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From YouTube: Stream Sustainability with Diane Silver
Description
Our beautiful mountain streams are one of the best assets we have here in Western North Carolina. Not only do these streams and creeks provide the elements of the quality of life that most people seek here in the mountains, but they're also an important part of our tourism industry.
Join Extension Agent Diane Silver, who works on water quality here in the mountains to help protect streams and creeks from pollution, as she teaches you about everything from soil erosion to the direct causes of pollution to our waterways.
Normally when you think of water pollution you think of toxic sludge coming from a pipe connected to a factory, but did you know that everything from dirt, to heat, to excessive water run off from rainstorms are the number one source of water pollution today?
Learn how you can help lower the amount of pollution goes into our streams, creeks and ground water through at-home practices like rain gardens. Also learn more information about why the sustainability of our creeks and streams is so important.
For more information on this video you can contact the Buncombe County Office of Cooperative Extension at 828.255.5522, or you can check out their web site at buncombe.ces.ncsu.edu.
A
B
You
might
be
familiar
with
the
extension
service
from
the
agricultural
extension
agents
who
work
with
our
local
farmers,
but
extension
does
a
lot
more
than
just
agriculture
and
I'm
one
of
those
examples.
I
work
on
water
quality
here
in
the
mountains
to
help
protect
streams
and
creeks
from
pollution
and
make
sure
that
our
streams
remain
healthy
and
productive.
B
Now,
when
most
people
think
about
water
quality,
we
tend
to
think
first
about
drinking
water,
because
that's
one
of
the
most
important
things
we
do
with
water
and
so
we're
worried
about
how
healthy
the
water
is.
But
it's
not
just
the
chemistry
of
the
water
itself
that
impacts
water
quality.
The
health
of
the
entire
stream
is
a
part
of
the
story
and
the
stream
is
not
just
the
water,
but
it's
also
the
stream
bed.
It's
the
sand
or
dirt
the
rock.
B
What
we
call
the
substrate
of
the
stream
and
it's
also
the
bank
and
the
whole
stream
channel
that
are
a
part
of
whether
or
not
that
stream
is
really
considered
healthy
or
not.
So
there's
lots
of
different
things
that
we
look
at
to
try
to
determine
whether
a
stream
is
in
good
shape,
and
it's
not
just
whether
or
not
the
water
is
okay.
B
B
In
our
mountain
streams,
the
bottom
of
the
stream
should
be
a
rocky
gravelly
kind
of
a
substrate,
because
fish
and
bugs
are
using
that
area
for
their
young,
for
laying
eggs
and
for
hatchlings
and
things
like
that.
So
when
too
much
sand
and
silt
gets
into
the
stream,
it
smothers
the
rocks
and
gravel
it
fills
in
the
spaces
between
the
particles
and
it
causes
a
homogeneous
environment
that
doesn't
support
the
aquatic
life
that
we
should
be
finding
here
in
our
mountain
streams.
B
So
dirt
is
the
number
one
problem
that
we're
facing
other
problems
that
we
have
in
our
streams
that
you
can't
see
but
which
are
really
important,
include
nutrients,
nitrogen
and
phosphorus.
These
are
things
that
make
the
plants
grow,
you'll
spread
them
on
crops
or
people
use
them
in
their
gardens
on
ground.
These
things
are
just
fine,
but
when
these
nutrients
get
in
the
water
too
much
of
them
become
a
pollutant.
B
That's
because
in
the
water
they
make
the
plants
grow,
and
in
this
case
I'm
talking
about
algae,
so
the
nutrients
in
the
water
give
a
shot
in
the
arm
to
the
algae.
We
get
what
we
call
algal
blooms,
this
big
bloom
of
algae,
it
grows
and
grows
and
grows,
and
then,
when
it
dies,
you
have
a
mat
of
dead
algae,
clogging
up
the
stream,
as
that
mat
decays,
that
decay
process
uses
up
oxygen,
and
so
too
many
nutrients
makes
the
algae
grow.
B
Decay
of
the
algae
makes
the
oxygen
go
down,
not
enough
oxygen
bugs
and
fish
and
other
organisms
are
going
to
die.
So
that's
a
pollutant,
so
it's
kind
of
a
chain
of
events,
another
example
of
pollutants
in
the
stream
is
pathogens.
These
are
germs
that
can
make
us
sick.
We
can't
see
them
just
looking
at
the
water,
so
we
might
look
at
this
stream
and
say
looks
clean
to
me,
but
we
don't
know
for
sure
whether
or
not
there
are
viruses
and
bacteria
in
there
that
could
make
us
sick.
B
B
If
the
water
gets
too
warm,
then
it's
no
longer
a
supportive
habitat
for
those
species
of
native
fish.
So
we
want
to
keep
the
temperatures
in
our
streams.
Nice
and
cool
in
the
40s
is
really
best.
When
the
temperatures
get
over
70,
it
can
be
lethal
for
fish
like
trout,
another
category
of
pollutants
that
we're
worried
about
is
toxics.
These
are
the
actual
poisons
that
could
get
into
the
water
when
people
think
water
pollution.
B
So
when
we're
out
here
at
our
stream
just
looking
at
the
water,
it
looks
pretty
good.
It
seems
like
it's
a
healthy
stream,
but
we
don't
know
for
sure.
What's
in
it
from
all
that
storm
water
runoff,
and
we
also
want
to
look
at
the
bank
and
the
channel
in
making
a
full
assessment
of
how
healthy
this
stream
might
be.
B
One
of
the
things
about
stormwater
is
that
it's
usually
a
chain
of
events
that
impacts
the
streams,
and
this
is
a
good
example
we're
here
at
the
site
of
an
eroded
stream
bank,
and
you
can
see
how
steep
this
bank
has
become
and
how
the
tree
roots
are
very
exposed,
because
the
soil
along
the
bank
has
been
eroded
away.
Where
did
that
soil
go?
It
went
into
the
creek
and
we
got
done
saying
earlier.
That
sediment
is
the
number
one
pollutant
facing
our
streams
today
and
eroding.
Banks
is
our
one
source
of
that
sediment.
B
The
sand
and
dirt
that
comes
off
of
the
stream
banks
and
gets
into
the
creek
causes
problems
for
the
ecology
of
the
stream.
So
if
we
want
to
protect
the
stream,
we
have
to
protect
the
banks
and
we
have
to
prevent
this
erosion
from
happening.
Well,
how
does
this
erosion
get
started?
It
gets
started
when
the
stream
channel
isn't
able
to
handle
the
volume
of
water
that
comes
running
down
it
over
time.
Our
streams
develop
to
the
size
and
depth
that
they
are
based
on
the
water
that
runs
through
them.
B
They
widen
and
they
deepen
until
they
become
stable,
and
then
they
stay
that
way
for
a
long
long
time,
and
that
process
usually
takes
many
many
years.
It's
a
slow
natural
process
when
we
build
out
in
the
landscape
when
we
take
acres
and
acres
of
landscape,
that
are
woods
or
farmland
or
forest,
and
we
turn
them
into
paved
areas
or
built
areas
with
lots
of
hard
surfaces
all
that
water
that
hits
the
land
no
longer
soaks
down
into
the
ground.
B
What
happens
is
that,
then
our
local
streams
are
carrying
way
more
water
than
they
ever
used
to.
The
volume
of
water
has
changed
in
a
very
very
short
time.
In
order
to
accommodate
all
that
water
they
become
unstable.
They
start
widening
by
eroding
their
banks
that
process
of
the
water
eroding
the
stream
banks
is
called
storm
water
scour
because
that's
exactly
what's
happening,
it's
the
storm
water!
B
So
if
we
want
to
prevent
that
erosion
from
happening,
we
need
to
limit
the
amount
of
storm
water,
that's
getting
sent
to
our
creeks
so
that
the
creek
doesn't
get
overwhelmed
and
need
to
widen.
So
stormwater
scour
is
the
problem
and
the
solution
is
stormwater
management.
If
we
want
to
take
care
of
our
local
streams,
we
have
to
go
to
the
source
of
the
pollution.
B
B
So,
in
order
to
protect
our
streams,
we
have
to
take
a
watershed
approach
and
to
do
that,
we
have
to
go
to
the
source
of
the
pollutants
which
is
up
on
the
land.
So
we're
going
to
leave
our
mountain
stream
here
and
we're
going
to
go
off
to
some
of
our
local
neighborhoods
and
take
a
look
at
where
storm
water
runoff
and
the
pollution
that
comes
with
it
gets
started
all
right.
B
So
here
we
are,
in
you
know
an
average
neighborhood
in
front
of
an
average
home,
and
this
is
a
really
great
place
to
look
at
some
examples
of
how
stormwater
works
and
how
we
can
manage
stormwater
on
most
homes
when
rainwater
hits
the
roof
it
gets
captured
by
gutters
in
the
roof.
It
runs
down
the
storm
pipe
and
from
that
pipe
it
goes
into
the
nearest
storm
drain,
and
the
thing
about
these
storm
drains
is
that
the
water,
from
many
many
many
roof
tops,
is
all
getting
collected
and
centralized
in
these
storm
drains.
B
All
that
rain
water
is
getting
collected
in
the
storm
drains
and
getting
sent
to
the
creek.
That's
exactly
how
that
storm
water
scour
problem
gets
started,
it's
the
collect
and
centralized
idea.
So
what's
the
difference
between
this
and
this,
the
difference
is
this
one
is
connected
to
the
sewage
treatment
plant
to
the
water
treatment
plant
and
the
water
that
goes
through.
Those
pipes
is
getting
filtered
and
treated
before
it
gets
released
into
our
rivers.
B
Whatever
goes
down
this
drain,
this
is
the
storm
drain
goes
directly
to
the
creeks.
Do
not
pass
go,
do
not
collect
200,
it
doesn't
go
through
the
water
treatment
plant,
it
doesn't
get
filtered,
it
doesn't
get
cleaned,
and
so
anything
that
goes
down
this
drain.
It's
the
very
same
thing
as
dumping
it
directly
into
the
creek.
B
It's
as
if
you
walked
down
the
bank
and
stood
on
a
rock
and
dumped
that
thing
whatever
it
is
right
into
the
water,
so
whether
it's
trash
or
runoff
laden
with
toxics
or
salt
or
sand
or
fertilizer
or
pesticides
or
whatever
it
is
that
that
water
might
be
carrying
it's
going
directly
to
the
stream.
That's
an
important
thing
to
know.
Another
part
of
the
problem
is
not
only
the
volume
of
water
that's
going
to
the
stream
from
this
collect
and
centralize
method,
but
also
any
potential
pollutants
that
could
be
in
that
water.
B
Whatever
is
on
that
rooftop,
I
don't
know
what
the
shingles
are
made
of,
but
if
there's
anything
leeching
out
of
the
shingles
or,
if
there's
any
debris
on
the
roof.
Anything
that's
coming
in
that
in
that
rain,
water
down
the
pipe
is
going
in
the
drain.
Rooftop
water
generally
isn't
a
huge
source
of
pollutants,
maybe
a
little
bit
of
dirt
and
and
sediment,
but
it's
generally
the
volume
that
we're
worried
about,
but
there's
another
source
of
stormwater
runoff
that
comes
from
average
neighborhoods
and
that's
all
the
pavement.
That's
on
the
ground.
B
If
you
look
at
each
of
these
homes,
there's
a
good
deal
of
pavement
that
makes
up
the
driveway
in
the
parking
area
and
the
sidewalks
for
each
home.
Now
this
is
a
rather
pristine
neighborhood
and
I
don't
see
a
whole
lot
of
oil
spills
or
vehicle
fluids
sitting
on
the
pavement,
but
think
about
neighborhoods
across
the
county.
B
Think
about
shopping,
centers
and
parking
lots,
churches
and
businesses
all
the
pavement
that
we
have
out
there
in
the
landscape,
any
kind
of
pollutants
that
get
put
on
the
hard
surfaces
if
oils
or
brake
fluid
or
radiator
fluid
any
kind
of
vehicle.
Fluids
are
leaking
out
of
cars
or
trucks
and
they
puddle
on
the
parking
lot
or
in
the
road
where
the
park
where
the
car
is
parked,
when
it
rains
that
first
bit
of
rain
washes
those
pollutants
off
the
pavement
and
where
does
it
go?
It
goes
into
the
storm
drain.
B
So
those
are
examples
of
how
toxics,
along
with
the
volume,
get
into
our
creeks.
So
what's
the
answer?
One
answer
is
to
prevent
that
runoff
from
reaching
the
storm
drain.
Instead
of
directing
the
water
down
the
pipe
underground
into
the
drain,
let's
just
direct
the
water
somewhere
onto
the
ground,
where
it's
permeable,
where
the
water
is
going
to
be
able
to
soak
down
into
the
ground.
We
call
that
infiltration.
B
B
So
when
it
rains
it's
more
important
than
ever
that
we
capture
that
water
and
store
it
for
the
future,
because
I
guarantee,
sometime
in
the
near
future,
we're
going
to
be
back
in
a
drought
situation
and
we're
going
to
need
that
groundwater.
Groundwater
is
a
source
of
good,
clean,
pure
water.
In
two
ways
one
is
we
pump
it
directly
for
our
use
using
wells
anywhere?
There's
a
well
you're
pumping
groundwater,
the
other
is
groundwater
seeps
up
in
the
form
of
springs
and
feeds
the
headwaters
of
our
streams
to
keep
perennial
streams
flowing.
B
If
you
ever
wondered,
how
is
it
that
streams
can
just
keep
on
flowing
and
flowing
and
flowing
when
it
hasn't
rained
it's
because
of
springs
that
are
feeding
the
water
from
below?
So
for
both
those
reasons,
we
need
groundwater
to
be
plentiful,
so
that
we
continue
to
have
a
source
of
water
when
we
need
it
that
groundwater
gets
replenished
when
it
rains.
B
That
infiltration
is
able
to
happen,
but
wherever
we
have
paved
over
the
landscape
with
hard
surfaces,
whether
it's
roads,
parking,
lots,
sidewalks
or
rooftops
those
hard
surfaces
prevent
infiltration
and
the
water
runs
off.
So
what
we
need
to
do
is
as
close
as
possible
to
where
the
water
falls.
We
need
to
direct
it
to
some
spot
where
it's
able
to
soak
down
into
the
ground
like
it
used
to
do
before
that
area
got
built
upon.
B
That's
the
general
idea
of
what
we
call
retention
bioretention,
so
to
do
that,
we
want
to
direct
the
rain
water
to
landscape
areas
that
will
capture
and
hold
that
volume
of
water
long
enough
to
give
it
a
chance
to
soak
down
rather
than
running
off
into
the
street
and
flooding
the
street
and
therefore
needing
to
go
into
a
pipe
in
order
to
go
away.
So
to
do
that,
one
strategy
is
what
we
call
rain
gardens
and
a
rain
garden
is
simply
a
landscaped
feature,
a
landscaped
area
that
is
designed
for
short-term
storage.
B
It's
an
area,
that's
big
enough
to
hold
the
average
volume
of
water
coming
off
of
a
given
rooftop
or
a
given
parking
lot
or
a
given
road
roadway
and
hold
it
long
enough
to
soak
down.
In
this
example,
there's
a
little
landscaped
area
right
here
in
the
lawn
that
could
be
a
rain
garden.
But
it's
not!
You
can
see
that
it's
bricked
off,
it's
just
designed
for
show
it's
aesthetics
and
it's
very
pretty,
but
rain
water
isn't
flowing
into
it.
B
But
this
is
a
great
example
of
what
could
be
a
rain
garden
if
we
wanted
it
to
be.
If
it
were
designed
with
cuts
in
that
border
to
allow
the
rainwater
to
flow
in,
then
it
would
be
a
place
where
that
water
could
be
stored
and
could
soak
down.
So
this
is
an
example
that
every
home
could
do
it's
the
opposite
of
collect
and
centralize.
B
Instead
of
every
single
home
in
the
neighborhood
directing
the
water
into
the
storm
drain,
it
would
be
great
if
every
home
in
the
neighborhood
had
its
own
little
rain
garden,
its
own
little
spot,
where
the
water
from
that
roof
and
that
little
parking
area
got
directed
and
got
a
chance
to
go
back
down
into
the
ground
rather
than
going
to
the
creek.
Now
we
might
think
that
big
shopping
centers
are
the
big
culprits
in
contributing
to
stormwater
runoff
and
while
they
certainly
are
a
source.
B
The
truth
is
that
just
homes,
all
the
homes,
all
over
the
county
added
up
all
together
are
big
contributors
to
stormwater
runoff
as
well.
So
the
important
thing
is
that
everybody
is
making
an
effort
to
do
their
little
part.
We
have
a
really
good
example
here:
here's
just
an
average
family
home,
but
one
thing
that
we
want
to
take
a
look
at
is
this
driveway,
because
there's
traffic
driving
in
and
out,
you
know,
there's
a
there's
cars
coming
and
going
every
day
a
driveway
is
going
to
become
very
compacted.
B
It's
pretty
much
impervious,
it's
as
if
it's
been
paved
over
water
isn't
going
to
soak
down
on
this
particular
area,
but
because
it
hasn't
been
paved.
This
is
a
dirt
and
gravel
driveway
when
it
rains
and
water
runs
off
of
this
driveway.
It's
going
to
carry
with
it
a
lot
of
sediment,
a
lot
of
sand
and
silt
because
it's
not
paved
over
and
protected.
B
What
happened
at
this
home
is
the
homeowner
recognized
that
that's
exactly
what
was
happening
off
of
this
driveway.
A
lot
of
sediment
was
getting
carried
out
into
the
street
and
then
down
the
street
and
into
the
storm
drain,
and
that
sediment
is
all
going
to
local
creeks.
So
he
put
in
a
small
rain
garden
to
capture
and
hold
just
a
little
bit
of
water.
That's
coming
off
the
driveway
to
prevent
that
water
from
running
into
the
street
and
contributing
to
the
problem.
B
Let's
take
a
look
at
how
it
works,
so
this
is
a
really
simple
rain
garden.
The
water
is
running
off
of
the
gravel
driveway
downhill
down
down
down,
and
it
simply
runs
into
this
little
pocket
garden
area
that
catches
and
holds
it
all.
He
had
to
do
pretty
much
was
build
a
berm
in
order
to
create
this
pocket
area
and
it
functions
as
a
rain
garden.
It
didn't
require
a
whole
lot
of
digging.
It
didn't
require
any
kind
of
significant
engineering
or
construction.
B
It
was
a
little
afternoon
project
and
you
can
see
how
beautiful
it
is,
and
it
functions
really
well
the
secret
to
a
good
rain
garden.
Is
you
want
to
put
in
plants
that
are
going
to
do
well
with
what
we
call
wet
feet?
They
want
temporary
inundation.
You
want
plants
that,
like
it
when
they
get
saturated
occasionally,
but
then
the
water
drains
out
again
and
it's
dry
the
general
idea
of
a
home
rain
garden.
Is
it's
not
a
big
deal?
It's
just
like
any
other
garden
in
your
landscape.
B
So
if
you'd
like
to
put
in
a
rain
garden
at
your
home,
it's
easy
to
do
it's
pretty
much
like
putting
in
any
other
garden
we're
going
to
head
on
over
to
the
swananoa
4-h
camp,
where
it
just
so
happens,
they're
installing
a
rain
garden
at
one
of
the
buildings
at
the
camp.
So
we'll
go!
Take
a
look
at
how
it's
done
here.
We
are
at
the
swananoa
4-h
center,
where
experts
from
the
cooperative
extension
service
are
installing
two
storm
water
management
practices
at
one
of
the
new
buildings,
a
rain
garden
and
a
cistern.
C
Here's
our
building
and
and
take
a
look
at
the
downspouts.
A
real
opportunity
here,
was
to
capture
water
from
this
downspout
and
also
from
its
mirror
image
spout
on
the
other
side
of
the
of
the
building.
So
when
we
took
that
measurement
and
we
looked
at
an
opportunity-
we
said
this-
this
is
great:
it's
not
right
by
the
front
door,
it's
off
to
the
side
and
we
definitely
have
flow
coming,
not
only
down
this
hill,
but
also
out
of
these
two
downspouts.
We
have
some
sod
over
next
to
the
building.
C
So
that's
going
to
help
protect
this
as
well,
so
we
won't
get
a
lot
of
off-site
runoff
we're
going
to
capture
runoff
from
this
downspout
and
from
its
its
sister
downspout
on
the
other
side
and
we're
going
to
send
it
into
this
into
this
rain
barrel.
So
for
every
one
square,
foot
on
the
roof,
we
have
one
gallon
of
storage
into
this
rain
barrel.
Will
capture
about
one
and
a
half
one
inch?
Storm
events?
That's
that's
a
good!
That's
a
good
way
to
go.
All
this
is
is
a
large
rain
barrel.
C
What
you'll
see
is
you'll
see
people
with
a
55
gallon
rain
barrel
at
the
bottom
of
a
downspout,
that
services
may
be
600
to
800
square
feet
of
rooftop
area.
So
if
I
had
again
1200
square
feet
of
rooftop
area,
how
big
should
my
tank
be
1200
square
feet,
which
is
what
we
have
here?
600
on
the
front
600
on
the
back
1200
square
feet,
1200
gallons,
that's
about
what
we
have
here,
1100
gallons,
when
it
rains
more
than
an
inch
well
in
this
case,
is
more
than
an
inch
and
a
half
or
two
inches.
C
C
C
C
C
A
B
B
Here's
our
completed
rain
garden,
here's
how
it
works
previously
when
it
rained
water,
came
down
the
downspout
and
when
it
went
all
the
way
down
to
the
ground
and
the
water
shot
out
of
the
end
of
the
downspout
and
flowed
across
the
ground
into
the
creek,
and
it
was
eroding
away
the
ground
as
it
went
now.
With
our
two
practices
in
place.
Rain
comes
down
the
downspout
and
it
goes
into
the
pipe
that
takes
it
into
the
cistern.
It
collects
in
the
cistern
until
it
gets
to
the
top
level
where
the
overflow
pipe
is.
B
It
doesn't
flow
up
to
the
creek
until
it
fills
all
the
way
up
to
the
top
level
of
the
rain
garden
and
it
flows
over
the
berm,
and
only
then
does
it
flow
across
the
land
and
off
to
the
creek.
And
if
that
happens,
the
speed
is
much
slower
than
when
the
volume
of
runoff
is
coming
down
off
the
roof
during
the
rain
event,
while
it's
raining,
and
so
even
if
we
have
some
runoff
to
the
creek,
it
doesn't
have
the
erosive
power
that
it
did
previously.
B
B
So
there
you
go
a
cistern
plus
a
rain
garden.
Two
practices
in
chain
that
help
manage
the
storm
water
runoff
from
this
particular
roof
and
that
help
reduce
the
problem
of
stormwater
scour
in
the
local
creek
managing
stormwater
runoff
and
preventing
that
stormwater
scour
is
one
really
important
part
of
protecting
our
rivers
and
streams
from
sediment
pollution,
but
another
really
important
part
of
it
is
preventing
sediment
that
comes
from
disturbed
sites
that
runs
over
land
and
directly
into
the
creeks.
So
here
we
are
at
a
great
example
of
a
disturbed
site.
B
Okay,
nothing
wrong
with
disturbed
all
it
means
is
that
it's
an
area
where
the
ground
cover
has
been
removed.
Okay,
construction,
like
you,
see
or
landscaping,
or
grading
anywhere,
where
the
original
cover
has
been
taken
away
and
is
leaving
bare
soil
that
could
easily
be
eroded
away.
That's
what
we
call
a
disturbed
site,
there's
a
difference
between
sediment
and
erosion,
control
and
storm
water
management
where
we
are
right
now
is
a
construction
site.
So
the
big
concern
here
is
sediment
and
erosion
control
because
of
the
disturbance,
it's
a
disturbed
site.
B
The
thing
to
understand
for
homeowners
is
that
that's
different
from
storm
water
management
when
we
say
storm
water
management,
we're
talking
about
post
construction,
storm
water
management,
managing
the
runoff
from
a
site
once
it's
all
done
so
when
this
site
is
finished,
when
it's
a
shopping
center
or
a
neighborhood,
whatever
it's
destined
to
be
managing
the
water.
That's
coming
off
of
the
rooftops,
the
parking
lot,
the
driveways
any
hard
surfaces.
B
That's
what
storm
water
management
is
all
about,
and
that's
what
we're
talking
about
today,
sediment
and
erosion
control
from
construction
sites
from
landscaping
projects
from
grading
projects.
Anything
that's
a
disturbed
site
like
this
one,
that's
a
different
topic,
so
here
we
are
at
a
site.
That's
all
done
at
one
time.
It
probably
looked
like
that
construction
site
we
saw,
but
the
construction's
all
finished-
and
this
is
now
done.
B
This
is
what
it's
going
to
look
like
for
years
and
years
and
years
and
years-
and
this
is
the
big
issue
with
stormwater
runoff-
is
the
amount
of
hard
surfaces
of
impervious
surfaces
that
we
have
in
our
landscape.
Now,
of
course,
we
have
to
have
development.
We
have
to
have
shopping
centers
and
homes
and
neighborhoods
and
all
the
things
that
we
have
when
we
live
in
an
urban
setting,
but
we
need
to
manage
the
storm
water.
That's
coming
off
of
these
hard
surfaces
in
order
to
protect
our
rivers
and
streams.
B
So
that's
what
post-construction
stormwater
management
is
all
about,
and
the
way
to
do
that
is
through
lots
of
little
practices
all
over
the
landscape
to
manage
the
runoff
where
it
falls.
Where
it's
coming
off
of
rooftops
and
parking
lots
places
like
these
places
like
neighborhoods,
that's
what
storm
water
management
is
all
about
right
now
we're
going
to
go
talk
with
mike
goodson,
who
is
the
storm
water
administrator
for
buncombe
county,
to
talk
about
the
rules,
requirements
and
practices
for
post-construction
stormwater
management,
because
that's
what
we're
interested
for
homeowners
mike.
B
We
wanted
to
have
a
chance
to
chat
with
you,
because
there's
a
lot
of
questions
surrounding
these
issues,
sediment
and
erosion
control
and
also
post-construction
storm
water
management.
And
so
I
guess
my
first
question
is:
can
you
tell
us
a
little
bit
about
your
job
with
buncombe
county?
What
are
your
responsibilities
and
what
is
the
county's
involvement
in
all
this
stormwater
management
stuff.
A
Okay,
well,
I
appreciate
you
having
me
today,
diane
the
county
adopted
a
stormwater
ordinance
in
2006
actually
in
september,
and
that
comes
down
from
federal
and
state
law
as
you've
spoken
of
earlier.
Stormwater
has
a
lot
of
pollutants
in
it:
hydrocarbons,
trash
oil
grease,
you
name
it
it's
in
there
and
when
it
rains
all
that
washes
off
into
our
streams
and
creates
havoc
for
our
ecosystems
here
in
the
mountains.
A
So
these
rules
are
designed
to
do
two
things
number
one
they're
designed
to
help
absorb
the
extra
storm
water,
that's
created
by
our
rooftops,
our
roadways
and
so
on,
and
the
second
thing
is
to
try
to
mitigate
some
of
these
pollutants
out
of
that
stormwater
runoff.
So
the
trigger
here
in
buncombe
county
is
for
residential
purposes.
A
B
Okay,
so
the
idea
is
that,
by
putting
in
some
new
development
they're
changing
the
amount
of
rain,
that's
going
to
run
off
that
site
right,
so
they're
not
getting
a
permit
for
it
to
rain,
but
they're
getting
a
permit
to
change
the
site
which
is
going
to
make
the
rain
run
off
instead
of
soak
down.
Is
that
right.
B
B
B
If
you
have
a
good
plan,
great
okay,
are
there
some
differences
between
permits
or
regulations
related
to
that
sediment
and
erosion
control
for
disturbed
sites,
while
this
disturbance
is
going
on
versus
the
requirements
for
that
post-construction
stormwater
management?
What
are
the
regulations
in
the
county.
A
Okay,
well,
our
regulations
are
in
line
with
state
regulation.
Some
of
our
erosion
and
stormwater
rules
are
a
little
bit
more
strict
and
we
need
that
strictness
here
in
the
mountains,
with
our
trout
streams
and
so
forth
that
we
have
so
in
the
erosion
arena.
We're
really
looking
at
trying
to
put
in
measures
that
will
capture
mud,
that's
generated
from
a
disturbed
site
for
a
10-year
storm,
which
is
a
pretty
large
rain
event
around.
A
Okay
and
then
for
a
storm
water,
post,
construction,
storm
water
looks
at
the
one
year
24
hour,
storm,
which
is
about
two
and
a
quarter
inches
in
24
hours.
That's
an
85
percentile
storm,
and
that
means
that
85
percent
of
the
rainfall
we
get
through
the
year
will
be
in
that
category
and
that's
why
we
use
that
standard.
B
So
if
somebody
is
doing
a
development
doing
some
kind
of
construction
and
it's
and
it's
reached
that
one
acre
threshold
that
triggers
this
requirement-
that
they
come
to
you,
they
do
a
plan
that
says
here
how
here's,
how
we're
going
to
control
the
sediment
from
our
site
or
control
the
runoff.
Once
the
site
is
finished,
you
review
that
plan
assuming
everything's
a-okay,
they
get
their
permit
right
and
then
they
do
it.
They
use
those
practices
to
control
the
sediment
and
erosion
control
right.
B
A
That
would
that
would
not
come
into
play
with
the
county
rules.
That's
typically
way
under
our
radar
now
as
far
as
post
construct
post
construction
storm
water.
As
far
as
erosion
control,
we're
always
concerned
no
matter
what
disturbance
is
going
on,
whether
it's
an
addition,
a
new
construction,
whatever
anytime,
you
open
up
the
ground,
you're
going
to
have
a
potential
to
get
mud
in
in
streams
on
the
highway
or
on
somebody
else's
property.
B
A
Absolutely
and
there's
there's
places
out
there
where
folks
may
want
to
put
in
a
small
driveway
or
a
second
driveway,
and
they
want
to
put
it
in
near
a
stream,
and
that
really
can
create
some
trouble.
And
it
takes
some
good
planning
to
do
to
do
things
around
any
water
courses.
So
and
we're
always
there
for
some
technical
help
in.
B
That
regard
so
we
want
to
encourage
people
to
use
those
best
practices
right.
It's
not
that
you
can't
do
what
you
want
to
do
on
your
private
property.
It's
just
that.
There's
good
ways
to
do
it,
there's
not
so
good
ways
to
do
it.
Now.
Here's
a
question
just
I
know
you
represent
buncombe
county
for
folks
who
are
within
the
asheville
city
limits.
B
A
A
B
Okay,
anything
else
that
we
need
to
know.
I
guess,
of
course
I
want
to
ask
if
people
want
more
information.
This
is
they've
kind
of
been
hearing
this
on
the
tv
which
is
nice,
but
how?
If
they
can't
remember
it,
where
do
you
go
for
getting
it
all
in
writing
or
figuring
out?
What
part
is
actually
applicable
to
me
and
my
situation.
A
A
B
A
B
So,
just
to
tie
this
all
together,
stormwater
runoff
is
a
problem
because
it's
a
lot
of
extra
water
coming
off
of
impervious
surfaces
and
flowing
into
our
creeks
and
streams
and
carrying
with
it
all
kinds
of
pollutants
that
added
up
all
together
cause
a
problem
for
the
ecology
of
our
rivers
and
streams.
The
solution
to
storm
water
runoff
is
storm
water
management,
and
that
means
managing
that
runoff,
where
it
falls
taking
care
of
that
runoff
all
over
the
landscape.
B
Wherever
the
rain
comes
down,
we've
seen
a
couple
of
practices
for
how
to
do
that
at
private
homes
and
businesses,
rain,
gardens
and
cisterns
are
two
practices,
whether
separately
or
in
combination.
That
can
help
capture
and
hold
the
little
bit
of
storm
water.
Runoff
that's
coming
off
of
one
particular
site
and
keep
it
out
of
the
whole
system.
B
If
you'd
like
more
information
on
how
to
install
a
rain
garden
or
a
cistern
or
a
rain
barrel
or
any
other
storm
water
management
practices
here
in
buncombe
county,
please
contact
the
buncombe
county
cooperative
extension
service
we'll
be
happy
to
share
lots
of
details
with
you.
If
you
live
outside
of
buncombe
county,
you
might
contact
the
extension
service
in
your
home
county
or
look
up
the
stormwater
management
program
where
you
live.