Beaverdam Creek
Charlotte, NC
The purpose of the Beaverdam Creek (BDC) watershed management initiative is to protect water quality conditions in Beaverdam Creek and it’s tributaries and Brown’s Cove and to outline the strategy and goals for continued study of the watershed’s water quality, ecological, and geomorphic conditions as the area urbanizes.
The BDC watershed monitoring study began in 2002 and is currently broken up into three phases:
- Phase I: Pre-development Assessment (2002 – 2003) completed
- Phase II: Active-development Assessment (2004 – 2010) underway (Note: Current watershed development activities will likely be finished and land use stabilized by 2010 but other areas of the watershed may not be)
- Phase III: Post-development Assessment (2010 – 2012) to be conducted
The first phase (pre-development study) was completed during 2003/2004 and demonstrated success in the goals of establishing a baseline for future assessments and also recommending strategies to limit impacts of future development in the watershed. Accomplishments made under the pre-development phase I study included:
- Quantifying the existing hydrologic, geomorphic, biological, habitat, and water quality watershed conditions to establish a baseline for the active development and post development phases
- Water quality modeling of the watershed to develop and evaluate protection strategies
- Documentation of sedimentation impacts of I-485 during selected runoff events
- Survey of pre development channel morphology and stream stability in the various BDC tributaries
- Establishment and survey of permanent stream cross sections and channel reaches that can be revisited in subsequent phases of the project
- Establishment of the hydrologic and monitoring infrastructure in each of the four BDC tributaries to complement and supplement data being collected by the USGS on the main BDC tributary
- Quantification of predevelopment water and sediment budgets, development of sediment/discharge rating relationships for each tributary, establishment of predevelopment nutrient and stream turbidity levels, and nutrient loading estimates
- A hydro-acoustic survey of existing sediment distribution and stratigraphy in Brown’s Cove
- Provided recommendations for water quality Best Management Practices.
The end result anticipated with the Beaverdam Creek monitoring study will be an enhanced understanding of stream restoration science, erosion and sedimentation control, post-construction controls and watershed monitoring. This enhanced scientific understanding will benefit future management decisions in applying water quality controls in regulated watersheds within the City of Charlotte’s municipal jurisdiction.
