LEGAL 



TIDES 



watershed — a partnership with the state's 

 wetland restoration program. More than 150 

 acres drain through the .75-acre Kerr Avenue 

 wetland, filtering pollutants and settling 

 sediments that previously washed directly into 

 Burnt Mill Creek. 



The project has great visibility — an 

 important outcome. "Education is the key," 

 Mayes says. 



Mayes and his colleagues have con- 

 ducted an impressive public education effort, 



management strategies. 



Some area builders and developers 

 included in discussions are attempting to 

 create "green" communities. 



The developer of Hewlett's Run 

 redesigned plans for a 16-acre site. He scrapped 

 the traditional tract pattern, opting to cluster 

 homes to preserve upland wetlands that protect 

 Hewlett's Creek from storm water runoff. 



Does it work? UNC-W's Larry Cahoon 

 believes so. "This developer maximized 



There's a lot at stake 

 ' ' •whenftlcomes.to < • 

 controlling pollution 

 from storm wafer 

 runoff. It all comes 

 down to protecting 

 tlie quality of coastal 

 waters, home to 

 myriad aquatic life. 



and a long list of state agencies that offer 

 technical assistance. 



Soon, North Carolina Sea Grant will 

 have one more resource to help coastal 

 communities and developers implement the 

 EPA Phase II guidelines and ongoing CAMA 

 land-use planning, Clark says. 



Sea Grant has received funding from the 

 state's Division of Water Quality to create a 

 new staff position. 



Likely to be based at the Center for 

 Marine Sciences and Technology at 

 Morehead City, the new Sea Grant specialist 

 will work with Clark to consult with local 

 governments and citizens. The position, 

 Clark adds, can be an important link between 

 communities and university and state agency 

 experts. Some educational efforts would 

 include helping to develop low-impact and 

 open-space design strategies to improve 

 water quality and achieve sustainable 

 development goals. 



"Finding the balance between growth 

 and environmental protection is a quest that is 

 likely to keep legislators and resource 

 managers busy well into the foreseeable 

 future," Clark concludes. □ 



■Hi 



including quarterly newsletter, Storm Water 

 Watch, to present news of ongoing projects. It 

 also informs citizens of ways they can adopt 

 backyard best management practices to enhance 

 their environment. Storm Water Services also 

 offers hands-on school presentations using 

 "Enviroscape," a scaled-down watershed 

 model that demonstrates the connection between 

 storm water runoff and water quality. 



RESEARCH LINKS 



Wilmington's collaboration with the 

 University of North Carolina at Wilmington is 

 an important factor in the storm water 

 planning process, Mayes says. Through the 

 Tidal Creeks Program and the Watersheds 

 Project, city and county officials and citizens 

 keep abreast of researchers' water quality 

 studies. Now, city and county officials are 

 working to adopt universal development 

 regulations that take into account storm water 



vegetation and minimized clearing before the 

 first house was built. He used pervious 

 pavement wherever possible," recalls 

 Cahoon, a Sea Grant researcher. 



The builder also directed the runoff 

 away from the stream and into the natural 

 wetland. Homes are tucked into naturally 

 vegetated settings. Lawns are kept to the 

 minimum to cut down on nutrient loading 

 from fertilizers. 



Cahoon gives the developer high grades 

 for controlling runoff and sediment. "If you 

 manage sediment, you manage storm water. 

 If sediment is loose, so is everything else, 

 including nutrients, coliform, etc," he concludes. 



HELP FOR COMMUNITIES 



Mayes says no community has to "go it 

 alone" to implement Phase II. There are 

 resources from Sea Grant, universities, river 

 watch programs, the N.C. Coastal Federation, 



HELPFUL RESOURCES 



• EPA Storm Water Phase H Fact 

 Sheets and Model Ordinance: 

 www.epa.gov/npdes/stonnwater 

 and www.epa.gov/owow/nps/ 

 ordinance 



• North Carolina State University 

 Water Quality Group: 

 www.ncsu.eduAvaterquality 



• N.C. Division of Water Quality: 

 http://h2o.enr.state.nc.us/ 



• Water Resources Research Insitute: 

 www2.ncsu.edu/ncsu/CIL/WRRI/ 



• North Carolina Sea Grant: 

 Soundfront Series: Protecting 

 Estuarim Water Quality by Design, 

 by Nancy White; Protecting the 

 Estuarine Region Through Policy 

 and Management, by Walter Clark 

 To order, call 919/515-9101. 



COASTWATCH 29 



