heal our waterways: restoring bradley and hewletts creek ... · heal our waterways ’ program....
TRANSCRIPT
Restoring Bradley and Hewletts Creek through
Community Partnerships and Voluntary Participation
Erin S. CareyWatershed Coordinator, City of Wilmington
WILMINGTON
Bradley & Bradley & HewlettsHewletts Creeks Creeks Watershed Restoration PlanWatershed Restoration Plan
• Funded- Clean Water Act Section 319 Grant -NC Division of Water Quality
• Approved by the Wilmington City Council In 2012
• Branded as the ‘Heal Our Waterways’ Program
Highlights of PlanHighlights of Plan• TMDL• Volume reductions- BMPs
– Retrofits on public properties– Voluntary retrofits on private
property• Track progress
• Long Term • Partnerships critical to success
Objectives and ActionsObjectives and Actions1. Continue existing programs
that address water quality impairments in both watersheds
2. Determine appropriate water quality classifications and designated uses where water quality impairment exists
3. Track the reduction of bacteria transport from land to water
4. Focus stormwater reduction efforts in locations where they will yield the greatest and most cost effective volume reductions
5. Form and maintain Partnerships
6. Evaluate success and modify plan based upon results
Hydrograph goalsHydrograph goals--• Reduction to shellfish closure-year
hydrograph volumes– 2010- Baseline
• 2006, 2002, 1998, 1981– Both creeks
• Bradley: 6%, 23%, 34%, 58%- reduction• Hewletts: 6%, 18%, 24%, 50%- reduction
19811998200220062010
19811998200220062010
Division of Water Quality Division of Water Quality –– Saltwater Classifications Saltwater Classifications
• SC– All saltwater bodies– Aquatic Life– Secondary Recreation (i.e. boating)
• SA– Shellfish Harvest
• SB– Primary Recreation (i.e. swimming)
Meet The WatershedsMeet The Watersheds• City of Wilmington• Bradley Creek• Hewletts Creek
•Classified SC•7.2 square miles•85% developed•14,780 residents•23% impervious
Bradley CreekBradley Creek• Creek proper classified SC
– Not in violation• Will never be opened for
shellfish harvest– Marina Rule
• Impacts Banks Channel – SA waters currently closed
•Classified SA•11.6 square miles•85% developed•24,746 residents•19% impervious
HewlettsHewletts CreekCreek• Largest of two watersheds
• Closures much more recent• SA waters can be opened
for shellfish harvest
• NC Water Quality 2010 Assessment and Impaired Waters 303(d) Cat. 5
1981
HewlettsHewletts Watershed Land Watershed Land CoverCover
2010
HewlettsHewletts Watershed Land Watershed Land CoverCover
Increased Increased ImperviousImpervious
1981
2010
Progression of closures-1978
Progression of closures- 2007
Perception vs. Reality
(kinda)
The dirty truth?The dirty truth?• Wilmington Historically Plagued chronic spills
• Bradley- closed in 1947
• Hewletts- ongoing issues
• Failing infrastructure
Public OpinionPublic Opinion• Closings associated
with sewage spills, failing systems
• Assumed culprit: human waste
RealityReality• Wastewater facilities centralized
• Upgrades to infrastructure reduced incidence of sewage spills
• Still bacteria counts in the creeks rise; waters remained impaired
•If not sewage, than what?
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
0
5
10
15
20
25
FUTCH PAGES HOWE HEWLETTS WHISKEY BRADLEY
FEC
AL C
OLI
FOR
MS
(CFU
/ 100
mL)
PER
CEN
T IM
PER
VIO
US
CO
VER
AGE
TIDAL CREEK
Figure . Percent watershed impervious surface coverage versus geometric mean fecal coliform bacteria counts for six New Hanover County tidal creeks (modified from Mallin et al. 2001).
% IMP MEAN FC
14 CFU = shellfish closure threshold
Relationship Between Impervious Land Cover and Bacterial Contamination
Getting Started
Original PartnersOriginal PartnersGrantee: Grantee: North Carolina Coastal Federation
Contributing Partners:Contributing Partners:•The City of Wilmington•Withers & Ravenel Engineers•UNCW Center For Marine Science•Town of Wrightsville Beach
State Partners:State Partners:•DENR Shellfish Sanitation Section•DENR Division of Water Quality
Retrofits on Public PropertiesRetrofits on Public Properties
Ann Street Rain Garden
19th and ChurchPermeablePavement
Voluntary Retrofits on Private Voluntary Retrofits on Private PropertyProperty-- CommercialCommercial
Voluntary Retrofits on Private Voluntary Retrofits on Private PropertyProperty-- ResidentialResidential
Rain Garden
Rain Barrel
Courtesy: Maplewood, MN
Tracking Progress
WebWeb--Based Retrofit AtlasBased Retrofit Atlas Online Public Reporting ToolOnline Public Reporting Tool
Or Or
Creek CounterCreek Counter
GIS AtlasGIS Atlas-- akaaka Creek Creek CounterCounter
http://wilmingtonatlas.mobile311.com
Tool Tool –– Tracking and Scenario Tracking and Scenario AnalysisAnalysis
And Now?
In the WorksIn the Works• NERRS funded
Neighborhood Pilot Program and BMP retrofits – Banks Channel and
Hewletts Creek Watershed
In the WorksIn the Works• Bioretention cell
installation on Oleander Drive – Hewletts Creek
Watershed
WhatWhat’’s nexts next• Use feedback from
Pilot program– Modify materials,
message as needed– Note successes,
failures– Apply to program as a
whole
• Widespread Introduction of Heal Our Waterways– Website
• www.healourwaterways.com– Program specific campaigns/ events– GIS Atlas
Lessons LearnedLessons Learned……So FarSo Far• Substantial Groundwork
– TIME!– Learn audience– Educational materials– Legal Matters– Direction
• Goals• Timeline
And finallyAnd finally……• Multi-Disciplinary
– Outreach/ Education– Science– Public Relations– Networking
• Networking• Networking
