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Water quality expert: 'Erosion can be controlled' |
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"When I drive down Route 107, I can see how much development has occurred in the last 25 years since I lived here. I look at those sites, and I know that for each one, tons of sediment went into the Tuckaseigee River. It doesnąt have to be that way... We have the technology. We have the model regulations. And if we have the community intent, we can have development without excessive silt in our streams."
The speaker was Richard Maas, head of the environmental studies department at the University of North Carolina at Asheville and a recognized authority on water quality issues in the Southern Appalachian region. Maas spoke on "Reclaiming Mountain Streams from Siltation" to those gathered at the Jackson County Justice Center April 13. He appeared at the invitation of the Watershed Association of the Tuckaseigee River. Sedimentation is the primary threat to the quality of the mountain waterways, said Maas, causing the simplification or destruction of aquatic habitat, degradation of drinking water supplies and a decline in the natural beauty and recreational value of mountain rivers and streams, among other effects. He went on to speak of the sources of sedimentation in the mountains and gave some practical solutions for erosion prevention, including ideas for citizen action. "What I am seeing in our mountains is that the biggest sediment problem is construction activity," Maas said. He identified road construction as one of the primary sources of sedimentation, but he also included grading for building projects, both large and small, as a major contributor. Direct livestock access to streams is an agricultural practice that causes extensive erosion here, said Maas. "When livestock get into streams and destroy the banks, they cause the streams to remain turbid even during dry weather," he said. He also listed improper tillage and drainage practices on agricultural croplands as other causes of sedimentation. Logging, too, causes sedimentation, often in the highly sensitive high-altitude streams. Again, the damage occurs largely in road construction practices. However, Maas went on to say that, "If we are careful, if we cable the logs from the forest, if we have logging roads that are well-designed, especially at stream crossings, then we can do logging with virtually no sedimentation." In order to effectively fight erosion in the mountains, Maas said that we need to change our philosophy of sedimentation control. "Right now, the philosophy is:'We are going to try to control as much sediment as we can, but whatever escapes, escapes.' We need to think about what we really need to do to protect the character and uses of our streams, and then develop a system of permitting and practices that will get the job done," he said. From his experience both in the mountains and on the Piedmont, Maas said that we need regulations that meet the particular requirements of the mountain terrain. "We have a state sedimentation control act that supervises erosion control activities in the state," he said. "Some of these practices work pretty well in the Piedmont. The research was all done in the Piedmont, and the practices were designed to control a reasonable amount of sediment coming off construction sites. They were not designed for the mountains, with our steeper slopes, our need for higher clarity water, and the recreational uses we make of our rivers." He commended the residents of Jackson County for considering a county sedimentation control ordinance, saying that, if adopted, it would give more local control over the provisions of the ordinance and their enforcement. Maas also recommended the Volunteer Water Information Network, a citizens' water monitoring system that provides a detailed, on-going water analysis at a fraction of what it would cost at a commercial laboratory. The program documents changes in water quality and helps to locate sedimentation trouble spots in the watershed. Each month, volunteers take a water sample at the same location at the same time. The tests give a data picture of each location over time and in a geographical comparison with more than 170 other sample sites in the Western North Carolina mountains. "This data is being used all over Western North Carolina by all kinds of agencies, by all kinds of groups, looking at sources for drinking water, looking at streams for selected projects. Buncombe, Madison and Haywood counties have all together gotten more than $2 million in federal grant money. If you come in for one of these grants, and you have a whole data base about the water quality of your river and creeks, then you have a tremendous competitive edge," said Maas. The Watershed Association of the Tuckaseigee River has nearly completed the process of developing bylaws and is almost ready to accept new members. For more information about the group or about the VWIN water monitoring program, call David Wheeler at 586-3146. |
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