Watauga River Basin
Wautaga and Avery Counties, NC
Background: The Watauga Nonpoint Source Team was formed in 1993 as part of the DWQ’s Basinwide Planning process. It has remained active in identifying priority non-point source issues and coordinating local interagency efforts to address these issues. Since its formation, the Watauga NPS Team has received approximately $2 million in grant funding to install BMPs addressing critical needs for stormwater management, riparian buffers, stream restoration, and wetland enhancement and stormwater wetland creation. Successful BMP projects are complete in Banner Elk, Foscoe, Boone, Cove Creek, and Valle Crucis. These are being used to demonstrate effective mountain BMPs. The Watauga River Watershed (HUC-06010103) is located in Watauga and Avery Counties in the Northwest Mountains of North Carolina. There are 270 miles of freshwater streams in the basin with a population of approximately 24,000 and six municipalities.
Purpose: The NC Division of Water Quality has identified the Watauga River Basin as Outstanding Resource Waters (ORW) and High Quality Waters (HQW) based on monitoring over the past decade. The watershed currently faces increasing threats to water quality as it is being developed rapidly for residential and recreational land uses. The entire watershed is experiencing tremendous growth in resort/residential development, leading to increased runoff and sedimentation impacts on streams and rivers. The loss of riparian buffers and increasing potential for urban non-point source pollution are threatening water quality and habitat in the watershed.
Non-urban land uses include forestry and extensive farming of Fraser Fir Christmas trees in addition to livestock and field crop production. These are also potential sources of nonpoint source pollution that can be addressed through education and demonstration of best management practices. Previous local educational programs and monitoring efforts have been successful in changing attitudes and behaviors among school children, landowners, and community leaders in the region.
Goals, Deliverables and Outcomes: The reason for this grant was to implement a comprehensive local water quality educational program to change attitudes and behaviors among school children, landowners, and community leaders in the Watauga River Basin. The educational focus was on water quality protection, best management practices for various land uses, and pollution prevention.
The Kids in the Creek program has been incorporated into the Watauga County Board of Education curriculum for all 4th grade students. Not only does every 4th grade student participate in the skit where “Mandy the Mayfly” and the “Stream Doctor” test their water, they also get hands on experience catching and identifying macro invertebrates in the water. The Enviroscape non-point source pollution watershed model is also part of this program and allows children to visualize impacts on the watershed. To date, every single 4th grade class since 2005 has been through the official “Kids in the Creek” program. This is on average 425 fourth graders a year.
Modifications to the Kids in the Creek program have been made to accommodate other age groups as well. Other groups that participate in a stream program include; all 5th grade students’ environmental field days, all 9th grade earth science students, 4-H summer camp, students at Riverfest, and many other various groups. Overall, around 2,000 students participate in stream related programs a year. Evaluations have been attached at the end of this report.
By taking water issues to the public schools, we are helping the students develop what we hope will be a life-long environmental awareness. The students especially like to see the insects that live in the stream, and they learn which ones can only live in a healthy stream (like mayflies or caddisflies). These insects only live in clean water so if the insects aren’t there, they know the water is in some kind of trouble. They also are learning what they can do to keep the streams clean.
Various workshops have been executed on topics such as stream restoration, wetlands, streambank stabilization, water conservation, backyard rain gardens, well water/ groundwater, volunteer monitoring including macro invertebrates and water chemistry, low impact development, and stormwater.
