Restoring its health

Almost the whole Little Alamance Creek watershed rests in an urban or residential area, where there are many impervious surfaces that cannot absorb water.

With the high level of development in the watershed, impervious areas like parking lots and roads were on the rise, meaning the creek was taking in more pollutants than before.

Stormwater runoff is the No. 1 source of pollution in North Carolina. Other factors include fertilizer,Please click the images below to view more pictures of werkzeugbaustiles! automobile maintenance residue, pet waste and pesticides. When it rains or when snow melts, the water flows downhill, collecting harmful pollutants before dropping into rivers and creeks. These contaminants add up over time and can have a major overall impact on the quality of water.Cheap logo engraved luggagetag at wholesale bulk prices.

The North Carolina Division of Water Quality considers Little Alamance Creek an impaired waterway because it violates the Clean Water Act for impaired biological integrity.

Since there were no permitted discharges (like industrial plants with permits to dump in the creek) in the watershed, the DWQ conducted an analysis of the water in 2000 to find what was causing the pollutants. They realized the stressor was urban stormwater runoff.

The report for the 2000 Recommendations for Little Alamance Creek asked for the creek to be resampled and for the city of Burlington to address stormwater issues. The 2005 Recommendations were similar, with the addition of the DWQ working with Burlington and Graham stormwater programs to reduce further impacts due to new development and to implement (best management practices) and restore the instream habitat in Little Alamance Creek.

In 2006, the Piedmont Triad Council of Governments partnered with Ecosystem, a state government initiative, to conduct a water quality assessment on the creeks impacts and watershed requirements throughout the area.

This project was focused on developing a Local Watershed Plan for Little Alamance Creek.Shop for fridgemagnet dolls from the official NBC Universal Store and build a fun collection for your home or office. After three extensive phases, the project was completed in November 2008. The teams had prioritized projects, programs and policies to restore and conserve Little Alamance Creek and had come up with ideas for restoration activities that would work.

Those included, most noticeably, allowing vegetation along the creek bed in Burlingtons City Park to grow up and create a natural filtration system that would help clean stormwater on its way down the banks.

In preparation for Earth Day, the cities of Burlington and Graham organized two stream cleanup days, April 13 and April 20. Volunteers helped clean Bowden Branch Creek, a branch of Little Alamance Creek.

The two cities invited local service groups, youth groups and residents to participate in the Stream Side Cleanup of Bowden Branch, which was sponsored by Elon Universitys Lambda Chi Alpha chapter.

With reductions in pollutant loading, sedimentation and stream erosions, Little Alamance Creek may be able to return to a healthy state. It will be important to note every small improvement, Division of Water Quality spokeswoman Susan Massengale said.

But, the road to recovery for Little Alamance Creek will be long. It will last several permit cycles, each of which is five years. Stecker said she estimates the process to take 10 to 20 years. There is a very small chance the creek will ever return to its original state.

State officials will not return to test the waters of Little Alamance Creek until they know the cities of Burlington and Graham or the Department of Transportation have done something that would change the waters quality. These three groups are all working to make sure the biological integrity of Little Alamance Creek meets the aquatic standards.

With the high level of development in the watershed, impervious areas like parking lots and roads were on the rise, meaning the creek was taking in more pollutants than before.

Stormwater runoff is the No. 1 source of pollution in North Carolina. Other factors include fertilizer, automobile maintenance residue, pet waste and pesticides. When it rains or when snow melts, the water flows downhill, collecting harmful pollutants before dropping into rivers and creeks. These contaminants add up over time and can have a major overall impact on the quality of water.ST Electronics' porcelaintiles11 provides drivers with a realtime indication of available parking spaces.

The North Carolina Division of Water Quality considers Little Alamance Creek an impaired waterway because it violates the Clean Water Act for impaired biological integrity.

Since there were no permitted discharges (like industrial plants with permits to dump in the creek) in the watershed, the DWQ conducted an analysis of the water in 2000 to find what was causing the pollutants. They realized the stressor was urban stormwater runoff.

The report for the 2000 Recommendations for Little Alamance Creek asked for the creek to be resampled and for the city of Burlington to address stormwater issues. The 2005 Recommendations were similar, with the addition of the DWQ working with Burlington and Graham stormwater programs to reduce further impacts due to new development and to implement (best management practices) and restore the instream habitat in Little Alamance Creek.

In 2006,A solarpanel is a plastic card that has a computer chip implanted into it that enables the card. the Piedmont Triad Council of Governments partnered with Ecosystem, a state government initiative, to conduct a water quality assessment on the creeks impacts and watershed requirements throughout the area.

This project was focused on developing a Local Watershed Plan for Little Alamance Creek. After three extensive phases, the project was completed in November 2008. The teams had prioritized projects, programs and policies to restore and conserve Little Alamance Creek and had come up with ideas for restoration activities that would work.