By Alex Blue and Sierra Kindley
The French Broad River Watershed is well known for its recreational fishing. When sediment and other pollutants enter the river, fish are among the first to suffer its effects. Stormwater runoff is currently the primary source of water pollution in Western North Carolina.
The steep slopes that characterize the watershed, combined with a steady increase in urbanization and impervious surfaces has led to an increase in stormwater runoff that threatens water quality.
One way to manage stormwater runoff is through the implementation of stormwater control measures (SCMs). SCMs are structural features that capture stormwater runoff, thus slowing its velocity and allowing the water to slowly infiltrate into the soil where sediment and pollutants are removed. Managing stormwater runoff from steep impervious surfaces in Western North Carolina is a challenge due to the shallow soils and limited level areas for SCMs in the Appalachian Mountain landscape.
The nonprofit organization RiverLink has received funding from the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund for a project that could help set the standard for stormwater control in Western North Carolina. The Dingle Creek Innovative Stormwater Project will implement stormwater control measures on the Givens Estate campus in south Asheville to alleviate water quality concerns. Givens Estate is representative of the steep urbanized watersheds that characterize much of southern Appalachia. Stormwater control measures within the Dingle Creek Watershed will focus on bioretention by reintroducing native plant life, infiltration basins, stormwater wetlands, and bioswales. The goal of this project is to reduce the stormwater flow and pollution entering Dingle Creek, making it a healthier ecosystem for aquatic organisms, including the fish that are at the center of many recreational activities in the region.
The Dingle Creek Innovative Stormwater Project is vital to our understanding of stormwater runoff in highly urbanized watersheds characterized by steep slopes. As development continues within the city of Asheville, findings from this project will be a critical part of alleviating future impaired watersheds in the area. Visit riverlink.org to support RiverLink’s efforts to keep our WNC streams healthy.
Alex Blue is a McCullough Research Fellow from UNC-Asheville and Sierra Blue is RiverLink’s Watershed Resources Intern.