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Building a Long-Term Stewardship Program to Manage and Maintain Urban Stream Improvement and Wetland Projects
Beca Deal
Long-Term Stewardship Program Supervisor
City of Charlotte Storm Water Services
Charlotte, North Carolina
Authors:
Beca Deal, Long-Term Stewardship Program Supervisor, City of Charlotte Storm Water Services
Cody Starnes, Water Quality Program Specialist, City of Charlotte Storm Water Services
The City of Charlotte (city) is the largest city in North Carolina and 15th largest in the country. The city began implementing stream and wetland projects, stormwater control measures, buffer, and other water quality protection and improvement tools decades ago. Currently, the city has a combination of federal, state, and local compliance requirements, in addition to local surface water quality improvement programs. Specifically, 401/ 404 permit requirements and local initiatives for flood protection have driven stream improvement and wetland projects within the city and county. These projects have utilized the city mitigation bank, which is intended to provide mitigation for City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County public projects located within the jurisdictional limits of Mecklenburg County. Often these projects require post-construction monitoring as determined by the Army Corps of Engineers, and long-term easement enforcement to protect stream infrastructure. However, the long-term maintenance of these projects in urban environments can also be improved.
In 2020, in order to improve the management consistency of easement enforcement, inspections, and long-term stewardship and maintenance of these projects, the Charlotte Storm Water Services (Storm Water) proposed the development of a Long-Term Stewardship Program (L-TS). This program is now responsible for the management of all surface water quality improvement projects including, Storm Water’s stream improvement and wetland projects, after construction monitoring is complete.
This presentation will discuss initial development and goals of the L-TS program as it pertains to stream improvement and wetland projects and our phased approach to building and implementing the program. We will highlight our development of our stream inspection program, including GIS-based field maps, discuss challenges and importance of maintaining urban streams in the City of Charlotte, project prioritization, and next steps for the program.
About Beca Deal
Mrs. Deal is the Long-Term Stewardship Program Supervisor for the City of Charlotte, Storm Water Services Department on the Surface Water Quality team. Mrs. Deal started her career in commercial Architecture with her Bachelor of Science Degree in Interior Design from Appalachian State University in North Carolina. After about three years in that industry, she decided to peruse her lifelong love of science with additional undergraduate studies in Geology followed by a Master’s Degree in Earth Science from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Mrs. Deal then spent almost 7 years as a consulting Environmental Geologist before joining the Storm Water team at the City of Charlotte. Since coming on board with the city, Mrs. Deal has developed the Long-Term Stewardship (L-TS) Program from the ground up. The L-TS team is now responsible for long-term planning of completed stream restoration projects, operation and maintenance of city owned SCMs, and dam safety. With her background in stormwater, geology, and design, Mrs. Deal has an innovative approach to the challenges that urban environments bring for surface water quality. In her free time, she enjoys backpacking, canoeing, birdwatching, and advocating for the Catawba River basin.
