Orange County NC Website
=55 <br /> groups, including agricultural organizations (since a lot of forest land is on land that includes farming <br /> activity.) <br /> As the UNRBA continues to develop the revised nutrient management strategy, stakeholder <br /> engagement will be expanded to include the NC Forest Service, NC Forestry Association, and other <br /> forest management organizations. Representatives of agriculture have existing working <br /> relationships with these associations and have offered to support this outreach. One suggestion has <br /> been to fund the NC Forest Service Forest Development Program that provides financial support to <br /> replant trees after harvesting or when agricultural production has ceased. As with the Agriculture <br /> Cost Share Program,this approach would fund existing organizations who have established <br /> administrative procedures, decision-making, and fund-allocation processes. <br /> Streambank Erosion <br /> Stream bank erosion is a significant contributor to the sediment and total phosphorus loads <br /> delivered to Falls Lake. Streams may become unstable following channelization, changes to land <br /> use, increased impervious surfaces, and changing hydrology. Stream restoration and/or infiltration <br /> of stormwater can be implemented to regain stability. <br /> Based on the UNRBA WARMF watershed model, approximately 15 percent of the total phosphorus <br /> load to Falls Lake comes from streambank erosion. At the scale of the Falls Lake watershed, the <br /> model does not account for previously implemented stream restoration projects or site-scale <br /> conditions. While there is uncertainty with the stream bank loading estimates, their relative <br /> magnitude compared to other sources indicates opportunities for pollutant reductions (Figure 8). <br /> The UNRBA is not proposing any specific regulatory requirements or projects associated with stream <br /> bank erosion, but rather allowing the local governments and other Tier 1 members to fund these <br /> projects as an eligible activity. The proposed activities associated with streambank erosion are <br /> currently allowed by the IAIA Program: <br /> • Stream, wetland, buffer restoration/enhancement <br /> • Floodplain expansion <br /> Streambank erosion represents a truly "distributed" nutrient source in the watershed. The basin has <br /> many miles of streams and rivers. Streams and rivers cross multiple property and jurisdictional <br /> boundaries which will complicate implementation of this practice. Many organizations and <br /> researchers have studied stream bank erosion in the Falls Lake watershed including City of Durham, <br /> USGS, and researchers at NC State University. As a result of the UNRBA modeling study, the NC <br /> Collaboratory has recently funded a study to identify hot spots of streambank erosion and potential <br /> restoration activities that reduce potential of erosive flows that contribute to streambank erosion. <br /> The City of Raleigh is also working with USGS on a streambank erosion study. <br /> Atmospheric Deposition and Climate Resilience <br /> Atmospheric deposition of nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon affects all land uses and waterbodies, <br /> including Falls Lake. While this deposition is a natural process needed to cycle nutrients through the <br /> environment, human sources of air emission impact atmospheric concentrations of pollutants, and <br /> remote air pollution sources move into the watershed based on weather and prevailing winds. This <br /> source may provide an opportunity for reducing the amount of nutrients deposited to the system <br /> each year. <br /> According to DWR's 2021 Status Report for Falls Lake, atmospheric deposition of nitrogen has <br /> declined by approximately 20 percent since the baseline period. Improvements to air quality <br /> 36 <br />