Grove Park Restoration Project  

Located in eastern Durham County, Grove Park is a lake and golf course community situated less than 20 minutes from downtown Durham and less than a mile from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers property surrounding Falls Lake.  The centerpiece of this community is Grove Park Lake where citizens have year-round access to recreational catch and release fishing.  Upstream development along with past straightening of the channels and timbering have greatly degraded the tributaries of Little Lick Creek flowing into the lake causing rapid sedimentation.  The Grove Park Homeowners Association (HOA) has a plan to dredge the lake but contacted the Durham Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) to help with the restoration of these tributaries to prevent future rapid filling in of Grove Park Lake.

 In order to restore 6,000 linear feet of stream, the Durham SWCD assembled five additional partners including the NC Division of Water Resources, NC Land and Water Fund, Upper Neuse Clean Water Initiative, Piedmont Conservation Council, and Grove Park HOA.  The total project budget of $1,476,800 includes three grants plus a cash contribution and donated conservation easement from the Grove Park HOA.

Little Lick Creek and Falls Lake are impaired due to nutrient and sediment pollution and are listed on the state’s 303(d) list of impaired waters.  This project will drastically reduce sediment loss and will decrease total nitrogen and total phosphorus loss from the site by 275 and 119 pounds per year, respectively.  In addition to stabilization of the streams, 13.5 acres of vegetated riparian buffers protected by a permanent conservation easement will be established along these tributaries to Grove Park Lake.  The Durham SWCD will hold this easement and is committed to monitoring it annually.  Project completion is slated for 2022. 

Marbrey-Jackson Restoration Project  

The Jason Marbrey and Betty Jackson farms are in eastern Durham County in what has historically been a rural setting.  These contiguous farms are bordered on the north by Panther Creek just upstream from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers property and are only approximately a half mile from Falls Lake.  On the state’s 303(d) list of impaired waters for sediment and nutrient pollution, Falls Lake is the primary water supply for the City of Raleigh and surrounding communities.

In addition to more recent suburbanization in eastern Durham, historical stresses on this section of Panther Creek include livestock and timbering.  As a result, the stream had dramatically down cut and had started to laterally erode with large debris jams causing additional erosion.  With the support of the landowners, the Durham Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) and the Piedmont Conservation Council formed a partnership to secure $200,000 from the Division of Water Resources, $450,000 from the North Carolina Land and Water Fund, and $110,000 from the Upper Neuse Clean Water Initiative Program to conduct this 4,000 linear foot stream restoration project.  The landowners donated the easement value of their properties.

Completed in the spring of 2020, 900 tons of sediment are no longer leaving the site representing a 97% reduction from pre-construction loss.  The stabilization of streambanks and improvement of instream habitat along with providing a floodplain and vegetated riparian buffer have also reduced total nitrogen and total phosphorus loss from the site by 140 and 55 pounds per year, respectively.  The Durham SWCD holds a perpetual conservation easement on approximately 10 acres of land with monitoring responsibility on an annual basis.

 Pictures:

Walker Project

Spring of 2019 the Durham Soil and Water Conservation District completed a stream restoration project with landowners Aaron and Emily Walker. The Walkers own a cattle operation in eastern Durham. The stream was located on a sediment-impaired unnamed tributary (UT) to Little Lick Creek near the headwaters of Falls Lake. The project was funded through a Clean Water Management Trust Fund Grant ($400,000). The completed work restored this section of the stream using natural channel design techniques from the design plans provided by Civil and Environmental Consultants out of Ohio. The project’s construction was provided by Land Mechanic Design of Willow Spring, North Carolina who restored 2,218 LF of the stream. A vegetative buffer with a minimum width of 50 feet on both sides of the stream was also established throughout the project. Northern High School students were hired to grow some of the trees located in the buffer and to plant the trees as well. A permanent conservation easement (5.29 acres) surrounding the project was recorded in Durham County with the Soil and Water District providing monitoring in perpetuity. The easement boundary was also pinned on the ground for easy locating. All necessary permits were originally obtained July 10, 2018, during the design phase.

Since the completion of the project, water quality benefits are already starting to be apparent with overbank flooding. The new stream channel has had a few bankfull events where the floodwaters were able to spread onto the floodplain and reduce stresses inside the channel. Expected stream restoration benefits include improved riffle and pool habitat along the project reach and ~98 percent reduction in sediment load from the stream banks resulting in an annual sediment reduction of 473 tons per year into Little Lick Creek and eventually the Falls Lake Reservoir.  The project will also reduce 383 pounds of total nitrogen and 25 pounds of total phosphorus from entering Falls Lake each year.

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Before	After

Ward- Restoration Project

The District completed construction on the Jim Ward property during December 2017. This stream restoration site is located off Hamlin Road near the headwaters of Falls Lake in Durham County. The design was provided by Civil Engineering Consultants and called for the construction of 3,600 linear feet. Land Mechanic Designs from Johnston County was the construction contractor and restored 3,604 linear feet of the stream along the unnamed tributary to Falls Lake. All necessary permits were originally obtained July 7, 2017, during the design phase. A total of 208 Best Management Practices (BMP’s) were installed on the stream during construction. These BMP’s helped reduce sediment from 976 tons/year. Additional nutrient reductions achieved were 682 lbs/year of nitrogen and 44 lbs./year of phosphorus. A total of 102 watershed drainage acres were treated.  The restoration site included a vegetative buffer (9.2 acres) with a minimum width of 50 feet on both sides of the stream.  A permanent conservation easement encumbering the project was recorded at the Register of Deeds Office in Durham County and the District will hold and monitor this conservation easement for perpetuity. The District collaborated with Northern High School teachers and students to procure, propagate, and install approximately 360 potted plants. This project helped sustain the Northern Agribusiness program by purchasing $5,000 of plant material.

This project was funded for the design and construction, however, water quality benefits are already starting to be apparent with overbank flooding.  The new stream channel, since the beginning of construction, has had a couple bankfull events where the floodwaters were able to spread onto the floodplain and reduce stresses inside the channel.  This project was constructed with funds provided by the Clean Water Management Trust Fund ($400,000) and Upper Neuse Clean Water Initiative ($360,000) grants.

Southern High School Stormwater/Restoration Project

The Little Lick Creek Local Watershed Plan identified a number of potential stream restoration, buffer enhancement, and stormwater retrofit opportunities in the watershed; including this proposed project.  Southern High School property drains into Chunky Pipe Creek.  Chunky Pipe Creek flows into Little Lick Creek, which has been included on the 2012 North Carolina 303(d) list of impacted streams.  From the Little Lick Creek, it's only a short distance to the Falls Lake.  This project was identified due to the fact that Southern High School has several acres of untreated impervious surface (19 acres) within Falls lake watershed, has a high potential for stream restoration below proposed stormwater BMPs and also the school has transitioned to a school that focuses on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM).

Stormwater Project - In August 2014, the Durham Soil and Water Conservation District received $325,000 grant from the Environmental Enhancement Grant (EEG) to construct a stormwater wetland cell to capture and treat runoff from the parking area and rooftops, a reuse pond for irrigating the athletic fields and a rain garden.

Stream Restoration- September 2015 the Durham Soil and Water Conservation District received a $176,500 grant from the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund (CWMTF) to conduct 950 linear feet of stream restoration at Southern High School.

Phase II

Construction was completed in November 2017 for the Southern High School of Energy and Sustainability Stormwater Phase II Project. This project drains into Chuncky Pipe creek which flows to Little Lick Creek and finally to Falls Lake. The project’s design was provided by Civil Engineering Consultants and called for the installation of three stormwater BMPs (stormwater wetland, wet detention reuse pond, and bioretention rain garden) to reduce sediment and storm flows into the Falls Lake Reservoir. RiverWorks, Inc. out of Cary was the construction contractor for the project. The District received the necessary environmental  permits on July 6, 2016 during the Phase I design permit request. The rain garden installed captures the 1-inch storm draining from the school roof tops, soccer field, and tennis courts. The stormwater wetland captures the 1-inch storm for 9 acres of adjacent impervious parking lot and bus storage. The constructed reuse pond can hold approximately 400,000 gallons of water above the permanent pool in order to be reused on the athletic fields. Water from both Phase I and Phase II reuse ponds will help reduce the school's dependency on potable water and save the school approximately $15,000 per year in water cost.

Southern High School’s agribusiness program received $5,000 to procure, propagate, and install wetland vegetation plants within the constructed BMPs. A permanent conservation easement (2.2 acres) encumbering the project was recorded in the County’s Register of Deeds Office and will be held and monitored by the District in perpetuity.

This project was funded by the North Carolina Environmental Enhancement Grant Program ($435,000) and the North Carolina Division of Water Resources (90,000). Below are the nutrient removal rates for each BMP.                                                 

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Upper Sandy Creek Phase V - BMP completed

Before	After

 The Soil and Water Department completed the stormwater best management practice (BMP) and a portion of the stream restoration efforts for the Upper Sandy Creek Phase V Project.  The original scope of work called for the implementation of a stormwater wetland and restoration of 434 linear feet (LF) of the channel along an unnamed tributary to Upper Sandy Creek.  The project installed a vegetative buffer with a minimum width of 50 feet on both sides of the stream throughout the project area as measured from the top of the stream bank.  Permits used during construction were obtained from a previous $253,000 design and permitting grant.

    The completed project produced a three-celled stormwater BMP (one forebay and two wetland cells) and restoration of 420 LF along this unnamed tributary.  This tributary handles 7.01 acres (with 70.3% impervious surface) of runoff from parking lots on Duke University's campus.  The final stream length is 420 LF, a decrease of 14 LF from the design due to additional room needed for the stormwater BMP outlet.

    The water quality benefits of this project are pending successful implementation and construction of the entire Phase V design.  However, expected stream restoration benefits include improved riffle and pool habitat along the project reach and at 95 percent reduction in sediment load from the stream banks resulting in an annual sediment reduction of 100 tons per year into the Jordan Lake Reservoir.  Stable riparian buffers exceeding 1 acre were also planted outside the 420 LF of stream restoration in order to establish and preserve the stream work.

    In addition, a three (3) acre permanent conservation easement was recorded at the Durham County Register of Deeds in order to protect the completed stormwater BMP and stream restoration.  The Soil and Water Department will monitor this easement in perpetuity.  The stormwater BMP will reduce flashiness of the parking lot runoff entering this portion of the Sandy Creek tributary and according to NC DWQ Stormwater Best Management Practices Manual dates July 2007 will reduce nitrogen (40% and 5.14 lbs/ac/yr), phosphorus (40% and 0.52 lbs/ac/yr), and suspended solids (85% and 233.71 lbs/ac/yr).  These efforts will provide local water quality benefits as well as contributing to nutrient reduction efforts taking place throughout the Jordan Lake Watershed.  This project was part of Durham County's Strategic Plan Goal 4 initiative.

Sandy Creek Phase IV Reach 1- Restoration Project completed

Before	After

Construction on approximately 1,600 feet of stream restoration, along with the planting of the vegetation material was completed on Phase IV Reach 1 of Sandy Creek this fiscal year. Reach 1 begins at HWY. 751 and flows into the wetland impoundment that was completed in Phase I of the overall watershed project. Before the construction, this reach had an incised channel with eroding banks that were claiming some of the hardwoods located at the banks' edge. This project provided an excellent opportunity to raise the streambed and reconnect the channel overflow back to the abandoned forested floodplain. This was accomplished by constructing a new channel and now all flood flows will spread onto the mature bottomland hardwood forest that is located in the floodplain. The trees that had to be removed for the new channel were used as root wads, cover logs, log vanes, and floodplain habitat. This helped reduce the overall cost of the project and research has shown that the use of wood in stream restoration projects have dramatically increased the diversity of aquatic life. The finished project will enhance water quality entering Upper Sandy Creek and eventually, Jordan Lake. This is particularly important since the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) list these water bodies as impaired by fecal coliform, excess chlorophyll a and habitat degradation. Due to the funding received through a Division of Water Resources grant ($243,636), the District was able to implement the project. The overall cost was of the project was $403,604.

Lick Creek- Stream Restoration Project completed

Before	After

Construction to restore 3,550 feet of Lick Creek began in February 2010 and was completed in June of 2010. This stream restoration project began at the bridge off Olive Branch Church Road and proceeded east for 3,550 feet towards the controversial Falls Lake. The project’s design, permitting and construction was funded through two Clean Water Management Trust Fund (CWMTF) grants totaling $636,000. There was additional funding secured ($35,500) by the Soil and Water staff through the Upper Neuse Clean Water Initiative (UNCWI) for the transaction cost of the three conservation easements that were donated in perpetuity. The Durham Soil and Water Conservation District will hold and monitor these easements to assure compliance.

This section of Lick Creek had significant vertical instability problems (incision and bank slumping) which elevated sediment levels downstream to the sum of 230 tons/year.

Sediment is a significant pollutant to water quality and aquatic habitat. The restored channel is a tributary that flows into Falls Lake, and eventually the Neuse River. Channel incision and bank erosion had compromised the adjacent riparian buffer that was located mostly within an open pasture and forested area and within an area that is becoming an urban-dominated watershed. As in most cases rarely yield stable stream systems. The subdivisions and impervious surfaces located upstream have significant runoff that contributed sediment through overland flow into the tributary since there was not adequate groundcover and root density. In addition to stabilizing bank erosion and vertical instability, the project also added a greater than 50 feet of herbaceous and riparian buffer and a permanent conservation easement (approximately 13.6 acres) on each side of the stream to help capture and filter the overland runoff from the site. Water quality is expected to continue to improve as the riparian buffer matures.

June 2010, a tour was conducted for Durham County’s State Legislator’s, some local official and state resource representatives.