RiverLink receives grant funds for Ross Creek stormwater improvement project

From a press release:

Over the past two years RiverLink has been working to improve water quality in the Ross Creek Watershed, which flows from Town Mountain Road through Chunns Cove, then along  Tunnel Road into Kenilworth Lake, and eventually into the Swannanoa River.   Grant funds to support this project have been received from the Clean Water Management Trust Fund and Pigeon River Fund, along with significant participation from the impacted neighborhoods.

In May we received additional grant funds from the Pigeon River Fund to reduce sedimentation and improve the storm water runoff from Vance Gap and Camp Allis Road.  With the heavy rains last summer and the regarding of Vance Gap Road the Chunns Cove Estate Neighborhood Association, Also known as Camp Allis experienced extensive erosion through the property into Camp Allis Lake.  In addition there were a number of landslides and other land failures last summer which cause heavy sedimentation of the lake.

Working with the homeowners, volunteers, and a local contractor, we developed a plan to improve water quality in Ross Creek.  We designed and implemented a Stormwater Best Management Practice though the property to reduce sedimentation, filter pollutants, and improve the control and flow of the stormwater runoff.

In addition the Homeowners Association dredged the existing sediment in the lake, and many residents throughout the neighborhood, with assistance of RiverLink volunteers, undertook projects at their homes to reduce the peak volume of stormwater runoff.   These included the removal of invasive species along the stream corridor and replanting of native species, stream bank stabilization and planting, and the addition of a few catchment basins.

The project was completed with the help of volunteers from the MFuge camps, local businesses, Warren Wilson College, and the homeowners association.  They received hands on education about the importance of a healthy riparian buffer, planted native species, removed invasive species, and helped construct small stormwater BMPs through the watershed.  In addition we had volunteers from Evergreen Charter School Summer Camp assist with stormdrain stenciling throughout the watershed, to broaden the understanding that rain water that flows into our curb inlets is not treated prior to entering the stream.

The Ross Creek Watershed covers a three-square-mile area including Chunns Cove, a large part of the Kenilworth community, and the commercial area along Tunnel Road from Beaucatcher Tunnel south to the Days Inn. It also includes the eastern slopes of Patton, Sunset, and Beaucatcher mountains as well as the western slopes of Randall Gap, Cisco Mountain, and Piney Mountain.  Since 1995, Ross Creek has been designated as impaired, by the EPA and NCDENR Division of Water Quality.  Stormwater best management practices (BMPs), stream enhancement and conservation of the stream riparian corridor will improve the water quality in Ross Creek, through reducing stormwater runoff and filtering runoff through soil prior to entering the stream.

In 2013 RiverLink completed a stormwater wet swale at St. Luke’s Church on Chunns Cove Rd.   This spring we have continued work in the Kenilworth neighborhood at the corner of Waverly Dr. and Lakewood Dr.   We have just completed the stream restoration work.  The restoration of this tributary of Ross Creek that flows through this property was critical to the protection of the constructed wetland, the property.  This work will also assist in slowing the storm flows, sedimentation and protecting the stream banks from further erosion.  Over the next two months RiverLink will complete an in stream constructed wetland at the corner of Waverly and Lakewood to reduce sedimentation in Kenilworth Lake.

If you have any questions or concerns about the project, please contact our Watershed Resources Manager, Nancy Watford at nancy@riverlink.org, or 828-252-8474 ext.14.

RiverLink has completed successful stream restorations in other watersheds, including the Swannanoa River, and Hominy and Robinson Creeks.

Located in Asheville’s River Arts District, RiverLink is a regional organization spearheading the economic and environmental revitalization of the French Broad River watershed as a destination where everyone can work, live and play.

For more information about how you can get involved, see our Web site: www.riverlink.org, or contact us at information@riverlink.org or by phone at 252-8474.