Greg Jennings

The goal of this project, Water Quality Evaluation of Long-Term Organic and Conventional Vegetable Production under Conservation and Conventional Tillage, is measure and model nonpoint source pollution (nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and sediment) associated with organic and conventional vegetable farming systems under different tillage practices in the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina. The objectives are six fold: 1) evaluate nutrient and sediment concentrations and loads in surface runoff, and groundwater nutrient concentrations from long-term conventional and organic systems, 2) evaluate nutrient and sediment concentrations and loads from surface runoff and groundwater nutrient concentrations from long-term tillage (conservation and conventional) under conventional and organic systems, 3) evaluate soil organic matter (total and particulate), cover crop biomass and N in order to relate changes in soil properties to nutrient and sediment runoff, 4) demonstrate changes in water availability through SWAT modeling in organic and conventional systems with conventional and conservation tillage, 5) transmit study results to organic and conventional producers, state agency personnel, regional and national audiences (extension), and 6) transmit study results undergraduate students and interns (students), and the agricultural community as a whole (education).

NC State University developed a rapid stream assessment protocol for CWMTF that includes both qualitative and quantitative sampling procedures of morphology, stream structure assessment, vegetation and macroinvertebrates. The assessment includes a scoring of each element assessed. The rapid assessment method was implemented on 29 stream restoration projects of varying ages and approaches in 2006 and 2008. The rapid assessment effort was intended to provide a snapshot of project compliance and water quality benefits in an attempt to provide CWMTF with a better understanding of the status and benefits of these type projects. It was determined that most of the projects were meeting their intended goals and objectives.As requested by CWMTF staff, NC Sea Grant and the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department of NC State University are submitting this proposal to continue additional stream assessment work on 24 project sites, including both new sites (14) and revisits (10) to sites already assessed by our previous efforts.

Faculty, staff, and students associated with the North Carolina State University (NCSU) Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering will work with the City of Charlotte Stormwater Services to monitor stream conditions within the Beaverdam Creek watershed in Charlotte, North Carolina. The monitoring will entail annual assessments of stream channel stability and benthic macroinvertebrate communities.

Compensatory wetlands mitigation in North Carolina is a vital avenue in achieving no-net loss of wetland acreage and wetland function. Despite the significant investment to wetland mitigation, it is still unclear whether the program is effective in achieving both goals, particularly ecological function. The NC State University Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering (NCSU-BAE) propose to assist the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) and the NC Division of Water Quality? Wetland Program Development Unit (NCDWQ) in a pilot study that will evaluate the ecological performance of 24-30 wetlands mitigation sites in NC based on the National Wetlands Condition Assessment (NWCA) methodology. Anticipated outcomes include 1) increased understanding of the most important metrics that can be collected at mitigation sites, 2) the relationships of NWCA with current rapid assessment methods, 3) the status of current mitigation sites to help NC agencies make more informed mitigation decisions in the future, and 4) recommendations to these agencies to improve existing requirements for mitigation site monitoring and/or design and construction methods.

Permit conditions require burial of culverts a minimum of 12 inches or 20% in order to prevent ?perched? pipes which could hinder aquatic organisms? passage. Observation indicated that burying the culverts resulted in stream instability including headcutting downstream in some streams. This project will document whether this instability has occurred at 11 culverts encompassing a variety of topographic and hydraulic conditions, stream channel variations, and locations. Documentation will include longitudinal and cross sectional surveys of the stream channels upstream and downstream of the culverts, which will be compared to similar surveys conducted in 2005. If the survey and geomorphic data show the stream channel has not changed significantly, then it will be considered stable. Rainfall and land use data for the period between assessments will be obtained to document changes that could have caused stream instability. An estimate of bank erosion hazard will also be conducted using the BEHI method. An assessment of aquatic organisms? ease of passage through the culverts will also be determined. A report synthesizing all of the results will be prepared and submitted along with spreadsheets of the data.

Current regulations in North Carolina require sediment basins to be designed based on watershed size, regardless of watershed characteristics. For each disturbed acre, the basin needs to have 1,800 cubic feet of sediment storage and a surface area of 325 square feet if a surface outlet is used. Another approach to designing a basin would be to determine the expected runoff and sediment loads based on watershed characteristics, including soil type and slopes. By using local soil and weather data, the basin size would be adjusted to account for expected sediment loads. To determine if this is a valid approach, we will collect soil and topography data in at two basin watersheds on DOT projects and monitor sediment and flow over the landscape and into and out of the basins. This will be done during four critical phases of the site: preconstruction, mass grading, final grade, and post-construction.

The Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering of the North Carolina State University (NCSU) will provide services to Charlotte/Mecklenburg Stormwater Services and the Town of Huntersvilleto implement stream restoration and stormwater BMP retrofits as a component of an EPA 319 grant project at North Mecklenburg Park. The North Mecklenburg Park Retrofit and Stream Restoration project will treat 5.3 acres of high traffic parking lots and restore approximately 1050 linear feet of a tributary of McDowell Creek. The purpose is to improve ecosystem health and water quality by restoring natural stream functions and managing stormwater runoff in the Park. The project will not only address significant sources of pollution in the McDowell Creek Watershed, but also act as an environmental educational site for the citizens of the region. Similarly, the project will provide an example of maintenance and upkeep practices for retrofit BMPs and stream restoration as well as devices installed as a result of the Huntersville LID Ordinance. The work will be performed by a team of faculty, students, and technicians associated with the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at North Carolina State University. Drs. Greg Jennings, PE, and Bill Hunt, PE, will conduct oversight of the project and serve as the Project Directors. The project implementation team will include NCSU Extension Associates Ryan Winston, EI, Zan Price, PE, and Jason Zink, PE.

The Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering (BAE) of the North Carolina State University will work with the Town of Chapel Hill to implement watershed restoration practices and water quality monitoring as a component of an EPA 319 project in the Bolin Creek Watershed. The purpose is to improve ecosystem health and water quality by restoring natural stream functions and treating stormwater runoff in degraded areas in the watershed.

The Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering of the North Carolina State University (NCSU) will provide services to the Town of Chapel Hill to implement watershed restoration practices and water quality monitoring as a component of an EPA 319 grant project in the Bolin Creek Watershed. The purpose is to improve ecosystem health and water quality by restoring natural stream functions and managing stormwater runoff in degraded areas in the watershed. The work will be performed by a team of faculty, technicians, and students associated with the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at North Carolina State University.

The project, to evaluate and assess 13 CSREES Conservation Effects Assessment Projects (CEAP), will be conducted by a diverse, interdisciplinary, and experienced team of investigators with a proven record of assessment of the effects of conservation practices on water quality. Project personnel for this proposal were carefully selected to include geographic distribution, diverse subject matter expertise, watershed assessment capability and experience, and impartiality, with over 150 years of combined experience. The methodology developed for this assessment relies on a series of nested, science-based strategies to evaluate the effects of the conservation practices used in the 13 CREES-CEAP projects. We will first develop a consistent framework for collection and organization of assessment information by reviewing approaches and structures used to collect and organize assessment information in previous national watershed-scale conservation effects assessments for four pilot watersheds. Following assembly and preliminary evaluation of information from publications and interviews, three to four team members will visit each site. The visiting team will be multi-disciplinary with expertise in water quality modeling, water quality assessment and design, economics or sociology, and extension; specific team members will be selected based on the particular characteristics of the project. On-the-ground information gathered through these visits will add to both data reliability and validity, while providing context for much of the previously collected information. We will then summarize this information. During the second and third year of this project, we will summarize lessons learned from all 13 CSREES-CEAP watershed projects and begin outreach and education of the results. In Year 4, we will prepare a multiple-project synthesis of the findings from the 13 CSREES-CEAP watersheds and from other CEAP and watershed-scale water quality programs. Extension and outreach of these findings will occur through reports, fact sheets, distributed power point presentations, newsletters, promotional brochures, journal articles, conferences and presentations to targeted groups (National Integrated Water Quality Project Committee for Shared Leadership ? Water Quality, USDA, EPA, agricultural commodity and environmental organizations, scientific groups, as well as other organizations.