Browsing by Subject "Stormwater"

Now showing 1 - 12 of 12
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    A Coordinated Prioritization of North Carolina Coastal Waters and Stormwater Outfalls as Part of NCDOT’s Stormwater Inventory and Prioritization Program
    (2008-04-24T20:53:00Z) Jackson, Jennifer
    North Carolina’s coastal areas face new and increasing challenges characterized by swimming advisories, shellfish closures, and an overall degraded quality of life due to water quality degradation. These challenges arise in part as a consequence of development of water-adjacent land and associated infrastructure. Increasing impervious surface exacerbates stormwater runoff, the leading cause of water quality degradation in the state. Through the development of a coordinated prioritization, transportation infrastructure planning can target waters of greatest importance threatened by pollutant runoff. This project incorporates data from multiple state agencies to develop a coastal waters and stormwater outfalls prioritization for the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Stormwater Inventory Program and other management plans. The prioritization system described herein will be submitted to the NC Division of Water Quality by the NCDOT as partial compliance with the field outfall inventory requirements mandated in its Phase I NPDES stormwater permit (NCS000250). The system is designed to serve as a tool for guiding the allocation of NCDOT resources for restoring coastal water quality affected by roadway runoff. Through effective planning and resource allocation, North Carolina can maintain its identity as a desirable place to live with “Crystal Coast” beaches, wetlands, and oyster roasts using our local oysters.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Achieving Better Outcomes in Local Government Stormwater Programs through Pay for Performance
    (2017-04-28) Alexandrovich, Andrew
    Local governments are challenged with addressing stormwater pollution to meet water quality standards set forth by Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs). Procurement and financial instruments used in traditional stormwater programs typically pay contractors based on delivery of a set of actions or volume of services (Pay for Success Learning Hub, no date). This oftentimes requires significant public staff time to design and administer projects, and places liability for performance risk and cost overruns on the local government. Additionally, green infrastructure has emerged as an attractive alternative to gray infrastructure solutions, however, its effectiveness is largely unproven. This combination of factors has piqued the interest of local governments around the country in cost-effective solutions that streamline agency staff time, and shift performance risk from the local government to the private sector. Four programs in the Chesapeake Bay region were analyzed in order to identify how alternative delivery models that incorporate pay for performance are being utilized in local government stormwater programs, and whether those approaches are likely to deliver better outcomes than traditional approaches. The analysis was carried out via a literature review and series of interviews with staff from each program and professionals with relevant expertise in this field of work. The structure, roles between the public and private sector partners, and degree to which pay for performance is applied varies across each program. The lessons learned from this analysis provide a strong foundation to build upon and inform adoption of pay for performance in local government stormwater programs. However, each program analyzed is in its early phases of implementation and this analysis does not address the cost-efficiency, in terms of environmental benefit per dollar spent, of each approach in satisfying TMDL requirements. Nonetheless, this analysis highlights a broad range of program examples, outlines the key components and benefits of each program and pay for performance, and highlights a set of enabling conditions necessary to establish an environment conducive to pay for performance.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Community-Based Stormwater Mitigation: Rescuing a Clam Fishery in Middens Creek, N.C.
    (2008-04-24) Durkee, Stephen J.
    Eastern North Carolina’s expansive aquatic environment, with large lagoonal sounds tapering into winding inland waterways, maximizes the number of residents with direct influence on our coastal waters. Such a system creates a complex management scenario where regulating non-point source pollution proves difficult. To examine sources and potential remedies of fecal coliform loading, a study was initiated in our model waterway, Middens Creek, where active shellfish harvesting is ongoing. Through a multi-phase investigation, current legislation aimed at reducing stormwater impacts is reviewed and pre- and post-storm fecal coliform levels characterized. It became evident during the course of the study that non-point source runoff is the primary way fecal coliform is conveyed into Middens Creek. Quantifying the impact of this runoff in the subwatershed was further extended to examine the statistical link between human development and bacteria levels within the creek and significant correlations between the two were found. Finally, public outreach and education was initiated to affect grassroots change among the residents living along the model waterway in an effort to mitigate the trend anthropogenic impacts.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Ellerbe Creek Green Infrastructure Implementation Plan
    (2016-04-22) Close, Amanda; Davis, Christina; Williams, Bethany
    Ellerbe Creek is a severely degraded urban stream located in Durham, NC. The high percentage of impervious surface within its watershed has contributed to altered hydrology and increased inputs of nitrogen, phosphorus, and other forms of aquatic pollution. This project expands on previous work by the Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association (ECWA) to investigate opportunities for controlling the volume and pollutant load of stormwater runoff using dispersed green infrastructure technologies. A 3-pronged methodology that utilized geospatial analysis, field data collection, and scenario planning using cost-effectiveness optimization was employed to identify and prioritize potential green infrastructure retrofits within a sub-catchment of the watershed. Results of the project equip ECWA with both the data necessary to begin implementing the identified residential retrofits and a tool kit that can be used to expand the analysis to the entire Ellerbe Creek Watershed.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Facilitating Coastal Stormwater Management in North Carolina: Runoff Estimation and Institutional Education
    (2014-04-18) Zaykoski, Peter
    In coastal North Carolina, increased surface runoff from urban, agricultural, and forestry development contaminates coastal waters and has led to extensive shellfishing area closures. Coastal communities looking to restore their waters become eligible for restoration funding when they complete watershed restoration plans with numeric pollutant reduction goals. In this work, I present a new geospatial analysis tool for calculating modern and historic stormwater runoff estimates, which can be used as proxies for restoration goals. This tool uses satellite-derived land cover, soils, and precipitation data to provide stormwater estimates using a watershed boundary as the minimum required input. Additionally, to improve the accuracy of estimates, the tool has optional inputs for the proportion of impervious surface that is disconnected in the watershed and for areas drained for forestry operations. I compare the results from this estimator with the more labor intensive methods used in previous stormwater management plans and with estimates from SWARM (Stormwater Runoff Modelling System), recently developed by NOAA. Finally, I provide recommendations for how to best integrate these tools into the current management framework.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Framework for Integrating the Value of Nature in Business Decisions: Utilizing Green Infrastructure for Stormwater Management
    (2016-04-28) Cough-Schulze, Maya; Hart, Jordan; Halperin, Matthew; Tsai, Jocelyn; Young, Ben
    Businesses contribute to the degradation of ecosystem services, but also depend on those services for their operations. Most businesses do not incorporate ecosystem services into their decision-making. Existing methods to do so are often costly and time consuming, yet fail to link the public benefits of these services directly to business value. We developed a framework to guide businesses towards accounting for the value of ecosystem services in decision-making, through the context of utilizing green infrastructure practices for stormwater management. We applied this framework to the Stream and Wetland Assessment Management Park, a constructed wetland on the Duke University campus. In our application, we illustrated how the choice between two separate models to predict green infrastructure performance may impact the decision to invest in the project. We also demonstrated that businesses are more likely to adopt green infrastructure, thus invest in ecosystem services, when additional ecosystem service benefits are defined in metrics that directly relate to specific business drivers.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Implementation of the petition process for the NPDES Phase II stormwater program in North Carolina
    (2007-05) Pogue, Bradley G.
    The North Carolina General Assembly recently passed Session Law 2006-246, which establishes the final administrative rules for the implementation of the EPA NPDES Phase II stormwater program in North Carolina. According to these rules, any person may petition the Environmental Management Commission to require an entity that discharges stormwater to obtain a Phase II stormwater permit. A methodology was developed to guide the collection of the required data for an adverse impact petition, based on a case study of the municipal separate storm sewer system of Morehead City, NC. This case study was then used to examine the key elements of this process in the context of their application to a Phase II petition in a coastal environment, and to explore the challenges arising during this process. General petition provisions were originally included in the Phase II rules by the EPA to provide one of several opportunities for public participation in the NPDES stormwater program. It was initially thought that the detailed requirements regarding the petition process in North Carolina would enhance the ability of the general public to play a direct role in requiring more stringent stormwater management along the coast through the Phase II stormwater program. However, in developing the adverse impact petition methodology and applying it in a preliminary case study of Morehead City, it appears that the extensive requirements of the North Carolina petition rules may actually make the completion of a successful petition quite challenging, particularly for members of the general public. Thus, rather than simplifying the process, these rules may instead discourage the submission of Phase II petitions in North Carolina, at least in the near future, and limit their usefulness as a stormwater management tool.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    ItemOpen Access
    Keep It Dirty Durham: A Social Marketing Strategy for Altering Public Littering Behavior
    (2015-04-23) Doolin, Heather; Zhang, Qi
    The city of Durham, North Carolina has a population whose chant is “Keep It Dirty, Durham.” With a unique character, the location of the food hub of the south, and an increasingly growing population, Durham’s citizens must recognize a progressively present problem. Litter in the form of cigarette butts, fast food wrappers, and beverage containers is becoming a normal daily sighting.Social marketing can be a useful and effective tool when trying to spread knowledge to a vast population. Outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram create easily accessible, tangible, and interesting ways not only to access information, but also digest it in a manner that is increasingly popular and understandable. The City of Durham is hoping to market anti-pollution campaigns with the intent of reducing gross solid waste from entering or blocking storm drains throughout the downtown Durham area. This project hopes to bring about the reduction by ten percent of gross litter at five bus stops in the City of Durham. Through the method of a targeted anti-litter campaign, we hope to target cigarette litter and fast food waste. This will occur through the use of social marketing methods by way of social media (Facebook and Twitter), presence at Durham events, passing out of swag (pocket ashtrays) at bus stop study areas, and the existence of flyers at bus stops and in DATA buses. By partnering with the Durham Stormwater Management Department, Keep Durham Beautiful, and DATA Transportation, this study will be made possible. The objective of the waste reduction intervention was met, showcasing statistically significant reductions at all sites even when including outliers that can skew data.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Land Use and Conservation Plan for the Stone House
    (2011-04-28) McHugh, Maureen; Spitzig, Adam; Tuggle, Ashley
    The Stone House is a property owned and maintained by the non-profit organization stone circles located in Mebane, NC. The organization’s mission is to “sustain activists and strengthen the work of justice through spiritual practice and principles.” They are committed to ensuring that their 70 acres of land benefit the local community, regional ecosystem, and the global environmental movement. The purpose of this master’s project was to create a land use and conservation plan for stone circles that incorporates the organization’s many visions for the site, as well as recommends sources of funding to reduce current management costs. To this end, the staff of stone circles helped us to identify their needs and limitations by posing questions that ultimately shaped how the plan addressed the following issues: (1) the management of onsite vegetation and wildlife habitat, (2) the expansion of organic food production, (3) the establishment of an educational trail system, (4) onsite stormwater management with particular attention toward erosion control, and (5) feasibility, costs, and funding of various management scenarios. Several land use and funding options were explored for the stone circles property including: obtaining a conservation easement, using the back field as a wetland mitigation bank, using the field as a solar farm, leasing land for long-term residential use, leasing the field for agricultural use, and implementing the conservation and stormwater management plans that were developed. The conservation management plan involves permaculture improvements to the orchard, facilitating reforestation of the back field, installing a trail network, and the developing educational materials for onsite visitors. The recommended option for stone circles at this time is to implement the conservation and stormwater management plans. There are numerous funding streams available to assist in financing these plans, including governmental programs, grants, carbon offsets, and timber sales. A grant we have specifically applied for is the Rudolf Steiner Foundation Seed Grant. The estimated costs of the conservation management plan include: Reforestation: $0 - $9,450 Trail: $13,500 - $99,000 (conservative estimate) Signs: $72 - $1,350 In terms of stormwater management, the estimated costs for the plan include: Purchase of four rain barrels: $216 - $480 Installing one rain garden: $4,000 - $6,000 Improving riparian buffers: $0 - $7,600 Paving the road with a permeable grassy paver: $65,000 (paving materials alone) Implementing best management practices for the road: $10,000 (roadbed materials alone) Total costs to implement the conservation management plan range from $72 to $109,800 and the cost of implementing the stormwater management plan range from $0 to over $79,000 depending on which portions stone circles decides to implement and at what scale.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    North Carolina Stormwater Compliance Evaluation for the 20 Coastal Counties
    (2014-04-24) Bishop, Rachael; Chen, Szu-Ying; Santoni, Amanda
    Stormwater is one of the largest sources of pollutants in the United States and contributes sediment, heavy metals, oil, pesticides, fertilizers, bacteria, and other contaminants to coastal waters. Water quality is critical to coastal areas for commercial fishery health and recreational activities. To minimize the introduction of water quality pollutants, North Carolina implemented the State Stormwater Program (SSP) for post construction stormwater management. A study in 2005 identified low compliance rates with the SSP (30.7%) and a follow-up in 2009 found that only 20% of noncompliant sites had rectified their violations. There are currently no studies documenting recent compliance rates with the SSP. This study addressed three objectives: (1) Update the compliance study to include recent trends in compliance and reasons for violations (2) Determine the perceptions of the strengths and opportunities for improvement, and (3) Conduct a program analysis of the SSP. These objectives were achieved by analyzing compliance data from the Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources, conducting interviews with a small sample of entities that interact with the SSP, and reviewing applicable compliance literature. The results of our study show potential areas for improvement and were used to make policy recommendations for North Carolina to increase compliance with these regulations. Our results indicate that compared to the 2005 estimate, compliance in 2012 increased to 50%, and was lower in coastal counties than noncoastal counties. In total there were 2,838 compliance inspections between 2008 and 2012. Yearly inspections increased between 2008 and 2010, but decreased sharply in 2011 and remained low in 2012. The majority of violations were due to reporting and maintenance issues. Interview respondents indicated that the main impediments to compliance are maintenance and education, and that compliance could be improved through increased maintenance checks and public outreach efforts. The program analysis showed that while the stormwater program generally has clear regulations, it could benefit from increased visibility of the regulating agency, engagement, as well as education. Potential avenues for improvement are discussed, and are considered within the context of our findings.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    The Emerging Importance of Stormwater Management with a Focus on the City of Philadelphia
    (2012-04-18) Erickson-Ludwig, Alistar
    Over 80 percent of the population of the United States lives in cities. The large population coupled with a dense built environment means that cities are generally at a higher risk for the negative consequences of polluted water. Philadelphia is a dense urban city with two major waterways flowing through it. As a city with a large population and large percentage of developed land, flood control and water quality are two major issues facing the City. In 2006, the Philadelphia Water Department passed a regulation requiring new development and redevelopment projects to manage stormwater runoff. An assessment was completed to understand why particular stormwater management practices were chosen in various private development projects throughout Philadelphia and learn the positives and negatives of managing them.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Urban Stormwater Management in Ellerbe Creek Watershed: The Duke Diet & Fitness Center Case Study
    (2011-04-28) Allen, Jessie; Scott, Nancy
    Stormwater runoff from urban land has become a challenge for growing communities in managing non-point source pollution. The stormwater runoff of Downtown Durham, North Carolina is of particular interest, due to its location relative to the Falls Lake Reservoir. The purpose of this study is to use monitoring and modeling data to determine the best management of the Duke Diet and Fitness Center property, which drains 474 acres of urban land in Downtown Durham. Monitoring data was collected at this site for 9 storm events from July to October, 2010 and then analyzed for total nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations. The Jordan/Falls Lake Stormwater Accounting Tool and the Upper Neuse Site Evaluation Tool were used to determine nutrient loads and peak flow rate for 4 management scenarios using Best Management Practices (BMPs) in the drainage catchments. Based on these results, we give our recommendation for the construction of a wet pond at the site which will significantly reduce peak flow and nutrient loads from Downtown Durham.