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For Landowners

Water management

Water management encompasses numerous topics. You may desire to create a pond on your property for aesthetics or water storage. Or you might have excess water, called stormwater. Stormwater runoff is created when rain falls on impervious surfaces such as roofs, roads, and pavement. This water collects pollutants such as sediment and fertilizer which it deposits into streams unless this water is slowed down and filtered in a rain garden or other retention system. Maintaining a forested “buffer” along the edge of a stream helps prevent erosion, protect water quality, maintain water temperature, preserve a travel corridor for wildlife, and provide a food source for the organisms in the stream that support the food chain. Links to information on the different types of water that may be found on your property are located below: stormwater management techniques, protecting streambanks, and building and maintaining a pond.

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Stormwater:stormwater rain garden

Stormwater Solutions with Plants (PowerPoint presentation on a variety of techniques used to manage stormwater, from relatively simple grassy swales to rain gardens to permeable pavement and green roofs)

Stormwater Management for Homeowners (publication guiding homeowners with simple steps to protect ground water and surface water quality)

NCSU Stormwater Resources (NCSU website containing multiple resources and educational opportunities)

Stormwater Management Solutions (specific practices for stormwater management ranging in size from relatively large, multi-acre approaches such as wet ponds and wetlands, to small site-specific projects such as rain gardens designed to catch runoff from a ½-acre yard)

How to Create Your Own Backyard Stormwater Rain Garden (instructions on how to build a rain garden in your backyard)permeable pavement

Using a Rain Barrel for Water Conservation (basic information about the benefits of collecting rain water and where you can buy a rain barrel)

Streambanks:

Understanding How Streams Work (publication explaining how streams flow and defining the related terminology)

Streambank Buffers and Restoration (PowerPoint presentation showing healthy/ unhealthy streambanks and strategies useful to maintain healthy, cool water)

Streambank Erosion (overview of causes, prevention, and repairing streambank erosion)streambank management

Stream Restoration (NCSU website containing multiple resources and educational opportunities)

Benefits of Riparian Buffers or Streamside Forests (explains the many values of keeping woody vegetation along streams to provide buffer strips)

Riparian & Wetland Tree Planting Pocket Guide for North Carolina (detailed instructions for storing and planting seedlings along streambanks or in wetlands)

Ponds:

Pond Construction for Landowners (PowerPoint overview of proper pond construction techniques)pond management

A Guide to Creating Vernal (Springtime) Ponds (36-page booklet detailing construction of medium to large wetland areas)

Pond Management Guide (booklet detailing pond construction and maintenance techniques from project start to finish)

Ponds--Planning, Design, Construction (96-page publication detailing all aspects of the planning and construction of ponds)

Agencies Available to Assist You:

NCSU Cooperative Extension Service (links to county centers and agents who can guide you to the appropriate water management resources and information)

North Carolina Division of Soil & Water Conservation (working to protect and improve soil and water resources throughout the state) USDA NRCS employee

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (your local district conservationist is a good resource for water management issues)

North Carolina Department of Environment & Natural Resources (contact before construction to be sure your pond will conform to all state laws)

US Army Corps of Engineers (contact for any required permits before beginning pond construction)