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Water Supply Watershed Policies

Water Supply Watershed Policies. Wake County. Legislative History. 1984 Wake Co. adopts watershed regs 1989 NCGA Adopts Water Supply Watershed Protection Act (required local gov to adopt regs) 1992 EMC adopts min. St.- wide WSW Mgt. Regs. (local regs required to meet)

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Water Supply Watershed Policies

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  1. Water Supply Watershed Policies Wake County

  2. Legislative History • 1984 Wake Co. adopts watershed regs • 1989 NCGA Adopts Water Supply Watershed Protection Act (required local gov to adopt regs) • 1992 EMC adopts min. St.- wide WSW Mgt. Regs. (local regs required to meet) • 1995 EMC revises min. regs to add flexibility and clarity

  3. Legislative History Continued • 1996 NCDWQ reviewed Wake Co.’s regs for compliance w/St.’s • 1997 Wake Co BOC adopted additional ordinance amendments

  4. State Water Supply Watershed Classifications (5) • WS-I – WS-V w/ WS-I being most restrictive • WS-I applied a few doz. pristine watersheds in the western mtns. of NC - most restrictive - none in Wake Co. • WS-V has no categorical restrictions or min. stds. for development

  5. How Are Classifications Used? • St. determines type of point source discharge it will permit in ea. WSW • Determines set of WSW stds. local gov. must implement to to control non-point source pollution (mostly stormwater runoff)

  6. Application of WSW Policies • Approx. 163,000 acres of protected WSW w/in Wake County borders • Approx. 118,000 w/in Wake Co. zoning jurisdiction • WSW are usually in more than 1 jurisdiction.,so land use regs. vary

  7. LUP Classifications • Non-urban Area Water Supply Watershed - All of Little River & Smith Creek WS - Most of Falls Lake (except south of North Wake Expressway, Raleigh’s USA • Not intended to be urbanized

  8. LUP Classifications • Except for a few non-urban neighborhood activity centers all of Little River WS and non-urban areas of Falls Lake, Jordan Lake & Swift Creek are classified residential • Density of .50 dwellings/acre in critical area • 1 dwelling /acre in non-critical

  9. LUP Classifications • Parts of Jordan Lake, Swift Creek and Falls Lake WS to be urbanized - higher density residential - more closely spaced Urban neighborhood and Community Activity Center

  10. Swift Creek – defined by jointly adopted SCLMP Other WS in Wake County’s jurisdiction – critical area = ½ mile plus 300’ from flood pool elevation of water supply source Definition of Critical Area

  11. Definition of Critical Area • Exceptions - Lower Barton's and Honeycutt Creek Basins in Falls Lake WSW • Critical area is set near the 200 minute time of travel line, meaning that all land in those basins where stream water takes 200 minutes or less to reach the lake is w/in the critical area

  12. Summary-State Controls in WSW • Primarily responsible for regulating point source discharge w/in WSW. • Regs. vary by WS classification • Before state issues permit must determine compliance w/Wake Co. regs.

  13. Local Land Use Controls in WSW • Primarily responsible for controlling non-point source discharge • State requires local govs to adopt LU regs meeting state’s min. WSW regs. • State provides both a “low density option” and a “high density option”

  14. Low Density Option Emphasis: • Limit on housing density (max. lot density/min. lot stds.) • Limit impervious surface coverage • Use of vegetative buffers along watercourses

  15. High Density Option • Does not limit housing density • Allows greater ISC, w/wet detention ponds or other engineered storm water mgt. systems • Must control both rate of runoff and removal of suspended solids. • Local gov. ultimately responsible for operation, maintenance and inspection of eng. controls

  16. Wake County • Elected “low density option” • Not organized for operation, maintenance and inspection of stormwater controls • County stds. meet and exceed those of St.

  17. County’s Protective Measures • Low IMC by limiting density • Infiltration of runoff by requiring vegetated buffer along watercourses • Limiting non-residential land use • Control storage and use of hazardous materials • Direct dense growth out of WSW

  18. Residential Develop. WSW • Max. density of .5 lot/acre (min. 80,000) in critical area • Max density of 1 lot/acres (min. 40,000) in R-40W

  19. Non-residential Development • 6% max. ISC in R-80W • 24% max. in R-40W IMC • Stormwater controls if ISC exceed 12%. • Little River & Smith Creek watersheds, max. ISC for non-res. Development outside critical area is limited to 12%

  20. WC Watershed & Drainageway Buffers • Perennial streams, • Stream draining at least 25 acres, • Drainageways, that drain at least 5 acres, but less than 25 • Around water impoundments

  21. Summary of Local Controls • Limits on ISC/density of development • Watershed and drainageway buffer • Limit non-residential land uses to low impact types and intensities • Limit on hazardous materials • Water quality stds –require use of BMPs for all new development

  22. Summary of Local Controls • Require cluster development to concentrate development in upland areas, away fr. surface watersa and drainageways • Min. concentrated stormwater flow and max. sheet flow through vegetated buffers

  23. Coming Attraction Swift Creek SwiftCreek

  24. The Headless Horseman of Swift Creek

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