Richard Spruill of ECU helps teachers 



understand how a stream works. 



An old cabin on the Tar River near Simpson was 

 damaged during Hurricane Floyd. 



and 56,000 homes damaged, according to 

 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

 Administration's Service Assessment Report. 



"The flood should be used as a 

 teaching tool for earth science," says 

 Spence. "It is a relevant event illustrating a 

 natural disaster and the effects of modifica- 

 tion of lands and rivers. The flood connects 

 science, people and policy. One result is to 

 show what options will help prevent future 

 disasters." 



Since many of the teachers live in 

 eastern North Carolina, they have first-hand 

 experiences of the flood's devastating 

 effects. "The seminar will provide science 

 and strategy for teaching about a disaster," 

 says Spence. 



To help teachers understand what 

 happened during the flood, North Carolina 

 Sea Grant researchers Larry Crowder of 

 Duke University Marine Lab detailed water 

 quality issues, and David Griffith of ECU 

 presented social issues related to the flood. 

 Richard Spruill of ECU and Riggs gave 

 detailed lessons on river systems and 

 wetlands. 



Riggs used the Egyptians as an 

 example of a civilization that successfully 

 lived and worked with the Nile River 

 because they understood how the river 

 worked. 



"We have forgotten our heritage," he 

 says. "Hurricane Floyd was a human 

 disaster not a natural disaster. Much of the 

 damage resulted from our encroachment 

 into the flood plain. If we rebuild as before, 

 similar disasters will happen again. We 

 need to rebuild within the constraints of the 

 river systems." 



LESSON IN STREAMS 



Drainage systems are comprised of 

 different-size tributaries that flow into the 

 main trunk river. To get a first-hand look at 

 how streams work, the teachers began the 

 trip at Green Mill Run. While standing 

 knee deep in mud, Spruill shows the 

 teachers how to measure the stream 

 velocity and discharge to track the stream's 

 daily flow. 



"I've found that kids like to plot their 

 own data," says Spruill. 



Susie Jackson, a Washington middle 

 school teacher, was so impressed with the 

 measurement lesson that she plans to apply 

 for a grant to buy measurement materials 

 for her students. "I want to put the 

 information on the Web," says Jackson. 



After visiting the headwaters of Green 

 Mill Run, the teachers go to ECU to 

 evaluate the impact of urbanization on 

 stream flow. 



Green Mill Run is an example of 

 channelization — straightening and 

 deepening a stream. Increased storm water 

 runoff from rapid growth and development 

 of ECU and Greenville has significantly 

 increased the stream's velocity and 

 discharge. 



Using tape measures, corks and a 

 stopwatch, the teachers measure the stream 

 and find out the velocity. 'The stream 

 discharge has increased significantly 

 downstream," says Spruill. 



The teachers follow Riggs and Spruill 

 across the campus to where Green Mill 

 Run flooded two campus buildings. During 

 Hurricane Floyd, the basements of both 

 buildings were underwater. 



"The buildings have encroached into 

 the flood plain," says Riggs. "Increased 

 building has a cumulative impact. It affects 

 every person in the drainage system. 



"Urbanization plays a significant role 

 on a smaller drainage system like Green 

 Mill Run. However, the verdict is still out 

 on the effect of urbanization on a large 

 drainage system like the Tar-Pamilco river 

 system." 



To provide flood protection for new 

 buildings, ECU administrators raised the 

 minimum building elevation in 1998 from 

 one to two feet above the 100-year flood 

 plain documented on FEMA maps, 

 according to ECU architect Bruce Flye. 



When Floyd came through, the staff 

 tested the elevated building code and found 

 that the new standards would have 

 protected the proposed science technology 

 building from flooding. 



"We measured and found out that if 

 the building had been constructed, it would 

 have been 21 inches above the maximum 

 water level," Flye adds. 



18 AUTUMN 2000 



