Browsing by Subject "watershed management"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6

Open Access
Development of a Watershed Action Plan for the Lockwood Folly River, Brunswick County, North Carolina
(2008-04-25T16:15:55Z) Batt, Lynnette
Increasing urban and residential growth poses one of the greatest threats to water quality and aquatic resources on the North Carolina coast. The Lockwood Folly River watershed, located within Brunswick County, faces significant water quality issues associated with this growth and development. Future rapid increases in residential development will further degrade water quality if management is not improved. To address this, the North Carolina Ecosystem Enhancement Program and the Lockwood Folly Roundtable, a citizen group in the watershed, began a watershed planning process to protect and restore water quality. The focus of this Masters Project was to continue the watershed planning process by organizing, synthesizing, and expanding this work into a single Watershed Action Plan for the Lockwood Folly River. The purpose of the Plan is to: 1) summarize current conditions and issues, 2) state environmental/water quality goals, 3) develop a set of action strategies to reach these goals, and 4) offer ideas on implementation and evaluation. The six action strategies represent areas where management could be improved to better protect water quality. They include sustainable development, land conservation, stream and wetland management, regulatory program coordination, working waterfronts, and public education and participation. The Plan will be presented to Brunswick County staff and commissioners for potential adoption and use in decision-making, and will be made available to the public.
Open Access
Modeling land use patterns and water quality: An evaluation of the pySPARROW model
(2008-04-24T15:26:23Z) Chambliss, Emily
Modeling the effects of land use and land cover changes on water quality is important for watershed managers to better understand how human modifications to land surfaces may alter stream nutrient loads. One model available to resource managers for this purpose is the U.S. Geological Survey's SPARROW (Spatially Referenced Regressions on Watershed Attributes) model. SPARROW estimates total nitrogen and total phosphorus loads for watersheds by relating water quality information to nutrient sources, land-surface characteristics, stream connectivity, and downstream travel time. This project evaluates the pySPARROW model, which is an application of SPARROW written in the Python programming language for North Carolina's non-tidal stream network. By analyzing estimated nutrient loads of the Falls Lake subbasin under current land uses, this project assesses how well pySPARROW predicts the long term mean total nitrogen concentration. A regression analysis of the observed versus predicted total nitrogen concentrations shows that pySPARROW most likely needs to be recalibrated to improve its accuracy. The model is also used to assess watershed impacts of a development scenario under which forests and agricultural lands are converted to urban uses. Under this scenario, the total nitrogen loading of the Falls Lake subbasin increases and the loading of most catchments which experienced some development also increases. With the population of the Falls Lake subbasin expected to increase by 50 percent from 2000 to 2025, it is especially important that watershed managers have tools, such as pySPARROW, that may be used to predict the impact of land use changes on water quality in this region.
Open Access
Pattern and Variation in Development of Small Urban Watersheds
(2014-04-25) Allen, Diane Mary
Increased urbanization has been correlated with hydrologic, chemical, geomorphologic, and biologic changes to receiving streams. Therefore, the status quo in watershed management has been to control the amount of impervious surface area. However, because various measures of development and impervious surface area are correlated, it is hard to discern what aspects of development cause adverse ecological impacts: impervious surface area is correlated with stormwater infrastructure, natural vegetation cover, road density, and so on. In practice, the level of variability in any of these parameters can be high at any intensity of development. We can take advantage of that variability to choose landscape configurations that minimize watershed impacts for any given level of urbanization. To do so, we must understand how watershed land cover parameters co-vary with development intensity (percent impervious surface) and which aspects of configuration most directly impact urban streams. To this end, I examined 14 specific aspects of development configuration and stormwater infrastructure for 235 small watersheds in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. For both landscape metrics and infrastructure features, there was a high degree of variability at almost any level of development intensity. In the case of road density for central ranges of development, there was so much variation that the expected positive correlation of roads with development was no longer significant. Our results set the stage for future exploration of the hydrologic and chemical processes that are altered in urban streams. Relation of development pattern to ecological process in this way will support more nuanced methods for management of watershed development so that hydrologic impacts might be minimized for any given level of development intensity.
Open Access
Public Participation in Watershed Management: An Evaluation of the Falls Lake Stakeholder Project
(2010-04-28T12:25:22Z) Gray, Brooke C.
Public participation has become an increasingly important component of effective watershed management over the last twenty years. Conducted by the North Carolina Division of Water Quality, the Falls Lake Stakeholder Project is a collaborative stakeholder process that includes interested parties in drafting a federally mandated Nutrient Management Strategy. The Falls Lake Stakeholder Project worked to improve the stakeholder process by responding to issues recognized in a prior North Carolina Division of Water Quality project, the Jordan Lake Stakeholder Project. This master’s project evaluated the Falls Lake Stakeholder Project based on a set of predetermined factors – substantive, procedural, and outcome – to allow for cross-case comparison. Data analyzed was gathered through archival research, stakeholder meeting observation, stakeholder surveys, and convener interviews. The stakeholder survey and convener interview contained questions about five procedural evaluative criteria, including process design, process fairness, process execution, technical support, and predicted outcomes. Results were based on fourteen returned stakeholder surveys and four convener interviews. Analysis of results indicated that technical support in the Falls Lake Stakeholder Project was the criterion with which stakeholders were least satisfied. Lessons learned from the Jordan Lake Stakeholder Project were applied in the Falls Lake Stakeholder Project and improved overall stakeholder experiences. Many of these aspects introduced in the process, including a technical advisory committee, subcommittees, and a wiki, may continue to be improved and applied to future North Carolina Division of Water Quality stakeholder processes.
Open Access
Stakeholder Participation in Watershed Management: An Evaluation of the Jordan Lake Stakeholder Project
(2008-04-23T23:51:53Z) Wyman, Christine Glendenning
The Jordan Lake Stakeholder Project (JLSP) was a public participation project convened by the NC Department of Water Quality (DWQ) in response to high levels of nutrients found in Jordan Lake, a reservoir in the central piedmont of North Carolina. The DWQ is a frequent convener of such time- and resource-intensive projects, yet lacks methods for evaluating their successes and benefits. This project will give environmental regulators guidance on the use of collaborative processes in watershed management. I evaluated the JLSP based on a framework of substantive and procedural factors and practical outcomes to identify the presence of criteria thought to be indicative of successful collaborative projects. Examples of criteria include process execution, process fairness, and public acceptance. I developed indicators for each criterion and used the presence or attainment of these indicators to denote the existence of the criterion. For example, indicators of process design included a clear impetus for the project, defined project goals and outcomes, and clear expectations of participants. My findings indicate that the JLSP was successful in developing a pollutant load level for the watershed and recommendations for a nutrient management strategy. Concepts such as reductions in nutrient loading from existing development, Adaptive Management, and nutrient-trading were included in the rules proposed by the DWQ, based on the recommendations by the JLSP participants. In addition, the project encouraged communication and partnerships among municipalities in the watershed. However, issues such as the complexity of pinpointing pollution sources and a disproportionate allocation of costs and benefits produced by potential regulations may have been too complex and contentious for stakeholders to reach consensus-based decisions.
Open Access
Watershed Management in the Federal Government
(2011-04-25) Vuxton, Emily
Watersheds in the United States are very valuable. Their waters support a wide range of purposes, including irrigation, fisheries, industrial operations, recreational pursuits, aquatic habitat, and drinking water. Efficient and effective watershed management must consider all of these purposes and plan accordingly. Watershed management is conducted by many entities, with one of the largest and most important partners being the federal government. Although many federal agencies conduct watershed management, they often act out of concert with one another, even across the same watersheds. This lack of coordination leads to duplications of efforts as well as gaps in services offered. Among federal agencies, the U.S. Forest Service, in particular, has major responsibilities for protecting water resources because of its position as owner of many of the nation’s headwaters. This paper highlights duplications and gaps which occur across the federal government in watershed management, and offers policy recommendations on how to streamline efforts. It details the history of the U.S. Forest Service in watershed management. It argues how a paradigm shift in resource management within the U.S. Forest Service has negatively affected morale in a manner which hinders successful watershed management. A history of forest planning is provided. Finally, there is an analysis of the 2011 Planning Rule with predictions on how implementation of the rule will affect watershed management. Results indicate that greater coordination of water quality monitoring data collection efforts would be accomplished with the establishment of a central clearinghouse, as well as the designation of a single agency responsible for coordinating efforts. More data are necessary to properly assess and address water quantity concerns in the United States. The U.S. Forest Service has struggled, and will continue to struggle with watershed management due to its many priorities as well as a lack of general employee morale in the agency. The 2011 Planning Rule, although flexible and adaptable, grants unprecedented levels of discretion to officials. It remains to be seen what effect this will have on watershed management in the U.S. Forest Service.