish kills. As a result, the state has designated some water bodies as nutrient sensitive, subject to tougher rules.

Excessive runoff can also close streets, as officials in Atlantic Beach know.

Even sediments – dirt – are harmful, as they reduce the clarity of the water, and clarity is important for the growth of aquatic vegetation, which serves as marine habitat. Some sediments can bond with pollutants and essentially shelter them, extending the damage and moving them about during dredging and other activities.

Experts agree that stormwater runoff has long replaced point source discharges – pipes from industrial uses and waste treatment plants – as the main source of pollution in coastal ecosystems. It’s become more acute as urban development has covered more and more of the coastal region with buildings, roads and parking lots.

According to Fowler, the standard her small state shellfish sanitation agency uses to close shellfish waters is fecal coliform bacteria, which live in the intestines of all warm-blooded animals, including humans, pets and other domesticated animals and wildlife. Coliform bacteria generally don’t pose a threat to humans or animals, but are considered a strong indicator of the presence of other disease-causing bacteria, such as those that cause typhoid, dysentery, hepatitis A and cholera.

Both coliforms and disease-causing bacteria live in water. But disease-causing bacteria generally don’t survive long enough in the water, outside the body of animals, to be detected, so sampling for the disease-causing organisms is difficult.

Students at Manteo Middle School stencil a storm drain as a reminder that the water that goes down it flows untreated to the nearest waterbody.

Students and teachers at White Oak Elementary School in Carteret County plant a rain garden to control some of the runoff from school property.

A rain garden at Bradley Creek Elementary School in Wilmington treats stormwater, beautifies the school grounds and serves as an outdoor classroom for students.

Shellfish sanitation’s job has an ostensibly narrow purpose – to keep folks from harvesting shellfish that might contain pathogens that make people sick – and the agency has been successful over the years; there’s never been a documented serious outbreak of disease from N.C. shellfish, which make their way to markets all over the country. But Charles “Pete” Peterson, a marine ecologist at the UNC Institute of Marine Sciences in Morehead City and a longtime member of environmental panels, emphasized that wider, canary-in-a-coalmine function is a key reason for the state’s stormwater runoff rules.

A few days after the July 12-13 rain event, Fowler’s office reopened most of the closed waters, but some were shut down for a couple more days. And she and the others know that had the state not enacted rules to limit stormwater runoff it would be much worse.

Those rules date back to the mid-1980s, enacted by the N.C. General Assembly after a lot of pushing by scientists, environmental groups and state regulators, and a lot of opposition from developers, builders and some local governments. The first measures generally allowed up to 25 percent built-upon surfaces without structural stormwater controls in shellfish watersheds, and were generally hailed as a good first step. The growth of permanently closed shellfish waters likely slowed, but it still increased by 13 percent by the middle of the first decade of the new century. And officials noticed that temporary closures, like the one on July 13, continued to increase in frequency and size. Again, a coalition of marine scientists, such as Peterson, and state regulars called for improvements.

At the time, some homebuilders feared the changes would make coastal housing unaffordable. The state itself estimated the cost increase at $5,000, maybe a little more. But Tom Reeder, who is now director of the state Division of Water Resources, said then that the cost of not enacting protective measures would be “incalculable.”

The new rules were finally enacted in 2008 by the legislature and mandated a number of steps the state’s 20 coastal counties had to take to further limit runoff.

The new rules reduced that built-upon threshold to12 percent for projects within a half-mile of shellfish waters and required that runoff be treated onsite. Methods now encouraged include such things as cisterns and rain barrels to collect rooftop runoff, permeable pavement for parking lots, rain gardens and many on-site infiltration systems, called low-impact development techniques. Tougher standards were set for development within 575 feet of the state’s “best” waters, designated as “Outstanding Resource Waters.”

The whole idea, according to Reeder and others, was to slow the growth of the hard surfaces from which the runoff occurs, and to increase the opportunity for the water to settle – and be filtered and taken up by vegetation – before it enters the creeks, rivers and sounds.

With the help of organizations like the N.C. Coastal Federation, those common-sense ideas are, well, increasingly common. They can be found at schools, town halls, businesses and homes. What was once viewed as an expensive requirement might still cause some consternation, but they have become accepted parts of the landscape.

Reeder said recently that he believes the system is working. “I think North Carolina has been pro-active, and I think it’s made a difference,” he said. “Obviously, we’re not going to stop all stormwater runoff or all shellfish water closures, but I think we have made good steps.”

Friday: Do legislators know the dangers?

Rerouting downspouts into your yard can cut stormwater runoff from your property in half.

Strategically placed rain gardens can act as natural stormwater sinks and be an attractive landscaping amenity.

Restoring coastal water quality depends on your yard. Did you know that for less than $10 you could cut the polluted stormwater runoff from your property in half? Or that using a rain barrel for lawn irrigation can save you nearly 40 percent on your water bill in the summer?

You can find those tips and others in Smart Yards. The booklet from the N.C. Coastal Federation is a free guide to inexpensive and simple, do-it-yourself solutions to reduce stormwater pollution.

Today all five creeks and streams in New Hanover County and 55 percent of the Lockwoods Folly River in Brunswick County are closed to shellfish harvesting because of high levels of bacteria.

“They’ve been polluted to the point that you can’t use them for that one purpose. Some of them you don’t even want to swim in or let your dog swim in,” said Rich Peruggi, a member of the federation board of directors who lives along the Lockwoods Folly and volunteers to build rain gardens to help protect the river. “Most of that damage is attributed in bulk to the pollutants — the bacteria, the fertilizers — that are carried into the stream by the stormwater runoff.”

Whenever a natural area is paved over and replaced with impervious surface, such as a road or parking lot, that prevents the rain from soaking into the ground, the rainwater runs along the hard surface and then usually into a ditch or pipe that carries it to the nearest water body. Along the way that runoff picks up an enormous amount of pollutants and sediment water. Much of that rainwater would have soaked into the sandy soil if the natural environment hadn’t been disrupted.

The federation and partners in 2007 did a three-year quantitative study on how many pollutants reach Lockwoods Folly River in order to begin the process of re-opening closed shellfish waters. Volunteers collected over 300 water samples from 12 sites in the water or on the land that drains into the river. The results found 350 to more than 1,000 fecal coliform colonies on average per 100 milliliters of water. The state’s water quality standard for safe consumption of shellfish is 14 colonies per 100 milliliters of water. This would mean that to preserve the integrity of the water quality, 94 percent of developed land in Brunswick County would need to be targeted for stormwater retrofits.

Regulating point source pollution, like a big pipe at a cement plant, is relatively easy to control unlike non-point sources such as an individual’s driveway. “We need 10,000 small improvements,” said Peruggi.

Currently the federation is promoting and implementing widespread low-impact development stormwater reduction measures in the Lakes of Lockwood community, located in the Lockwood Folly watershed, as part of a pilot study funded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It will spend a day retrofitting the community with the do-it-yourself solutions highlighted in Smart Yards.

Rich Peruggi says 10,000 small improvements, like rerouting downspouts, are need to improve water quality in the Lockwoods Folly River.

“The only way to protect and restore coastal water quality is to maintain or mimic the natural hydrology. And the only way to really accomplish that is to deal with stormwater on a lot-by-lot basis,” said Lauren Kolodij, the federation’s deputy director and creator of Smart Yards.

The goal of Smart Yards is to educate residents about stormwater pollution and to promote the use of soil, plants and rain barrels to capture the rain before it has a chance to become polluted runoff, the way nature intended.

Does your downspout send stormwater onto your driveway? Smart Yards explains how installing a little piping to redirect stormwater five feet from your house onto the grass can make a big difference. A downspout disconnection program in Portland, Ore., reduced 1.2 billion gallons of runoff each year by redirecting 56,000 downspouts in the city.

Or build a rain garden with your neighbors using native plants. Rain gardens function as a bowl, reducing stormwater runoff by 90 percent or more. Plants not only use the water to grow, but their roots create resistance to the flow, prevent erosion and aerate the soil for draining water. What’s more is that native plants require less effort to grow and less money to maintain since they’re conditioned to living in the coastal environment. The Brunswick County Cooperative Extension is a great resource for a list of native plants.

How about saving on 40 percent of your water bill in the summer by using a rain barrel? “It costs money to water a lawn with an irrigation system, but if you’re using a rain barrel to collect the water off your roof, instead of letting it run off your driveway, then you have a free source of water that you can use later on,” said Kolodij.

After reading Smart Yards, you will see solutions to your local watershed problem everywhere you look, whether it’s in your neighbor’s yard or your workplace. The guide is easy to read with bulleted facts, directions, and resources, as well as pictures, diagrams, and examples to support the text. Making a countable difference never seemed so simple.

ENGELHARD–With numerous bureaucratic hurdles finally cleared, an innovative wetlands restoration project led by the N.C. Coastal Federation is about to begin on thousands of acres of Hyde County farmland.

“The actual physical work is getting ready to start,” said Mac Gibbs, a federation board member and recently retired Hyde County North Carolina Cooperative Extension Director. “It’s probably been five years since we started this project.”

A collaboration between farmers, the federation, N.C. State University, USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service and several other state and federal nonprofits and agencies, the two complementary projects are designed to store and filter millions of gallons of stormwater runoff from farmland north of Engelhard.

In the process, 2,750 acres of wetlands will be restored, and millions of gallons of farm drainage into tributaries of the Albemarle and Pamlico sounds will be substantially reduced.

Canals such as this one convey millions of gallons of farm runoff from fields and into coastal waterways. This project offers a solution to this problem.

“We’re excited about the strong partnership that has developed and the opportunities to dovetail the goals of the landowner’s management needs with water quality and habitat restoration,” Erin Fleckenstein, the federation’s project administrator, explained.

The land is located within the 42,500-acre Mattamuskeet Drainage Association that manages storm water through canals to the Pamlico Sound and the Intracoastal Waterway.  The federation is working with local landowners, including Hyde County and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to restore the natural hydrology of the land, resulting in improved estuarine water quality for finfish and shellfish.

An aerial view of the Mattamuskeet Drainage Association, where the work is taking place. Map: Claude Long

The drainage district is surrounded by environmentally sensitive areas: Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge, Gull Rock Game Lands, and the Long Shoal and Alligator rivers.

“The landscape is so flat,” said Fleckenstein. “The lands within the drainage association are managed by a series of pumps and canals that were dug from the ‘50s to the ‘80s. This has altered the historic hydrology of the area and has moved more water to the east than originally flowed.”

Major canals are spaced every mile, with smaller canals in between.

“This is typical of much of eastern North Carolina. It’s a very modified and engineered system,” she said.

When the restoration is complete, these pumps will only be used during hurricanes or other severe weather events. Photo: Christine Miller

Gibbs had acted as an intermediary between Hyde farmer Wilson Daughtry, owner of Alligator River Growers, and the federation after Daughtry had expressed interest in management of the runoff from his land. In 2003, Gibbs helped bring together stakeholders to discuss the details of how the land, the farmers, the wetlands, the fish and the waterways could share the benefits if the field drainage was managed properly.

“When they left that meeting,” he said, “they were really excited.”

In a complex plan designed by assistant professor Mike Burchell and a team of engineers at N.C. State’s Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, the canals that intersect the farmland will be retrofitted with a number of pumps and weirs to control stormwater flow during heavy rains, redirecting the water into a created wetland rather than pumping it off the farmland into the Albemarle and Pamlico sounds.

The work on the projects will include construction of ten swales and two sloughs that foster water flow through the wetlands, allowing the natural nutrient removal process. The project will also core over 14,000 feet of dikes around the perimeter of the project, which will ensure that the restored wetlands retain the redirected water. Drainage water will be held in three shallow receiving areas adjacent to the farmland, and overflow will slowly seep into historic paths north toward Alligator River refuge.

As a result, millions of gallons of polluted drainage from farm fields will be kept from going into the waterways and harming fish. The water will instead be filtered through the soil and harmlessly used by vegetation. In the process, wildlife gain habitat and farmers gain better water management and protection from crop damage caused by salt-water intrusion.

“The perimeter pumps will only be activated during heavy rainfall,” Gibbs explained. “Those surges are what hurt water quality.”

Typically, the area gets 50- to 55-inches of rainfall a year, he said, but 35 of those inches get taken up by plants or evaporate- leaving just 16 inches a year to be pumped.

“You can go a month,” he said, “and the pumps would never come on.”

The two projects moving to construction have received nearly $2.6 million in funding with $1.3 M in grants coming from the N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund, $1 M from the Natural Resources Conservation Service Wetland Reserve Program,  and a $74,989 grant from the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership (APNEP), which awards project money provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The remainder was funded by matching state grants and in-kind resources.

“Projects like these can restore vast swaths of hydrology along the coast, helping to prevent or slow the runoff of nutrients and other pollutants into the sounds,” Jim Hawhee, APNEP policy and engagement manager, said in an e-mail. “This project has the added benefit of supporting the area’s farmers by improving their capacity to manage water on and around their fields.”

After the project is completed in the coming year, the association’s pump use will be logged. The University will also model the pollutant removal rates as part of their work on a larger EPA watershed restoration plan.

Much knowledge gained from an earlier federation restoration project at North River Farms in Carteret County will be applied to the Hyde project, Fleckenstein said. Many of the same groups were involved, and we found that the Carteret site benefited most over time by restoration of the natural hydrology.

“We learned a lot of lessons of how to restore wetlands on a large scale,” she said.

About 15 years ago, when the federation began studying ways to restore oyster populations, it soon became apparent that the best way to restore the water quality in the sounds was to address the landscape modifications and runoff carrying polluted water into the estuaries.

“These canals, even in light rainfalls,” Fleckenstein said, “can transport bacteria, sediments and nutrients into our coastal waterways.”

The Mattamuskeet district was promising for restoration because of its large tracts of land and the willingness of the landowners to work with the federation.

Gibbs said that Daughtry and other farmers saw the writing on the wall and realized that it was to their benefit to be proactive, rather than having some agency dictate how to manage their land.

“This is a very environmentally sensitive area,” he said. “It’s easier to help set the standard rather than being told what the standard is.”

Reprinted from the Tideland News

SWANSBORO — McDonald’s has received a state stormwater permit that exempts it from treating much of the stormwater from a proposed restaurant that will be in the watershed of creek already polluted by runoff.

The Wilmington Regional office of the N.C. Division of Water Quality issued the permit on Feb. 4. It exempts McDonald’s from meeting the full requirements of the state’s coastal stormwater rules under an exclusion contained in the rules for previously developed properties. McDonalds plans to build a restaurant on 1.4 acres on N.C. 24 in Swansboro that was once the site of a gas station and car wash.

The permit requires McDonald’s to treat stormwater from about 42 percent of the property. On that portion of the site, the company would have to contain the amount of runoff generated by 1.5 inches of rain in 24 hours.

That’s considerably less than what would have been required without the exemption. McDonald’s would then have to meet the strictest standards of the stormwater rules because the site drains to Queens Creek, which is considered High Quality Waters and a shellfish growing area. Those are among the highest water classifications in the state. Normally, new projects built in such watersheds along the central coast have to contain runoff generated by 3.5 inches of rain in 24 hours on the entire site.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers Queens Creek to be an “impaired” water body. Almost all of the creek, except for its lowest reaches, is permanently closed to shellfishing because of high bacteria levels from stormwater runoff. The rest of the creek temporarily closes to shellfishing after moderate rains. Under the federal Clean Water Act, the state is obligated to come up with plans to bring the creek back into compliance with water-quality standards.

That isn’t likely to happen if the state issues permits that exempts projects from regulations designed to control the very pollutant that’s causing the problem, noted Frank Tursi, a member of the Swansboro Planning Board and an assistant director of the N.C. Coastal Federation. He wonders, however, if the permit McDonald’s received is even legal.

The upper reaches of Queens Creek are closed to shellfishing because of high bacteria levels from stormwater runoff.

The current stormwater law, which the N.C. General Assembly passed in 2008, exempts new projects built on sites that are already developed. To qualify for the so-called “redevelopment” exemption, a new project can’t add more hard, constructed surfaces – parking lots, roof tops, driveways and other “impervious surfaces” that increase runoff– than already exists on the site. According the permit, McDonald plans to add 3,000 or 6,000 square feet of impervious surfaces – the permit’s numbers are a bit muddled as to the exact amount.

The stormwater law doesn’t extend the exemption to projects that exceed the hard-surface limit, Tursi noted. Neither has the state’s Environmental Management Commission passed rules that do so, he said.

Jim Gregson, regional supervisor for the surface water section in the state Division of Water Quality’s regional office in Wilmington, said earlier this year that the division makes a provision for the type of redevelopment proposed by McDonald’s. The exemption could be granted, “As long as they can treat anything that exceeds what was there before,” he said.

Gregson agreed that the stormwater rules enacted by the legislature “don’t specifically tell us to handle it that way.” But, he said, “That has always been our interpretation. I think it’s very fair to give someone credit if the site was already developed.”

Derb Carter, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center in Chapel Hill, said he was perplexed by the division’s willingness to grant an exemption that doesn’t comply with state law.

“An internal policy (to do that) would in effect be rule-making,” he said. “You’re essentially making a rule without going through the required process, and the reason you have that process is so that everyone knows what the rules are.”

The legislature, Tursi said, apparently agrees. It passed a law, Senate Bill 810, last year that was signed by then Gov. Beverly Perdue. It appears to make permits based on division interpretations and guidelines illegal.

A section of the law reads: “This Article applies to an agency’s exercise of its authority to adopt a rule. A rule is not valid unless it is adopted in substantial compliance with this Article. An agency shall not seek to implement or enforce against any person a policy, guideline, or other interpretive statement that meets the definition of a rule contained in G.S. 150B-2(8a) if the policy, guideline, or other interpretive statement has not been adopted as a rule in accordance with this Article.”

McDonald’s should not have qualified for the stormwater exemption, Tursi said, because the amount of new impervious surface will exceed what was originally on the site. “But DWQ’s regional office in Wilmington allows such projects if stormwater from the additional square footage is treated,” he said. “That is a policy or guideline established by the agency. It appears nowhere in the 2008 stormwater law or resulting rules. According to the law passed last year it is therefore illegal. This could be the basis for a permit appeal if someone wanted to go that route.”

The permit could be challenged by anyone with “standing” in the matter. That generally means anyone who can show the court sufficient connection to and harm from the law or action challenged. Permit challenges are legal processes argued before a state administrative law judges.

Gregson acknowledged that Tursi is right about the rule, as written, but said the policy used by his office is normal and “common sense.”

“I don’t disagree that it is not specifically spelled out in the rule,” he said. “But say a developer is dealing with a project that is one square foot over what was there before. Do you then require him to do something totally different?”

What the office tries to do, Gregson said, “is be helpful to the development community” while ensuring that water quality is maintained.

In this case, he said, it’s true that the McDonald’s project will have about 3,000 square feet more impervious surface than the previous use on the property. But the permit does not totally exempt McDonald’s from stormwater management, and requires the developer treat a lot more stormwater than would have been required of the former user of the land.

“This is not an ‘exclusion,’” he said. “But we did give this developer credit for what was there before.”

Tursi said the whole issue could be put to rest if McDonald’s decided to simply do a few things, such as use pavers in the parking lot that allow rainwater to soak into the ground and design the required vegetated buffers to also serve as stormwater controls.

Other businesses in the area increasingly are taking those kinds of steps, he said, and they pay off not only in protection of surface waters, such as White Oak River, but also in good publicity in a world that puts more and more value on efforts to protect and natural enhance resources. In some cases, “green” solutions to storm water management actually save money in the long run, Tursi said.

The issue first arose in October, when McDonald’s representatives appeared before the Swansboro Planning Board and had no stormwater plan because they were proceeding under the assumption that the project would be exempt from state rules.

Planning board members weren’t pleased and suggested that McDonald’s rework the site plan to include some stormwater controls. The board a month later voted to recommend approval of the site plan after the developer added a vegetated retention area to capture some of the runoff.

The board is currently considering recommending to the town board a local ordinance that would require new projects that qualify for the state’s redevelopment exemption control stormwater to same level as any other project.

“We remake our landscape every couple of generations,” Tursi said. “If bodies of water like Queens Creek have any hope of meeting the high ideals of the Clean Water Act then redevelopment projects should be held to the same high standards as any other project.”

“Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and to drink of clear water that you must muddy the rest of the water with your feet?”

– Ezekiel 34:18

SWANSBORO — Members of Swansboro United Methodist Church are certainly making an effort to preserve “clear water” for others – including marine life – as they prepare to start construction this year of their new Family Life and Ministry Center just off N.C. 24.

Julia Wax, co-chair of the church’s building committee, said recently that she and her co-chair, John McLean, have long thought it was important that they incorporate “green” and low-impact development concepts into the center, which has been a dream at the large and socially active church for about seven years.

“We feel like God calls us to be excellent stewards of his creation by being environmentally sensitive,” she said.

Large vegetated areas will treat much of the stormwater in front of the new building.

The back of the building will also rely on vegetation to treat stomwater. Architect drawings: Swansboro Methodist Church

It was a natural, really, for Wax, owner of Emerald Isle Realty, to think that way. Her business, which rents and sells homes on Bogue Banks, a barrier island in Carteret County, won the N.C. Coastal Federation’s 2006 Pelican Award for “Business of the Year” on the central coast, and the firm has also sponsored the federation’s photography contest, which uses photography of the coastal region’s natural wonders as a way to encourage environmental protection and activism.

So, as plans for the church project inched from concept toward reality in recent months, the church’s building committee reached out to the federation. Lexia Weaver is the coastal scientist in the federation’s headquarters in Ocean, which is also on N.C. 24 not far from Swansboro. She met with church officials and began the process.

“We have worked with a number of public facilities, such as schools and museums, but we have not, as far as I know, worked with any churches before,” said Weaver.

Weaver manages coastal restoration projects within the the federation’s central region. She said she was pleased to learn that Wax and the others involved were “excited to do some great things” as the church moved toward construction, and called working with Wax and others involved “a very good fit” for the federation.

Ideas so far include islands of green – native plants – in the expansive new parking lot planned for the ministry center, and use of cisterns to catch rain from the building in order to help keep stormwater from washing pollutants off the property, which is just across N.C. 24 from the White Oak River.

“I’d love to say that we’re are going to be fully LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified,” Wax said, “but funding for that is difficult to come by. But we’re going to do all we can, including requiring that our contractor recycle his materials.”

The two-story building will house expanded contemporary worship space, children’s and adult classrooms, new youth activity areas and a kitchen equipped to greatly expand the church’s outreach to those in need within the area.

Wax knows that the goal of “greening up,” while not totally unheard of for a church, is a little unusual, particularly in a climate in which the nation seems divided on environmental and climate change issues.

“Churches are a reflection of secular society,” she said. “And secular society is certainly somewhat divided on these kinds of things.”

Lexia Weaver

John Freshwater

Another factor is that even large churches have faced financial problems during the economic downturn, and many people perceive “green” and low-impact development alternatives as “grossly expensive,” Wax said. “But we think it’s the right thing for us to do.”

And John Freshwater, a church member and Swansboro engineer who is handling stormwater management for the church project, said it’s not necessarily true that green costs more, and it certainly isn’t true in this case.

“We’ve still got a way to go before we get there, but it’s going to actually save us money,” he said. “And there should be less maintenance cost.

“This whole parking lot was going to be normal curb and gutter, but what we are doing is putting in some islands of vegetation, which will use grass and native plants to take in a lot of the runoff,” he said. “They won’t necessarily be what you’d call rain gardens, because we don’t really have the right soils. But we think it will be very effective. It will give the stormwater a place to settle so that all the nutrients don’t run off.”

There will be several of the islands in the interior of the lot, one very large, about 9 feet wide by 60 to 70 feet long. Others will likely be about the same length but will not be quite so wide. Weaver and the federation will advise the church which plants will work best.

Freshwater said the plans are still fluid, but he has no doubt the final result will be environmentally friendly. Cisterns, he said, are likely, with the collected water from the building’s roof most likely used for irrigation of natural areas.

The end result, he and Wax said, is that the stormwater management system for the parking lot and the new building will far exceed what is required by the state’s stormwater rules and the town’s regulations. And the fact that the project will be more aesthetically pleasing is no small benefit, either.

Wax said it’s been gratifying to see the church congregation and its officers, including senior pastor Ed Gunter, supportive of the project, and to see the architect for the ministry building, Tripp Eure of New Bern, embrace the goals of making the addition as environmentally friendly as possible within the church’s budget.

“We’ve gone through fund-raising and we think we have a good handle on the budget,” she said. “We’ve been through the design work, and we’ve trying to procure a financing package from a lender. We’re hoping that sometime this spring we will begin work on the project.”

Bradley Creek Elementary School has worked with the federation and several partners to create rain gardens and wetlands to control polluted runoff.

WILMINGTON — An elementary school in New Hanover County that has worked with the N.C. Coastal Federation to reduce polluted stormwater will be recognized today for its significant achievement and outstanding stewardship in sustainable building.

Bradley Creek Elementary School is one of five projects along the southeast N.C. coast that will be honored at the eighth annual Lower Cape Fear Stewardship Development Coalition Awards Luncheon in Wilmington.

“Sometimes it takes a lot more effort to do the right thing, the innovative thing, the new thing. There should be some sort of payoff to those folks,” said Mark Imperial, chair of the awards program and director of the Master of Public Administration Program at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

The coalition formed in 2004 to recognize developers who were going above and beyond the minimum standards for building. “We wanted to create an avenue for encouraging the public and nonprofit sectors to make those investments and to serve as leaders in putting together projects that demonstrate a better way of building and developing sites for the public,” Imperial said.

The Stewardship Development Program honors residential, commercial and public development projects in Brunswick, Pender and New Hanover counties that demonstrate outstanding environmental stewardship through the protection, conservation, improvement and awareness of our natural resources.

Students at Bradley Creek planted the rain gardens and help maintain them.

Bradley Creek Elementary, which has worked with the federation for several years, will be recognized today for projects to control runoff and community outreach. The school’s 19-acre campus is in the Hewlett’s Creek watershed, an important tidal creek that has been the focus of restoration efforts by the federation, Wilmington, the New Hanover Soil and Water Conservation District and various other partners.

Stormwater runoff is leading cause of pollution in the creek. It has degraded estuarine habitats and closed of shellfish beds to harvesting. When rain contacts rooftops, concrete, asphalt or other impervious surfaces, pollutants are absorbed and drained directly into streams rather than filtering naturally through the ground.

With the support of the school and New Hanover County school system, the project partners began visiting Bradley Creek Elementary in 2009 to create a site design and build a network of rain gardens, wetlands and vegetated areas to absorb runoff. These features collect and treat 120,000 gallons of runoff every time it rains 1.5” or more. Bradley Creek’s third graders who’ve learned about the significance of their school’s green development also get to lend a helping hand year after year.

“We take them out into the school yard so that they can get their hands wet and dirty in those rain gardens and have a sense of what the rain gardens do and some stewardship over them,” said Ted Wilgis, coastal education coordinator for the federation’s Southeast Regional Office.

Another project received an award of Outstanding Stewardship, the highest level of distinction available in the Stewardship Development Program, for its innovative approach to building a utility building for a 1,000-gallon tank of 100 percent recycled, vegetable oil-derived biodiesel with a $10,000 grant from the Department of Energy’s Clean Cities Initiative.

The new College Union at Cape Fear Community College turned a eyesore into an example of sustainable development. Photo: Cape Fear Community College

SECU Hospice House used green building practices and intimate gardens to create a serene environment. Photo: SECU Hospice House

“That amount of money is chicken scratch,” said Christopher Yermal of Older School Rebuilders who was contracted for the project by Piedmont Biofuels Industrial, an N.C.-based alternative fuel cooperative.

Having lived in northern California where landfills sell reusable materials to the public at a reduced rate—a practice yet to reach the East Coast—Yermal had the idea to reach out to the local New Hanover Landfill. He brought back 4,000 pounds of repurposed materials from the landfill, which provided 98 percent of the framing lumber needed for the project.

“I certainly think there’s a huge future in deconstruction and re-use of good building materials in new projects,” Yermal said.

Knowing firsthand that construction waste accounts for the majority of the waste in landfills, Yermal views this sustainable approach as the solution to the “landfills bursting at their seams” as well as saving the energy and resources used in processing lumber from forests.

Architect Eric Jabaley had to modify his designs based on the materials found and used a creatively staggering approach to the wall construction, a low-tech feature with a robust insulation result. Tidal Creek Cooperative Food Market stepped in to provide the building space and electricity free of charge and joined the partners in hosting a public workshop on green roof construction—planting indigenous plants on the roof to mitigate stormwater runoff.

“I think what really impresses our judges are what sometimes people are able to do. Sometimes there’s projects where you just look at it and say, ‘Well what’s so great about that?’ And then you realize the challenge of doing everything they did without increasing any stormwater runoff when the site is almost entirely paved,” said Imperial.

The Bald Head Island Conservancy also won Outstanding Stewardship for its education and research campus, which Executive Director Suzanne Dorsey called “an external expression” of their mission—fostering community-based barrier island conservation, preservation and education to live in harmony with nature.

Given that a barrier island is constantly moving and difficult to reach, finding local materials was a challenge. Dorsey said they had to change the lumber industry in order to secure local lumber as one of the stipulations of being certified as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design by the U.S. Green Building Council. However the conservancy didn’t choose to build sustainably for the sake of getting a green certification. Protecting and restoring natural resources in turn protects the community’s resources. One such example is the roof designed in line with the forest canopy, which tolerates salt spray and sheers off hurricane force winds.

“[Receiving the award] is just so validating for the staff but especially for the community that took such a big risk on building it,” Dorsey said. “I think the uniqueness of this community is a leadership in sustainability that defines why the conservancy was founded and was volunteer-run for the majority of its history.”

Live oak trees were preserved in the courtyard of the Bald Head Island Conservancy campus. Photo: Bald Head Island Conservancy

Also awarded for its significant achievement in green development was the SECU Hospice House in Brunswick County, which used green building practices and intimate gardens and natural landscapes surrounding the building to create a serene environment for its inpatient care.

And, finally, the Cape Fear Community College Union Station building and parking deck for not only transforming a site that was an eyesore and student safety concern into functional structures connected by a safe pedestrian park route but also set an example of sustainability to its growing student body and the community.

Today’s ceremony also will give special recognition to the people who had the vision and commitment to create the Stewardship Award Program in 2004.

To learn more about Lower Cape Fear Stewardship Development Coalition and its efforts to promote environmental stewardship, or to register for the awards luncheon, visit the coalition’s Web site.

SWANSBORO — McDonald’s request for an exemption to the state’s stormwater regulations illustrates how confusing the rules can be, especially when different regulators seem to enforce them differently. It all has the mayor of this small town on the White Oak River scratching his head.

Ambiguity in the state’s coastal rules for stormwater management on property proposed for redevelopment has Swansboro Mayor Scott Chadwick pondering whether his little town can do better by adopting its own rules.

Chadwick said last week he’s in a “wait-and-see” mode as the state Division of Water Quality’s regional office in Wilmington considers what to do about a stormwater plan for a McDonald’s restaurant. The company wants to build on a 6.5-acre tract at the corner of N.C. 24 and Phillips Loop Road that has long been clear of structures and pavement and is the former site of a service station and car wash.

McDonald’s is seeking an exemption from the state’s stormwater rules for its new restaurant in Swansboro. Photo: McDonald’s Inc.

Under a 2008 state law adopted by the N.C. General Assembly, “redevelopment” sites need only meet the stormwater controls required when the site was originally developed if the new project doesn’t add more impervious surface. McDonald’s plans include more hard surface than once existed on the site. If the exemption is granted, the new restaurant may not have to capture any of its runoff because the previous structures pre-dated the state’s stormwater rules and included no controls.

The issue first arose in October, when  McDonald’s representatives appeared before the Swansboro Planning Board and had no stormwater plan because they were proceeding under the assumption that the project would be exempt from state rules. Planning board members weren’t pleased and suggested that McDonald’s rework the site plan to include some stormwater controls. The board a month later voted to recommend approval of the site plan after the developer added a vegetated retention area to capture 44 percent of the runoff from the site.

Without the exemption, McDonald’s would have to meet the strictest standards of the stormwater rules because the restaurant would be within a half-mile of shellfish waters. It would have to capture all of the runoff produced by the worst average rainstorm in a year, or about 3.5 inches of rain in 24 hours.

Jim Gregson, regional supervisor for the surface water section in the state Division of Water Quality’s regional office in Wilmington has said that the state makes a provision for the type of redevelopment proposed by McDonald’s. The exemption could be granted, “As long as they can treat anything that exceeds what was there before,” he said.

But Gregson also said the treatment system installed for that overage must be designed to accommodate the entire area that will drain to it.

After lengthy discussions, McDonald’s has submitted a plan to the division. But Gregson said Friday that the review of the proposal is being hampered by a lack of information over just how much impervious surface was on the site before it was cleared and the pavement removed years ago.

“In this case, the developer got the property in the condition it is in now,” Gregson said. “This developer didn’t tear down the old buildings. And that makes it difficult to show us what was there, how much of the area was built upon, or was it completely paved?”

Mayor Scott Chadwick

Possible documentation, Gregson said, could include aerial photographs or surveys. But the key is how much more new impervious surface there will be under the McDonald’s plan compared to the old development, and that is difficult to determine right now. McDonald’s would add about 3,000 square feet of impervious surface, according to the site plans that it submitted to the planning board

The guiding regulations, 15A.NCAC.02H.1000, state simply that “Redevelopment activities that result in built upon area and provide stormwater control equal to the previous development” are exempt from the rules. The rules contain no language about granting the exemption to projects that exceed the built up area.

Initially, Chadwick said last week, he was very concerned that McDonald’s, banking on the exemption, had not submitted an engineered stormwater plan to the town at all.

“We weren’t happy,” he said last week. “I started talking to our board (of commissioners) about maybe adopting our own rules. But the thinking now is that we should wait to see what the state will do.”

Engineers have assured him that that the state will require McDonald’s to submit a stormwater plan, Chadwick said.

“I am still concerned, though,” he continued. “And this is not just about McDonald’s. I know they have done their marketing studies, and if they do everything right, follow our rules and the state’s, then it’s certainly proper for them to come here to Swansboro. But anyone who develops here needs to take into consideration how close we are to the water and how much we depend on our water resources.”

Derb Carter

Others aren’t so sure that the problem isn’t with the state’s rules and the division’s interpretation of them.

Derb Carter, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center in Chapel Hill, said he was perplexed by the division’s stated willingness to grant an exemption, absent clear compliance with the state law for those exemptions, if the developer agrees, as Gregson put it, to “treat anything that exceeds what was there before.”

Gregson agreed that the stormwater rules enacted by the legislature “don’t specifically tell us to handle it that way.” But, he said, “That has always been our interpretation. I think it’s very fair to give someone credit if the site was already developed.” He added, however, that “The question is how far back do we look?”

Carter said that if there is no rule that specifically allows the division to do that, it’s problematic.

“An internal policy (to do that) would in effect be rule-making,” he said. “You’re essentially making a rule without going through the required process, and the reason you have that process is so that everyone knows what the rules are.”

Gregson said redevelopment is common, but a case like the McDonald’s in Swansboro – redevelopment of property that was cleared years previously by someone who has nothing to do with the current developer – “doesn’t come up very often.” He also said that while some people don’t like the existing redevelopment exemption language even without the office’s “interpretation,” changing it would require legislative action.

The division’s other coastal regional office, in Washington, N.C., seems to interpret the exemption language differently. Some developers who do business in that region say that redevelopment projects that exceed the amount of existing impervious surface don’t qualify.

Gregson’s counterpart in the division’s Washington office, Amy Adams, said yesterday that the agency is aware that there “have been some inconsistencies” in how the redevelopment exemption has been handled by the two offices. As a result, she said, the issue will be a subject for discussion today during the agency’s regularly scheduled “consistency review” meeting. The very reason for those meetings, she said, is to get those involved in the nuts-and-bolts of the process together, in order to discuss projects in their areas and to come to a consensus on how to handle issues consistently.

Stormwater runoff is the major source of water pollution along the coast. Photo: NCSU

Todd Miller, executive director of the N.C. Coastal Federation, said the way in which the state and local governments handle stormwater management in redevelopment projects is very important. “Most of the water quality problems on the coast are primarily due to polluted stormwater runoff,” he said. “Typically, we rebuild our world every 50 to 75 years. We have a lot of development that has been around that long.”

New projects on old sites, he said, present “an opportunity” to make some gains in the ongoing effort to improve water quality.

“You don’t want to squander those opportunities to make progress. We encounter situations with redevelopment quite frequently,” Miller added. “A number of local governments have adopted their own stormwater rules to help deal with that.”

And, Miller said, it’s not just a pollution issue; public health and safety are also involved. Runoff from developed – or redeveloped – property often runs into streets, not just coastal water bodies, and results in flooding that poses threats to motorists. And in areas where there are no central sewer systems – not unusual on the coast – stormwater can flood property with septic tanks, resulting in bacterial pollution in standing water.

The federation, he said, is always willing to help local governments with development of better ordinances and with practical and often relatively inexpensive solutions to stormwater problems. Rain gardens and other natural features can hold the water and be aesthetically pleasing.

But, he said, holding those who redevelop property to high standards “does not have to be a show-stopper.” He said, for example, that the McDonald’s in Cape Carteret, just up the road from Swansboro, is a good example. Its efforts to comply with stormwater rules for a new restaurant on the site of an old McDonald’s added “only marginally to the cost.

“Many times all it takes is just a little forethought,” he said. “Low-impact development results in a more attractive project, one that actually makes people want to come there.”

Students at Manteo Middle School tested water in the wetland and in the adjacent canal.

Volunteers planted three types of saltwater plants to create the wetland.

MANTEO – It took a couple of years of busting up concrete, moving dirt around and digging holes for plants, but the first saltwater wetland in the state and maybe on the East Coast that’s designed to  treat polluted stormwater is now open as a town park.

Manteo partnered with the N.C. Coastal Federation several years ago to identify, design and install methods to treat stormwater from existing developments, in an effort to clean up the waters of Shallowbag Bay.

The town’s stormwater system was designed to collect runoff from streets, parking lots, yards and buildings and send it through outfalls directly into Shallowbag Bay.

“It’s some pretty dirty stuff and is affecting the water quality of the bay,” said Erin Burke, town planner. “Our board of commissioners recognizes that and is committed to improving that.”

Now completed and opened as a nontraditional park, the project at the corner of U.S. 64 and Grenville Street is the first saltwater stormwater wetland in the state and possibly on the East Coast, said Erin Fleckenstein, coastal scientist and the manager of the federation’s Northeast Region office.

Wetlands use native plants to slow and purify runoff, which often carries bacteria from animal droppings. Because runoff from rain is freshwater, stormwater wetlands are usually of freshwater variety. Federation scientists, however, found inspiration in naturally occurring swales that sometimes fill with water and act as saltwater marshes.

“We came to them (the town) and said, ‘Try a saltwater wetland,’” Fleckenstein said. “Saltwater is more toxic to bacteria than freshwater.”

The town approved, and engineers from Withers & Ravenel of Raleigh and N.C. State University helped develop the plans.

The quarter-acre of saltmarsh now treats runoff from a 41-acre watershed in Manteo that is about 64 percent hard, impervious surface and includes commercial properties and U.S. 64.

If as expected it proves itself over time as the better option to treat stormwater and to provide habitat, the wetland could be a tool for other towns and developers to use.

“Stormwater runoff is the leading cause of water quality impairment that causes shellfish beds to close,” Fleckenstein said.

The town bought the property known as Buck’s Seafood—a small strip mall that included China King—in 2007 with grants from the Dare County Tourism Bureau. It tore down the building and parking lot in 2008.

The new wetland was doing what it was designed to do — hold water — after rains in August.

The N.C Department of Transportation supplied the money to build the wetland, and a grant from the N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund helped the town place a conservation easement on the land.

Construction began in 2010, followed by planting the next year.

“We recruited volunteers and planted these one-inch marsh plugs a foot and a half away from the other ones,” Fleckenstein said. “We have been very happy with how it has filled in.”

The wetland includes three species of native N.C. plants bought from local growers: salt meadow hay, black needlerush and saltmarsh cordgrass.

Fleckenstein said it takes 36 to 72 hours for the stormwater to move through the wetland, which was contoured for habitat and because the various types of marsh grasses survive at different water levels. During that time, the plants absorb the nutrients in the stormwater and both ultraviolet light and salt break down the bacteria it contains.

Part of the wetland’s design is a pump controlling saltwater flow into the marsh. It can either allow stormwater in or it can pull in water from an adjacent canal when the water level is low. At first it was manually controlled, but in 2012, a probe was installed to automatically trigger the pump.

“The marsh plants like to keep their feet wet,” Fleckenstein said. “They like variation in water levels, especially as young plants. Once their roots are established, they can handle flooding more.”

The design also strives to eliminate invasive plants such as native cattails and nonnative phragmites, because habitat value is lost when such plants move in, Fleckenstein said.

The saltwater wetland is a type of habitat that is being lost along the coast, Fleckenstein said, and yet it is crucial as a nursery area for estuarine species, such as blue crab, mullet, red drum and other juvenile fish species. Wading birds have been spotted in the wetland, and the town installed a purple martin house.

Mary Ann Hodges, a science teacher at Manteo Middle School, has brought two groups of students to the wetland to help cement textbook lessons in their minds through hands-on experiences.

Erin Fleckenstein

She did basic water quality testing with the middle-school science club and more advanced water quality testing with her eighth-grade students. They compared the water quality of the wetland to that of the canal beside it, which leads to Shallowbag Bay.

“We found the water quality in the wetland area is much better than in the ditch right next to it,” Hodges said, which “means the plants are doing their job.”

State stormwater rules affect new development around water bodies, to keep them as clean as possible, but they are not retroactive. Existing developments don’t have to comply with newer, stricter rules. To ensure that water bodies remain protected, ways must be found to control runoff from exiting development, Fleckenstein explained.

Besides the wetland, the federation has helped install a rain garden and cistern at the Manteo Town Hall and rain gardens at Festival Park, Front Porch Café and local schools.

In the next couple months, Manteo’s second stormwater treatment project will get underway: a mechanical treatment of the outfall at the boat ramp at the north end of Queen Elizabeth Street, Burke said.

While not as effective as the wetland’s biological treatment, this oil-water grit separator will slow down runoff and capture trash like cigarette butts and large particles such as gravel, dust and dirt, Burke explained.

The board is able to implement that project with a grant from the N.C. Division of Water Resources. They hope to do one stormwater-related project every year as time and budget constraints allow, she said.

More information is available at Town Hall, and a map at the wetland park site explains the process.

Reprinted from The Coastal Society Bulletin

Residents of River Run volunteered their time to build the rain garden.

The finished product of their efforts.

It’s fair to say that some of the folks who live along the Lockwoods Folly River in Brunswick County are a little crazy. Specifically, the residents of Winding River and River Run Plantation neighborhoods are crazy — about clean rivers and sounds, native plants and healthy oysters and fish.

Because of their passion for the environment, these residents were the perfect partners for the N.C. Coastal Federation’s low-impact development (LID) project in the Lockwoods Folly watershed.

Polluted stormwater runoff is the number one source of surface water pollution in North Carolina. Traditional development patterns have long approached stormwater management as a drainage problem, with neighborhood designs most often moving stormwater runoff directly to ponds or through pipes and along curbs and gutters. The untreated runoff ultimately found its way into the closest streams or creeks.

LID projects encompass a wide range of new practices that are designed to protect water quality while still achieving residential or commercial development goals. Unlike traditional practices, neighborhoods that incorporate LID measures focus on “disconnecting” the runoff from houses, parking lots and streets. Instead of sending it directly to the nearest stream, LID designs encourage this rainwater to flow over and through vegetated swales and into rain gardens or wetlands, allowing the polluted water to be absorbed by the plants and soak into the ground, where it can be cleaned by the soil and plants.

In the case of the Winding River and River Run subdivisions, initial design and construction of the area near the community marinas resulted in significant amounts of polluted runoff from neighborhood roads flowing directly down the community boat ramps and into the Lockwoods Folly River, a haven for swimming, fishing, harvesting oysters and clams and water sports.

The Brunswick County projects were led by the federation, in partnership with the Brunswick County Soil and Water Conservation District, the Brunswick County Engineering Department, and the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service.

Working in partnership with expert stormwater engineers, contractors, native plant landscapers and the residents of Winding River and River Run Plantation subdivisions, the federation developed a strategy to redirect stormwater runoff in the area away from the drainage swales and pipes leading to the river. Instead, limited re-grading of the grounds allowed for rainwater to flow through grassy swales and into one of two large rain gardens, or bio-retention areas, that were built at each of the neighborhoods.

Winding River residents put the finishing touches on their rain garden.

The initial design and construction of the naturally vegetated gardens was partially funded through the Conservation District’s Community Conservation Assistance Program, which shares the costs of community projects that restore or protect water quality. Initial funds were also provided through the North Carolina Attorney General’s Environmental Enhancement Program. The Coastal Society’s Board of Directors also donated to the projects.

Although the re-grading and garden areas were shaped by professional contractors, residents from both neighborhoods provided match money and all of the “sweat equity” needed to plant a diverse array of plants and shrubs, and later to maintain the gardens in beautiful form.  Residents donned chest waders to plant hundreds of native plants in the gardens and then worked over the next year to pull weeds, add mulch and add or replace plants. Gardening gurus in each neighborhood worked with the federation and landscaping professionals to develop a list of native plants that were low maintenance, adapted to the sometimes harsh environment of southeastern North Carolina and added beauty to the landscape.

The projects are completed and are successful, working gardens, capturing and treating nearly all of the polluted runoff that formerly flowed from neighborhood streets down the boat ramps and into the river.  While they are known by many visitors as the marina “nature gardens,” they provide examples of how incorporating natural design elements into our neighborhoods can be a beautiful addition to the landscape and protect or restore our treasured estuarine waters.

Reprinted from the Tideland News of Swansboro

SWANSBORO — A building group’s application for a McDonald’s restaurant was taken off the Dec. 18 Swansboro Board of Commissioners agenda, apparently because the company is working on obtaining a state stormwater permit before proceeding.

Garrett Otten of Commercial Site Design of Raleigh is representing the fast-food company. In a telephone interview after the meeting, he declined to discuss specific reasons behind the delay.

“We are still working through permitting,” he said.

Jennifer Holland, town planner, attributed the change to the fact that the project has yet to attain a redevelopment exception to the state’s coastal stormwater rules.

McDonald’s wants to build a restaurant on a 6.5-acre tract at the corner of N.C. 24 and Phillips Loop Road. The lot is the site of a former service station and car wash.

Bacteria in stormwater runoff is the primary cause of shellfish closures in the White Oak River. Photo: N.C. Division of Water Quality.

“They filed the application in October,” said Pat Turner, chairwoman of the Swansboro Planning Board. “The question came up about stormwater runoff. They indicated they were doing what the state required.”

During that discussion, planning board members were concerned that the restaurant would only meet minimum standards, which, in this case, is no treatment of stormwater at all.

Frank Tursi, a planning board member and an assistant director of the N.C. Coastal Federation, an environmental group based in nearby Ocean in Carteret County, said that new state stormwater rules, enacted in 2008, allow an exemption if property is redeveloped.

“A project can’t exceed the amount of built up area that already exists on a site and must provide at least the same level of stormwater controls that currently exist,” Tursi explained.

Because the previous structures on that tract pre-date the state’s stormwater rules, there were no controls.

“It’s a terrible hole in the law,” Tursi said. “We (the federation) complained about it at the time … and Swansboro is seeing the result with this McDonald’s.”

The new stormwater rules are a vast improvement over the flawed regulations that the state first devised in the 1980s, Tursi said. But new rules only apply to new development, he noted. They’re not retroactive.

“If we are truly serious about getting a handle on the bacterial pollution that is plaguing rivers like the White Oak… if we are going to improve the quality of failing water bodies as state and federal laws require… then we are going to have to do something about existing development,” he said.

When it became clear in October that there was no real plan for stormwater treatment at the proposed McDonald’s, the planning board – which is only an advisory board – urged the developer to do more, according to Turner.

“The board actually recommended to them to reconsider … either more pervious surface or landscaping,” she said.

Frank Tursi

Jim Gregson

No vote was taken in October, and Otten came back in November with a plan to capture runoff from about 44 percent of the tract, according to the minutes from the meeting.

“What they did was … turn an (traffic) island into a bio-retention area,” Tursi said. “Some of the lot will drain into the area.”

Such treatment methods rely on soil and plants to soak up rainwater. Exactly how much runoff the area can handle is unclear because the developer did not provide any stormwater engineering, according to Tursi.

Without the exemption, McDonald’s would have to meet the strictest requirements in the stormwater rules because the building site is within a half-mile of shellfish waters. Such projects along the central coast normally have to treat about 3.5 inches of rain in a 24-hour period, according to Jim Gregson, the regional supervisor for the surface water section of the N.C. Division of Water Quality in Wilmington.

Tursi wondered if the McDonald’s project even qualifies for the exemption. The plans that the company presented to the Planning Board show that the company plans to increase the impervious surfaces – pavement, rooftop and other hard constructed surfaces – by about 3,000 square feet.

“The law is very clear,” Tursi said.  “It plainly says that you cannot exceed the impervious surface that is there now to qualify for the exemption.”

However, Gregson said the state makes a provision for that type of development. The exemption could be granted, “As long as they can treat anything that exceeds what was there before,” he said.

But Gregson also said the treatment system installed for that overage must be designed to accommodate the entire area that will drain to it.

So far, DWQ has not received an application from McDonald’s for the exemption, Gregson said.

Swansboro planners, at their November meeting, voted unanimously to recommend approval of the McDonald’s plan. But Tursi admitted that he had misgivings.

“I told them they were doing the bare minimum,” he said last week. “As big as McDonald’s is … a multi-national company … I think they could afford to be a model citizen … spend the money required to assure they do not add to the pollution problems in the White Oak River.”

The way Tursi sees it, Swansboro should take the lead to assure that this type of situation does not continue. Under the state’s current interpretation of the law, much of N.C. 24 through town could be redeveloped without any stormwater controls, he said.

“This is a lesson for the town,” Tursi said. “The general feeling is that stormwater issues are taken care of at the state level. Here is an example of a weakness in the state rules. If Swansboro is serious about trying to help clean up the White Oak River, maybe the town should consider a local ordinance that at least deals with redevelopment. Other towns have.

“Stormwater is a local issue; local governments need to take some of the responsibility.”

BEAUFORT — Walt Disney once said, “We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

Such is the case as well with East Carolina Community Development Inc. (ECCDI). For the non-profit that develops affordable housing, curiosity resulted in a first-of-its-kind affordable housing development in eastern North Carolina that incorporates an enhanced stormwater management plan and a rainwater collection system. New paths, so to speak.

Going down that path earned the company a 2012 Pelican Award from the N.C. Coastal Federation, which gives out the annual awards to recognize exemplary efforts to protect and preserve the coastal environment.

Mark McCloskey, vice president for planning and development for the company, said he was introduced to low-impact development, or LID, at a federation workshop in 2006. He started working for ECCDI that year and since then has assisted with the development of nine multi-family developments in Onslow and Carteret counties.

McCloskey is typically involved in a wide range of activities from land acquisition to conceptual layout and permitting. He also serves as a liaison for architects and engineers. He has helped develop 478 units of affordable housing, some of which are for low- and moderate-income elderly tenants and others for low- and moderate-income families. Glenstal in Jacksonville is one of the elderly housing developments.

“Glenstal Apartments is really our first development that we made a concerted effort to incorporate green components,” McCloskey said. “I became interested in LID and rainwater harvesting through attending a variety of workshops, mostly hosted by or somewhat related to NCCF or N.C. Sea Grant and N.C. State, and became curious to see if these were features that could be integrated into the construction of affordable housing.”

The 56-unit affordable housing complex for residents 55 and older was completed December 2011. The aesthetically pleasing development was built and certified to the Energy Star 2.0 standard and incorporates an enhanced or “hybrid” stormwater management plan and rainwater harvesting for use at the community gardens.

McCloskey explained that the stormwater management plan is considered enhanced because it was permitted as a conventional stormwater plan but the LID components went above and beyond what was required. For instance, vegetated depressions, called bio-cells, capture some of the runoff and allow it to soak into the ground.

“Stormwater is conveyed to ponds through a combination of some piping and grassy swales that connect bio-cells, which help treat the water as it passes through,” he said. “One objective was to minimize the amount of piping that would be needed to carry stormwater to the retention pond.”

There is only one run of pipe beneath the parking lot with a bio-cell with a catch basin that drains to the pipe. The stormwater is carried to the pond by swales, bio-cells or other overland flow. McCloskey said the use of the cells rather than pipes in effect decentralizes the stormwater collection and gives more points of treatment and increased storage capacity.

To help with the landscape, McCloskey hired landscape architect Heather Burkert of HBC whom he met at one of the federation workshops. Native plantings were used to the extent possible.

“Basically, instead of spending money on pipes, we spent money on planting,” he said. “We had over 2,500 plantings on this project when we would usually only have between four and five hundred.”

The non-profit received a small grant for the rainwater harvesting which consists of two 1,100-gallon cisterns that collect 30 percent of the rainwater from the clubhouse roof. The water is used to irrigate the nine raised garden beds in which residents can plant vegetables and flowers. Each of the beds is 24 inches high to make them handicap-accessible and easy on the back. The harvested rainwater can also be used for power washing as needed. McCloskey said Mitch Woodard from N.C. State University was instrumental in the design and construction of the rainwater collection system.

Some of the challenges in doing this type of development were the soils and shallow, seasonally high water table, McCloskey said, but the results were worth the extra effort.

“We worked around them in order to design a hybrid LID system,” he said. “It is very rewarding just to know that we were able to incorporate these additional features into the development of an affordable housing development and that for the most part they enhance the overall livability of the community.”

He adds that while the use of the stormwater management system wasn’t a requirement, they were interested in seeing if it was feasible. “We also wanted to determine if using just LID could actually help reduce costs typically associated with conventional stormwater management infrastructure,” he said. “Unfortunately, since we ended up using a combination of LID and conventional systems we were not able to realize a significant savings. We were however, determined to at least include some LID if for no other reason just the aesthetics and for good stewardship of the land. I think the final product speaks for itself on both accounts.”

With gas prices high and climate change much in the news, it’s not unusual these days for prospective car buyers to think green.

But when the new Stevenson Toyota dealership opens this spring on Highway 17 in Jacksonville, its customers will be able to rest assured they’re also buying from an all-around green business.

While many car lots can be environmental nightmares – acres of steaming asphalt that generate countless gallons of stormwater runoff, and extremely high water use for washing vehicles – Stevenson’s new store will incorporate cisterns, constructed wetlands, a detailing/washing facility that recycles its water and a building designed to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards.

The facility, now under construction down the road from Stevenson’s current Toyota facility, is the result of a marriage between a giant international corporation that for decades has thought green, and a local executive whose educational background compels her to think that way.

Still under construction, the new Stevenson Toyota dealership will use low-impact development techniques to control stormwater.

Shelley Smith, Swansboro resident, daughter of company owner Johnny Stevenson and holder of a degree in environmental economics, is heading the effort through her position as real estate development consultant for Stevenson Automotive Group.

“Toyota for a long time has been one of the front-runners in terms of environmentally friendly, high-mileage cars, and has been pushing for green stores,” she said recently. “Mr. Stevenson was aware of how things are moving in the industry, and with my background, this was just a natural.”

Everyone involved looked closely at the economics, and decided green was the right path, not only for the environment, but also for image and, especially, for economics, Smith said. Environmentally friendly simply made good business sense.

The facility will use a huge, 10,000-gallon cistern to collect runoff from the building’s 7,290-square foot roof, and that water will be used to flush the toilets. There should be enough for 200 flushes per day, and the estimated savings on the water bill is $907 per month.

The key for the local environment, Smith said, is that the system will dramatically reduce the amount of stormwater flowing into two sets of constructed wetlands on the rear of the property. And there will be no “algae-filled retention” pond, like you see at many major developments.

The wetlands will total about 1.5 acres, and will include, at a minimum, sweet flag, lizard tail, duck potato, water willow, buttonbush, needle spikerush and dockweed plants.

 “It’s more costly upfront,” Smith said of the overall project, “and it is more time-consuming” in terms of design and construction. “But the return on investment should be much faster than normal.” While it’s difficult to say exactly how much faster – that depends in part on how many vehicles are sold – Smith estimated the savings would cut 10 to 15 percent of the return time.

The company considered using solar components, she said, but decided the water reuse and stormwater runoff limitation was the most cost-effective route to meeting the tough LEED standards. “We wanted to use the technology that we knew would give us the most consistent benefit,” Smith said. She added that it won’t be known for sure if the building qualifies for LEED designation until it’s finished, but that’s the goal.

In keeping with the low-impact development standard, 34 percent of the total site will be pervious, allowing stormwater to filter into the soil. Most of the green space will be grass, but there will be many shrubs, too. Trees? Not so many; they’re a pain in the vicinity of cars, because someone has to deal with the leaves.

At any rate, Smith said the site will exceed the city of Jacksonville’s landscaping requirement by 20,000 square feet. So not only will the site be green functionally, it will be “prettier” than the average car dealership, always a plus in putting people in the mood to buy.

Instead of engaging its usual design, engineering and construction contractors, Stevenson found companies that are experienced in green design and building. The contractor is A.M. King of Charlotte, the design is by Kasper Architecture of Jacksonville, Fla., and the engineer is McKim and Creed of Wilmington, a firm that even advertises itself as “helping people build sustainable communities.”

Smith and Stevenson Automotive Group have worked closely on the project with the city of Jacksonville, mostly with stormwater manager Pat Donovan-Pots, who over the years has participated in workshops organized by the N.C. Coastal Federation.

 “The city has been very helpful,” Smith said. “Some things needed to be revised as we went through the design process, because we weren’t dealing with just your everyday requirements, and they were very accommodating.”

Smith said the dealership will be by far the greenest in the area. Toyota already has similar dealerships in Texas and Utah, she said, and the corporation was very helpful throughout the effort.

“I don’t think most people are aware yet of what we are doing,” she said. “But we will market it as ‘green.’ We’ll have educational signs inside and outside for the created wetlands and the cistern, and we’ll let people know it can be used for educational purposes. I think what we’re doing makes everyone in the process feel good.”

Lauren Kolodij, deputy director of the N.C. Coastal Federation, said the environmental organization will promote the new dealership, too, as an example of how low-impact development is effective and efficient not just for residential development, but also for commercial projects.

“We certainly applaud them (Stevenson and Toyota) for doing this,” she said. “Low-impact development has been taking off all over the country, and we’ve had some (residential) projects along the North Carolina coast and elsewhere in the state, but we haven’t had many commercial examples. We’re very pleased that they are putting together a project that can be showcased in North Carolina and across the country.

The federation was not involved in the project, and learned of it from Donovan-Pots during the aforementioned workshop this past summer. Since then, Kolodij said, she has met with Smith and plans to stay in touch to monitor how the project goes.

“We want to promote this project,” she said, “as a way to show that low-impact development isn’t just good for the environment, but also for individual businesses and the economy in general.”

JACKSONVILLE – The N.C. Coastal Federation received an award from Onslow County schools for helping an elementary school in Swansboro build a rain garden to control flooding and to teach students about stormwater pollution.

The school system gave the federation its annual Businesses Assisting Schools in Educating Students Award at a reception at Northside High School in Jacksonville yesterday.

During the 2010-2011 school year, Queens Creek Elementary School was experiencing serious flooding on its campus. Brandon Beard, a third-grade teacher at the time, began working with Sarah Phillips, a federation educator, on a rain garden project to address the flooding problem and to teach the students about stormwater and rain gardens.

“Mr. Beard’s class worked in the gardens and he also took volunteer classrooms that wanted to help. I would say about 100 some kids worked on the gardens that year,” said Rebecca Harris, a second-grade teacher at Queens Creek.

Beard has since moved away, so Harris took over the rain garden project.

The school rain program at started in 2006 at Manteo Middle School. The federation helped the school apply for grants to plant two large retention basins. Middle school students, teachers and volunteers initially planted over 600 native species of trees, shrubs, perennials and grasses.

Sarah Phillips explains the wonders of wonders of rain gardens to White Oak Elementary students.

Another school that successfully partnered with the federation is White Oak Elementary School in Cape Carteret in Carteret County. In 2009, that school installed three rain gardens that helped keep their parking area free from standing water, which had been an issue at the school for years. Since the gardens were installed, the school has had a year-round “Rain Garden Club” to learn about and maintain the gardens after school hours.

Additional schools that have partnered with the federation include Annunciation Catholic School and Arthur W. Edwards Elementary School in Craven County, Chocowinity Middle School in Beaufort County, Smyrna Elementary School and Tiller School in Carteret County, Swansboro Elementary School in Onslow County, Bradley Creek Elementary School in New Hanover County and First Flight elementary and middle schools in Dare County.

During a rain garden project, students learn about stormwater runoff, native plants and local wildlife.

“Last year after the runoff lesson with Sarah, Mrs. Reid’s third-grade class worked on adding plants to the small rain garden and my second- grade class added plants to the larger rain garden. The federation donated some of the plants and Queens Creek Elementary bought some,” Harris said.

She added that she plans to have Phillips back for the runoff pollution lesson and is encouraging other classes to take advantage of having her visit their classrooms.

Students carefully planting.

In addition to Phillips’ time at Queens Creek, the federation was also instrumental in securing a grant to help pay for the project, according to Debbie Harper of the Onslow County Schools.

“We have 37 schools in our district; the schools provide the information to me. We ask them to give us the names of organizations and businesses that have donated time and or money to their school,” she added.  “I then compile all the schools’ reports together.  There are no judges; it is based on what your company contributes that school year.”

Some of the ways businesses and organizations can help at local schools are: tutoring students, serving as mentors for at-risk students and resource speakers, assisting teachers and staff, financing mini-grants of $250 or more for individual schools or teachers, sponsoring teacher scholarships for  training and serving as a volunteer at field day, career day and other special projects.

Lexia Weaver, coastal scientist for the federation, adds that “the goal of our schoolyard rain garden project is to teach the students about stormwater runoff and its negative effect on the water quality of our coastal waters. At the same time, we engage them in hands-on environmental restoration as they help to plant the rain garden, and they also learn about ways to reduce stormwater runoff in their own neighborhoods and yards.

“The N.C. Coastal Federation is very happy to be working with our local schools and educating the next generation of environmental stewards.”

Schools interested in partnering with the federation on a rain garden project or in learning more about the other educational opportunities for students can contact one of its educational coordinators: Phillips along the central coast, Sara Jean Hallas along the northern coast or Ted Wilgis along the southern coast.

Reprinted from the Outer Banks Voice

NAGS HEAD — A 50-year-old network of ditches, culverts and pipes in Nags Head dramatically showed its age after more than 3 feet of rain this spring and summer.

Town Manager Cliff Ogburn has identified as many as two dozen spots around town where rain and runoff inundated a stormwater drainage system that dates back to the Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962.

Downpours from Tropical Storm Beryl contributed to as much as 10 inches of rain in May. Then a stubborn weather pattern settled in, generating heavy showers and thunderstorms for the next three months. Some streets and neighborhoods saw flooding for most of the summer.

The state Department of Transportation has cleared some ditches along the bypass, but more work needs to be done, Ogburn said.

Water from heavy rains all summer formed small ponds all over Nags Head. Photo: Outer Banks Voice

Ogburn plans to come back to the Dare County Board of Commissioners with specific plans and priorities as well as cost estimates. But he added at a board meeting last week that any improvements cannot practically handle a once in 100-year or 500-year storm.

“We can build for a 10-year storm or a 25-year storm, but at some point the projects, no matter how well they’re engineered, are going to become overwhelmed,” he said.

Still, several problems areas need immediate fixes. Efforts to minimize flooding in Nags Head Acres and neighboring Vista Colony, for example, have been hampered by poor drainage along U.S. 158.

Runoff from the two neighborhoods is supposed to flow into a ditch, then under the bypass to an ocean outfall. But a difference of about 18 inches in the grade means the water collects on the west side of the bypass and eventually back into the neighborhoods.

Ogburn said that the hope is to channel some runoff south to another outfall, but state environmental rules and DOT regulations complicate efforts to move water.

Rainfall this year at Town Hall hit 36.87 inches through August. That is more than fell in 12 months every year since 2007 except 2010. That year, the measurement for the entire year was 38.03 inches.

So far this year, 50.37 inches have been recorded at 8th Street.

Town officials have surveyed several neighborhoods, cleaned out ditches and culverts and in some cases have pumped out water. They have met with the DOT and the National Park Service, which have jurisdiction over several ditches and canals.

The Department of Transportation has agreed to contribute $20,000 for a modeling study in South Nags Head. The town would have to cover any added costs.

East-west ditches on Park Service land, Ogburn said, can be returned to their original depths without an environmental impact statement. But an environmental assessment might be needed.

In others areas, lowering groundwater levels with pumps, a technique used in Kill Devil Hills, might provide a solution. But that will depend on where the water goes and if state environmental regulations will allow it.

Ogburn said the $4 stormwater fee assessed property owners raises only $150,000. He said the town will have to look at other sources of money for fixes throughout Nags Head.

“We’ve got to prioritize and spend the public dollar where it will do the most good,” said Mayor Bob Oakes.

BATH — Hilton Waters was picking through baskets of live blue crabs a few weeks ago, counting them as he culled out peelers to put in his shedding tanks. It was about 5:30 p.m. on a Friday, and he and his wife were leaving for a much-needed vacation the next day.  But something looked wrong.

“We just noticed the crabs seemed to be acting funny,” Waters said in a telephone interview on Friday, recounting the Aug. 10 incident.

By about 7 p.m., he said, some of the crabs in the shedding tanks were flipping end over end — something he had never seen before. Two hours later, most of the crabs were flipping continuously.  At about 11 p.m., all 2,000 or so of the crabs in the tanks were on their backs, quivering. Then, during the night, their claws and, sometimes, entire legs were falling off.

By morning, Waters said, every crab was dead.

“Everything hit wrong,” he said.  “It came with a heck of a downpour at the same time the runoff came with a very low tide.”A lifelong waterman, Waters immediately suspected pesticide poisoning of the canal at the mouth of St. Clair’s Creek, which empties into the Pamlico River at his operation between Bath and Belhaven.  A neighboring farmer had ground sprayed his cotton fields with a pesticide the day before, and there had been a rain deluge of 1.5 inches that afternoon. The farm field drains into a ditch that drains into the canal, which supplies water for his tanks.

Waters saved a water sample, and froze some of the dead crab. The next morning, he called a state environmental emergency number and he was soon contacted by Lynn Henry, a marine biologist at the state Division of Marine Fisheries office in Elizabeth City.  A report was taken, Waters said, but Henry did not visit the site.

But a person from the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services did come out that Monday to look around, he said, and came back the next day to collect the samples.

Jennifer Almond, pesticide operations specialist with the agriculture department, confirmed that an inspector visited the site on Aug. 13, and found that the pesticide bifenthrin, which is highly toxic to crab, shrimp, and other aquatic life, had been used by the farmer, Mike Godley of Bath.  The matter is still under investigation and she said she could not comment further.

Henry said that there is no indication that the pesticide was applied improperly. “I think it was just the timing was terrible,” she said. “I have not heard that the farmer did anything wrong.”

Pesticide poisonings seem to be isolated in the crab operations in the Albemarle-Pamlico estuaries, said Anne Deaton, section chief of habitat protection with the division. But lately, she said, she has heard that crabbers proactively take their pots out of the water when there’s a heavy rain.

“The question for us — we see a bunch of adult crabs dying — so what’s happening below the surface to the juvenile or post-juvenile crabs?” Deaton said. “The important thing is to figure out how much of these chemicals are getting into the water.”

Crabs are already stressed out when they’re shedding, said Henry, and crabbers always try to get the best water quality possible. Oxygen content, temperature and handling are also issues in mortality, so crabbers are vigilant in keeping watch on the potentially lucrative crabs in the tanks.

A kill like Waters suffered, Henry said, is a concern to anyone who cares about the water quality in that agricultural region.

“If these chemicals are doing this to him, what is it doing to all the other critters in the environment?” he said. “What is this stuff doing to the aquatic environment in these small creeks and nursery areas?”

Apparently, no one really knows. Thanks to a combination of government budget cuts and entangled bureaucratic regulations, there appears to be no clear-cut understanding of the impacts of pesticide use near estuarine waters or who is in charge of oversight.

In 2010, the state eliminated funding for “rapid response teams” in the Neuse and Pamlico river basins, and along with that, the emergency phone number to call about fish kills or water pollution was eliminated. Now, calls about all environmental emergencies go to the state Division of Emergency Management (800-858-0368) and the appropriate agency is notified.

With the Waters case, after consulting with the Division of Marine Fisheries and the Division of Water Quality, it was decided that because it was pesticide-related, it should be handled by the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, said Steve Lewis, the emergency response coordinator for the Division of Water Quality.

Lewis said that under the federal Clean Water Act, stormwater runoff from agricultural operations is not subject to the act’s regulations, even if the runoff contains enough pesticides to kill crabs.

And if the farmer applied the pesticide according to the label, there may be very little recourse even if there is a kill.

What happened in this incident, Lewis said, it that the pesticide, which is relatively non-toxic to mammals, was washed from the cotton into the waterway where it was not intended to go. There, it became very deadly to invertebrates in the water.

“It wasn’t that it was super-concentrated,” he said about the pesticide. “It’s just that it was so toxic.”

The bottom line is that it is difficult to regulate pesticide use that may result in accidental pollution of waterways, said Matt Matthews, chief of surface water protection for the division in Raleigh.

“In order to address the situation in some way, we’re trying to address this with outreach and education,” he said.

Matthews said he has found that farmers try to use the “least environmentally impactful” chemical available, but it can be a balancing act finding the right herbicide and pesticide.

There are 323 monitoring stations located in waterways throughout the state that look for indications of chemical, physical and biological contamination, but Matthews said he is not aware of any targeted state studies of agricultural pesticide effects on estuarine aquatic life.

“We do not have those kinds of resources right now,” he said.

Dan Rittschof

A 2009 Duke Marine Lab study by Dan Rittschof, prompted by a large blue crab kill in Swan Quarter, studied varying degrees of toxicity to crabs during their life stages of four commonly-used pesticides, with the one in the same chemical family as bifenthrin considered the most toxic.

Rittschof is one of five authors of a 2012 report on the toxicity of pesticides to crabs published in the Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology.

“The sensitivity of molting blue crabs to these pesticides makes frequently molting juveniles particularly vulnerable to pesticides in estuaries,” the report said.

If Waters has anything to be grateful for, he said, it’s that his operation was not at its maximum of 5,000 crabs. It’s still not known whether he’ll be able to collect insurance money from Godley, who Waters characterized as a “good guy” who would not intentionally hurt anything.  Not only is he out of about $4,500 for the crabs, it is unclear when it will be again safe to use the canal and when his shedding operation will fully recover.

But he said he is disappointed in the state’s slow response to his calls, and says that no one was there fast enough to see the hundreds of dead grass shrimp lining the quarter-mile canal after the rain, not to mention the crabs that were not in his tanks — because all the poisoned creatures soon sank to the bottom, unseen and unknown.

“From my standpoint, that’s just my word,” he said.  “It’s never been documented. It’s not just my shedders; it’s killing everything.”

The N.C. History Center circulates much of the stormwater generated on the site through restored wetlands instead of dumping it directly into the Trent River. Photo: N.C.History Center

NEW BERN — A once-prosperous boat-building yard that became a toxic-laden Superfund site is now the home of an award-winning brick and glass waterfront showpiece that serves as a model in “green design.”

That design and innovative methods to control polluted runoff won The N.C. History Center a Pelican Award from the N.C Coastal Federation this year.

The center’s gleaming glass rose from the site of the old Barbour Boat Works. Founded in 1932 on the north bank of the Trent River, the boatyard produced all types of ships, from private yachts to tugboats and minesweepers. However, when it closed in the mid-1980s, it had become polluted with dangerous toxic chemicals that were contaminating the river.

A variety of ships were built at the the Barbour Boat Works during its more than 50 years of operation.

A ship glides down the rail ways at the Barbour Boat Works in 1943. Photos: Digital Collections, Joyner Library, East Carolina University.

The state bought the property in 1997 because of its proximity to Tryon Palace, the reconstructed 1790s’ governor’s mansion. The state intended the old boatyard to eventually become a visitors’ gateway to the palace and a museum that uses modern information technologies to tell the story of colonial coastal North Carolina.

The site presented several challenges, however. A marsh in colonial times, the location had become a Superfund site after decades of industrial use had contaminated the soil with PCBs, asbestos, mercury and heavy metals, not to mention vast quantities of coal tars left over from the 1800s.

The soft riverfront soil presented the project’s engineers with another set of challenges and acquiring the $60 million that would eventually be needed from private and public sources required a deft, sustained fundraising effort.

Philippe Lafargue, acting director for Tryon Palace, said that one of the project’s top priorities was to demonstrate good stewardship of the land and to promote innovative site-development methods.

“It was our only way of connecting one of our properties directly with the water. In the 18^th century Tryon Palace was connected to the river,” he explained. “In the 1950s, a road was put between the river and the property. It was important to reconnect to the water—that’s why New Bern got developed. This (construction) was kind and good for the river as well as practical and to be used as a teaching tool not only for history, but in wetland construction.”

To pay for the new wetlands, Tyron Palace received a grant for $1 million from the N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund and $75,000 for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Lafargue said. “We then hired an engineering firm, then a wetlands consultant and started designing the wetlands,” he added.

BJAC, an architectural firm in Raleigh, designed the stunning building. “One of the biggest challenges in the design of the museum was most certainly the magnitude of the project and the 11-year duration,” said Jennifer Amster, who headed the project team for the company. “We had a number of unique issues, such as having to handle the site remediation requirements to convert a brownfield into a sustainable waterfront and museum. But in the big picture, we were tasked with merging 300 years of history with today’s technology into a space designed to be in use and still sustainable 100 years from now for the New Bern community and its visitors. It was a massive undertaking.”

Ground was finally broken in 2008 and the center opened in October 2010 — just in time for New Bern’s 300-year anniversary. The resulting museum was well worth the wait. The two-story building was designed to reflect the earlier use of the property as a boatyard and to complement the adjacent Tryon Palace.

Jennifer Amster

Stormwater from both the History Center roof and the surrounding neighborhood now drains into a 35,000-gallon underground cistern that catches the runoff and uses a majority of it to irrigate the grounds. The remainder is sent through a series of pools that filter out sediment and pollutants before flowing into the river.

The strategically-selected and -placed native plants also reduce flooding by absorbing excess water. The plants were chosen for their suitability to natural light, moisture and soil conditions. Natives are also less labor intensive and cheaper to maintain than other types of plants because they require less fertilizing and fewer herbicides. They also provide habitat to wildlife.

The 600,000-square-foot building was built using 30 percent recycled materials, such as concrete, steel, metal doors, carpet fibers and linoleum. Using materials within a 500-mile radius of the center also reduced the transportation costs. Construction waste was reduced by 75 percent.

The interior of the museum also benefitted from the design and use of green materials. The paint, carpet and construction adhesives were selected for their minimal off-gassing properties. The air handling system uses higher levels of outside air and also increases the amount of air circulated throughout the building. The building is energy efficient with modulating electric lighting, occupancy sensors, increased building insulation and the use of premium energy-efficient HVAC equipment. Low-flow faucets, showers and urinals conserve water, and the permeable pavement in the parking lot reduced stormwater runoff.

Numerous recycled materials were used inside the center, Photo: N.C. History Center.

Aside from getting the federation’ Pelican Award, the museum is the first certified Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design museum in North Carolina and the first such building in New Bern. The construction has received the 2011 Star Award for a new construction over $20 million from the Construction Professionals Network of North Carolina.

“It took great vision, commitment and dedication by Tryon Palace and partners to complete the lengthy project of transforming the once polluted shipyard that contained asbestos, PCBs and other toxic chemicals into a public museum site that showcases environmentally friendly development and stormwater techniques,” said Lauren Kolodj, deputy director for the federation.

Amster added: “It was an incredible and challenging experience. It’s rewarding to visit the museum and reflect back on our accomplishments. We created a place that will enrich the public through education and bolster the local economic footing for the future.”

Reprinted From the Carteret County News-Times

CEDAR POINT – Nearly 40 town officials gathered around three long tables last week to play a game.

But it was a game with a serious message – how to reduce polluting stormwater from running off into coastal waters.

The “watershed game” was part of leadership training in a course on coastal growth strategies held at Western Park Community Building in this small community in Carteret County.

Set up like a classroom educational game, the adults figured out ways to reduce stormwater runoff in area waters. Based on a variety of land uses, such as forest, agricultural, commercial or residential areas, they were able to arrange various initiatives to reduce the amount of pollutants in their fictional waters.

The game was designed to apply the strategies that the town officials had heard from lectures during the seminar.

Buddy Guthrie, the mayor of Cedar Point, gave the welcoming address and said coastal growth is a major issue in the area, including the connection between land use and water quality and how to incorporate environmentally friendly low-impact development, or LID, techniques. LID is an innovative approach to stormwater control that attempts to mimic land’s natural ability to absorb runoff from rain.

A team at the seminar plays a “watershed game” as a way of finding new approaches to control stormwater runoff.

They were among the main topics at the daylong seminar, which was sponsored by the N.C. Coastal Federation. Fourteen speakers focused on how to retrofit existing development or build new ones that are better for the environment in how they control runoff.

Lauren Kolodij, the federation’s deputy director, and Gloria Putnam, the coastal resources and community specialist with North Carolina Sea Grant, ran the day’s event. Both women stressed the importance of diverting or filtering polluted stormwater runoff and how it affects area waters.

Whitney Jenkins delivered the first lecture of the morning. She’s with the coastal training program the state’s National Estuarine Research Reserve. She said there is increased stormwater runoff as communities develop and more impervious surfaces – roads, parking lots and the like – are built. Such hard surfaces don’t allow runoff to soak into the ground. They instead channel stormwater to the nearest water body.

Jenkins focused on local watersheds, such as White Oak and Neuse rivers. She spoke about the sources of pollution and noted that nutrients, bacteria and sediment are the main pollutants of concern.

A formerly with the N.C. Division of Water Quality, Putnam displayed current charts showing state waters that are experiencing problems. She talked about the various state water classifications, standards and assessments.

Chris Seaberg, Cedar Point’s administrator, explained that his town and neighboring Cape Carteret collaborated on an easy-to-use manual that encourages developers and homeowners to use the LID techniques to control stormwater from new and existing developments.

The two towns approved the manual in October, Seaberg noted, after spending more than a year working on it with a technical review team made up of 15 local people from a variety of professions.

The guide, he said, show how small towns can encourage LID as a workable strategies, such as rain gardens and cisterns, to reduce the effects of stormwater runoff. A wide range of communities, organizations, agencies and developers are becoming increasingly more interested in LID.

“The secret to protecting and restoring water quality is to reduce the flow of stormwater coming off the land,” Seaberg said.

One notable LID feature in Cedar Point is the large rain garden beside town hall that filters stormwater from the surrounding 11 acres, even though it’s only about a third of an acre in size.

The project was made possible through state and federal grants, which also paid for a number of LID projects in Cedar Point. Their goal is to reduce stormwater runoff that is closing shellfish waters in the nearby White Oak River.

Other presentations throughout the day described how rainwater can be collected and reused and LID projects in Pender County.

Those attending seminar seemed to learn something new and many asked questions throughout the day. The seminar also included visits to several LID sites.

WILMINGTON — The N.C. Coastal Federation and the Wilmington-Cape Fear Home Builders Association have formed a dynamic duo designed to make building eco-friendly development projects a friendlier process.

The budding relationship blossomed a couple of weeks ago when the home builders awarded the federation with the Coastal Green Built Award as part of their 26th Annual Parade of Homes Banquet. Local governments usually get the award to recognize their progress in green development, but the federation won it this year because of its work with the home builders in promoting low-impact development, or LID, to reduce the effects of stormwater from development projects.

“Working toward a common goal has brought us together,” says Cameron Moore, the governmental affairs director for the home builders association.

Lauren Kolodij and Todd Miller of the N.C. Coastal Federation show off the Coastal Green Built Award.

The organizations have been working with local governments since 2006 to promote green building and uncover obstacles to low-impact development. More specifically, the groups have been encouraging homebuilding methods to reduce stormwater runoff, using tools such as rain gardens and cisterns to lessen its effects.

“That’s part of the bigger picture.” says Moore, “The goal is to create a comprehensive plan for green building.”

Part of this comprehensive plan involves creating tools and resources to make life easier for hopeful green builders.

“In 2007, the federation assembled a team of experts to produce a low-impact development manual for voluntary use by developers,” says Lauren Kolodij, deputy director of the federation, “We also hosted training sessions on the use of this manual.”

The federation also contracted with an engineering firm to devise an LID stormwater permitting tool that builders and local governments can use to estimate stormwater reductions.

The organizations, however, are looking beyond simply creating references and utilities.

“We want to make not just development tools,” says Donna Girardot, the executive officer at the home builders association, “but examples for others to use.”

The idea is that as more and more green-built subdivisions, transportation lines and commercial buildings begin to emerge, other builders will take notice and integrate low-impact development into their plans. Hopefully, ideas used by green builders on the coast will flow to the rest of the state, making low-impact development the standard.

Beyond assisting development, the home builders and the federation also talk with local governments about eco-friendly building regulations.

“Our work together to date has focused on offering options for developers and not new regulations in regard to LID,” says Kolodij, “We are working with local governments to identify obstacles to LID and make recommendations on how to reduce them.”

Some of the obstacles identified so far include a lack of incentives for low-impact development and general unawareness of LID options.

Over the past few years, talks between the home builders’ association, the federation and local governments have resulted in almost limitless benefits to low-impact building. Proper planning around stormwater runoff saves space and creates a more self-sufficient environment. Advances in green building techniques have allowed low-impact development to become as cost-efficient as other methods – perhaps even more so. New methods of managing stormwater runoff and harvesting rainwater will help conserve water supplies.

“Everybody can find a benefit in low-impact development,” says Kolodij.

“We want to make it easy for builders to take the low-impact route,” Girardot says, “and encourage them to do so.”

The relationship that the federation and the home builders now share is the result of their joint efforts to promote LID. That the federation won the Coastal Green Built Award is significant, Girardot said.

“The award is significant in that the federation is the first non-governmental organization to receive it,” she said. “That says a lot.”

Moving forward, the newly found working relationship between the two groups will likely expand as they continue efforts to make LID a viable option for the development community.

• Lauren Kolodij, our deputy director, explains our work with the home builders

Courtesy of The Island Free Press

BUXTON — Developers who have contracted to buy the housing complex at the former Coast Guard base near the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse are renewing promises to keep the community’s concerns in mind as they plan to restore the property.

Neighbors of the long-abandoned base came out in force at a public hearing on a zoning change request held by Dare County earlier this month to express their trepidation about the future use of the 45-unit duplexes.

“We were a little surprised,” Jim Pereira, a spokesman for Sylakama LLC, a Virginia Beach acquisition group, said in a later interview. “We were not expecting there to be so much opposition.”

Pereira said that the family-owned company wants to be a good neighbor and be an asset to the community. He said representatives of the company plan to meet with neighbors before May 15 to discuss the specifics about their updated plans.After listening to the public’s concerns about the project, “Cottages at the Cape,” the Dare County Board of Commissioners agreed to table the issue until May 21.

“We don’t want this to be pushed through and really affect the value of our homes,” said Chris Wade, a homeowner for nine years in neighboring Diamond Shoals Estates who had attended the hearing. “We’d like to see them conform to our neighborhood just like everybody else does.”

Wade said that standing stormwater at the complex after heavy rain creates overwhelming mosquito infestations and overflows into their subdivision. Photographs taken last winter after a rainstorm showed huge ponds of water at the complex and flooding in nearby streets and yards at Diamond Shoals.

“It’s incredible, the amount of water,” she said. “It doesn’t just disappear. It’s there for weeks.”

The neighbors are seeking more information on the project, Wade said, to determine the best way to respond.

$2.6 Million Bid

The Coast Guard in December accepted Sylakama’s bid of about $2.6 million for an as-is sale. As they went about addressing a checklist of items necessary to close the deal, Pereira said, the developers were informed, much to their surprise, that the site had no operating water system, a requirement to secure a bank loan.

The closing date on the property has been moved to July.

After the Coast Guard issued a special permit, the company restored the system.

Engineers are in the process now, Pereira said, of developing “a more formal approach” to stormwater management and wastewater treatment at the site. Meanwhile, they are seeking to change the zoning from Natural Historic to Buxton Natural Historic to allow duplexes and family housing units at the site to be in compliance. Current zoning does not allow multi-family units.

Speakers at the hearing objected to zoning being changed to accommodate the developers, but Pereira said the proposed change is similar to being grandfathered, except they want to be able to rebuild after a storm if the buildings are more than 50 percent damaged. The actual footprint of the units would not change, he said.

While neighboring residents expressed skepticism, they are open to a well-done project that addresses their worries about the site.

“Of course, we would like something nice to be done with that property,” said Sue Jasinski, who owns a house in the nearby Diamond Shoals neighborhood. “But we want it to be done respectfully, and not abuse it and not overuse it.”

Engineers and consultants for the company went to the 8.16-acre site recently to look at ways to manage drainage and waste disposal, Pereira said. A recent survey, he added, found that the acreage was a little more than previously thought.

A combination of methods is being considered to control stormwater, he said.

Controlling Stormwater

One that is obvious is re-establishing the drainage system already in place on the complex’s 23 buildings, which are all guttered.  As it was designed, the rainwater flows from the gutters into one of 16 stainless steel 1,500-gallon cisterns, which are above ground underneath the buildings and still in good condition.  Each of the cisterns has a pump that directs the water to an irrigation system.

Pereira said that the gutters are no longer directing rainwater to the tanks, and it is instead flowing freely under the houses.  But once the system is restored, it can collect 24,800 gallons of rain during a storm.

Developers hope to close this summer on the 45 duplexes that are part of the old Coast Guard base in Buxton. Photo: The Island Free Press

“It’s not a new technology at all,” Pereira said.  “But it’s an effective technology to deal with some of your stormwater. It will take care of your average storm.”

Other potential management techniques include construction of a freshwater retention pond at the rear of the property, surrounded by natural plantings that discourage mosquitoes. Not only will the pond take excess water off the property, he said, it will have excess capacity to hold stormwater runoff.  Also, an irrigation system will be constructed at the lowest portion of the property at the back to feed water to the rest of the property.

Several methods, or a combination of them, Pereira said, are being considered for sewage treatment, ranging from gravity-fed septic tanks, which do not need much management but take up a lot of property, to a pre-treatment system that could take advantage of existing infrastructure but would require more monitoring.

“Right now, the plan is to have it central to the property in the big green area,” he said.

The leach field for the original sewage plant just off the beach was destroyed during Hurricane Isabel in 2003, and the plant was subsequently dismantled and removed. With the dunes flattened, ocean overwash became a constant threat. The Coast Guard abandoned the base and the housing complex in 2005 as part of reorganization.

Eventually, Sylakama hopes to be able to rent units year-round to the 40 or so Coast Guard personnel still stationed on the Outer Banks and to other groups, such as teachers, state and federal workers and young executives, Pereira said. The small units are also expected to be attractive to families looking for seasonal rentals.

As retired Navy officers and former teacher, Pereira said he and the company’s owner, Lee Pontes, are far from greedy developers who care nothing about the community.

“We’re not going to be absentee landlords —-we’re in it for the long haul,” he said. “We intend to bring it back, better than it was.”

This story is provided courtesy of The Island Free Press, an online newspaper on the Outer Banks. Coastal Review Online is partnering with The Island Free Press to provide readers with more stories of coastal interest.

HAVELOCK — Environmental officials at a North Carolina military base are working to reduce stormwater runoff funneling into the state’s longest river.

Plans are underway at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in Havelock to remove a concrete linear ditch that dumps untreated runoff directly from base housing into the Neuse River estuary.

“The ditch is about three or four feet deep,” she said. “With the stagnant water in there, there are safety concerns. From the environmental perspective, a natural channel is certainly more beneficial.”Concrete from the 700-foot ditch, which is partially piped, will be dug up and replaced by a manmade channel with wetlands. The project will rid residents in the base neighborhood of an eyesore and potential hazard, while alleviating direct runoff into the Neuse River, said Jessica Guilianelli, natural resources specialist with the air station’s Environmental Affairs Department.

The air station received Department of Defense funding last fall to design the project. Just how much the total project will cost is unknown at this point, Guilianelli said, but to help cover additional funding Cherry Point Environmental Affairs officials have turned to the N.C. Coastal Federation for help.

“What we’re trying to do for them, of course, first is to find funding,” said Lexia Weaver, a coastal scientist with the federation’s main office in Ocean in Carteret County.

Early last year, money was available from the Community Conservation Assistance Program, run by the N.C. Division of Soil and Water Conservation, she said. With no project design, it was too early to apply for funding from that pot.

The federation is now turning to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for construction funding.

“We have a request for funding where we could apply for construction money for their project for an EPA 319 grant,” Weaver said.

Section 319 of the Nonpoint Source Management Program, part of a 1987 amendment to the Clean Water Act, provides grant money for states, territories and tribes to support everything from technical assistance, education and training to assess the success of polluted runoff projects.

Since 1990, millions in grants have been allocated to such projects. Last year, applicants received more than $175 million in grants.

The ditch collects stormwater runoff from some of the air station’s various neighborhoods and delivers it untreated into the Neuse River.“On the community side, I think it’s great for [the air station] to be able to demonstrate that even though they may be impacting the environment in some ways that they’re also willing to improve it,” Weaver said. “These neighborhoods and all of the impervious pavement out there, the way it’s draining, it’s a concern.”

Just how much runoff dumps into the Neuse from the channel is unclear, Guilianelli said. The concrete ditch and pipes were likely built during the 1950s around the same time as some of the earliest base housing , she said.

As the largest Marine Corps air station in the world, Cherry Point hosts more than five neighborhoods of townhomes, duplexes and single family homes to more than 1,500 Marines, sailors and their families.

Home to roaring EA-6B Prowlers – radar-jamming jets – AV-8B Harriers and C-130J Hercules cargo aircraft, the air station and its support locations span more than 29,000 acres in eastern North Carolina. Since its first runways were built in the early 1940s, Cherry Point’s boundaries have expanded to include Hancock and Slocum creeks.

It is in Slocum Creek that the air station’s Environmental Affairs Department is undertaking another project. Preliminary plans are in the works to remove an old bulkhead and nearby docking facility at the air station’s Pelican Point Marina.

Both the bulkhead and docking facility were heavily damaged in the wake of Hurricane Irene in late August, leaving sedimentation in the creek near the air station’s Pelican Point Marina.

“We found that replacing the bulkhead was just not going to be cost effective,” Guilianelli said.

Preliminary plans are to restore the natural shoreline, making it more easily accessible for kayak and canoe enthusiasts.

“We have not seen anything to review so we are in the very preliminary stages,” Guilianelli said of both the bulkhead and stormwater ditch projects.

She did not have a timeline for when either project is likely to be completed.

Weaver said the federation appreciates the air station’s efforts.

“I think it’s great,” she said. “I hope that this leads to more projects out there.”

U.S. Military installations have stepped up environmental conservation efforts in recent years. Several green initiatives have been recently implemented, including the use of alternative energy such as solar and wind.

Recycling programs that help conserve water, promote sustainability and reduce waste are also being implemented on bases throughout the country.

WILMINGTON — The idea was to award developers who go that extra mile to protect natural resources.

Builders who take the time to think creatively in an effort to be environmentally responsible deserve to be recognized. So went the conversation that initiated what would become the Lower Cape Fear Stewardship Development Coalition.

An alliance of groups normally thought to be at odds with one another – environmentalists and developers – the coalition is now a platform on low-impact development, a concept that some believe will eventually become the norm in building rather than the exception.

“For a builder to stretch beyond meeting a particular rule or regulation and being more creative than that and going further than that is significant,” said Donna Girardot, executive director of the Wilmington-Cape Fear Home Builders Association.

This LID method is a rain garden at the Brunswick Government Center that captures runoff.

Girardot, one of the stewardship’s originators, remembers the first awards banquet that the homebuilders hosted seven years ago in Landfall, one of Wilmington’s premier gated communities.

With little funding, the Girardot’s group invited anyone thought to be interested in learning more about the projects being awarded.

“It was kind of an experiment to see who would actually come,” Girardot said.

The turnout was better than anticipated and the banquet fostered what would become a long-lasting dialogue on best practices to contain and recycle stormwater runoff, which is now the largest source of water pollution on the coast.

The homebuilders and the Wilmington Regional Association of Builders sponsored the first event, honoring developers in Brunswick, New Hanover and Pender counties in southeastern North Carolina.

“Then we started thinking about it and we didn’t want people to think this was just about builders rewarding builders,” Girardot said.

So, they invited the N.C. Coastal Federation and other environmental groups to join in.

“It has just kind of built over the years and here we are,” Girardot said. “It’s taken a whole separate identify all of its own. We’re proud of the way it’s come about. I’m proud of the relationship we have with the Coastal Federation.”

Lauren Kolodij, the federation’s deputy director, said that before the stewardship, there wasn’t really a dialogue about low-impact development between environmental groups and developers.

Federation board member David Paynter, left, and Rep. Mike McIntyre.

“We’ve been at odds over the past with low-impact development,” she said. “This has become a lasting opportunity for us to have these discussions.”

Before this year’s awards banquet – held in Wilmington Feb. 23 – participants were invited to join in an education seminar about low-impact development.

Low-impact development, or LID, is a land and engineering approach to managing storm water runoff much different than typical conventional storm water management practices.

“Instead of taking and building the retention ponds that you see all over the state, it looks things like rain gardens, rain barrels, bioretention areas, infiltrating and storing rainwater and putting it back into the soil,” said Cameron Moore, the HBA’s Business Alliance for a Sound Economy director of governmental affairs.

“At the end of the day the developers are operating a business,” he said. “If we can reduce the amount of curb and gutter, the amount of drainage issues, there’s a cost-saving element to the developer, who passes it down to the consumer. They have to look at these things in different elements to keep their costs down so they can keep the housing costs down.”

Guest speakers at this year’s event included U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre, and Roya Stanley, director of the Policy and Technical Assistance Team in the Weatherization and Intergovernmental Program at the U.S. Department of Weatherization. Both lauded the stewardship coalition’s efforts to promote low impact-development.

A cistern is a LID technique that collects rain water from a roof top.

The HBA has a joint grant with the Coastal Federation to research current state and local stormwater rules that may actually impede some LID practices.

More than two years ago, the HBA began work on a LID policy manual as a guiding document to help developers, Moore said.

“What we found moving through it is that there were a lot of things that we saw in the regulations that could potentially stymie a residential or commercial developer,” he said.

The state is also looking at LID efforts.

“I think the state recognizes that we need to look at alternatives to the way we’ve been managing stormwater,” said Mike Randall of the N.C. Division of Water Quality’s stormwater program. “I believe LID meets all of the state requirements so we encourage people to do LID.”

Randall said the stewardship coalition is one outreach effort that goes a long way in changing developer’s mindsets with regard to stormwater management.

“I don’t think it’s as simple as saying, ‘Don’t do it the way you’ve been doing it,’” he said. “I think it is changing. The traditional methods right now are the easy way to go. I think, in time, people will be the motivator. They will have the expectations. I think it’s going to take that shift.”

And the Winners Are..

.The winners of the Lower Cape Fear Stewardship Development Coalition’s Awards for 2012 are:

Significant Achievement

• Sunset Beach Fire Station #2, Sunset Beach

Outstanding Recognition

• New Brooklyn Homes at Robert R. Taylor Estates, Wilmington
• South Front Apartments, Wilmington
• Snipes Academy of Arts & Design, Wilmington
• Wilmington Convention Center