storm water pollution, in-stream channel degradation, and condition of the riparian buffer. The current conditions were then compared to the management objectives for the watershed and goals were assigned. Once the goals were assigned, each part of the watershed was ranked for each category and priority areas were identified. Subsequently, individual projects were compiled for each priority area that would produce the most benefit for the watershed as a whole.
Healthy segment of Goose Creek. Note the intact forested buffer and stable stream bank.
ment in the watershed including the widest stream buffers in North Carolina: 100 feet on streams outside of the 100-year floodplain and 200 feet on streams within the 100-year floodplain. It also requires storm water runoff rates be capped at pre-development levels and also requires control of sediment, which can smother heelsplitter habitat, and ammonia, which can be toxic to the heelsplitter. Furthermore, the ordinance prohibits permitting any new wastewater treatment plant discharges, which effectively requires that the wastewater from all new development be treated using septic systems. On August 10, 2006, the North Carolina Division of Water Quality (DWQ) initiated a provision in the storm water permit for Mecklenburg County and the Town of Mint Hill that they were subject to the reduction requirements in the Goose Creek Fecal Coliform TMDL. TMDL stands for Total
Maximum Daily Load and limits the level of a specific pollutant in a water body so that it will meet its designated use. DWQ specified that a Water Quality Recovery Program (WQRP) be developed for fecal coliform in the Goose Creek Watershed. Subsequent to the August 10, 2006 letter the requirements for the WQRP were received on October 12, 2007. This document was used as a guide by Mecklenburg County and Mint Hill to develop a program to meet the pollutant limits identified in the TMDL and included requirements addressing sources of fecal coliform, such as storm water runoff, as well as staff and public education and specific reporting requirements. These requirements were incorporated into the Watershed Plan.
Currently, several projects have been implemented and others are in the planning stages. Of particular note is a project to inspect all of the individual septic systems in the Goose Creek Watershed. Septic systems are the dominant form of wastewater disposal and treatment in that watershed, however a complete accounting of the systems was not available. Storm Water Services along with Mecklenburg County Groundwater & Wastewater Services staff initiated a program to survey all properties in the watershed for a septic system and to inspect each system. In one area of the stream with persistent fecal coliform bacteria, two septic systems were found to be failing. Upon the systems being repaired, follow-up monitoring was conducted and an 80% reduction in the in-stream bacteria levels was documented. Similarly, Storm Water Services is pursuing partnerships to implement various projects with the North Carolina Department of Transportation, the Town of Mint Hill and the Ecosystem Enhancement Program. Additionally, Storm Water Services is pursuing a cost share initiative with the North Carolina Agriculture Cost Share Program to fence cattle out of Goose Creek.
The Goose Creek Watershed Management Plan was structured to address the specific water quality concerns in Goose Creek. Three broad characteristics were assessed throughout the watershed:
Mecklenburg County, NC
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