The Carrboro 319 Stormwater Project came together in 2017 because of severe stormwater runoff, flooding, and scouring on a one-acre parcel between Amber Court, Forest Court, and Wild Oak Lane in Carrboro. Stormwater events were washing out this parcel, causing silt pollution to flow into Bolin Creek, water damage and erosion were causing trees to fall on nearby homes, and the severe erosion made public access paths impassible and created challenges for OWASA to do maintenance on the water and sewer easement.
The three HOAs and 7 homeowners whose properties overlap on this parcel (Bolin Forest Phase 2, Bolin Forest Phase 3-4, and Forest Court) hired Kris Bass Engineering to assess the problem and provide recommendations. The engineering solution was beyond the budget of these neighborhoods, so in 2018, they pursued a Fish and Wildlife grant in partnership with Orange Soil and Water and the Piedmont Conservation Council. They learned in 2019 that the grant was not awarded.
In the spring of 2021, The Town of Carrboro Stormwater director submitted an EPA 319 grant working with volunteers from the Carrboro Stormwater Collaborative. In addition to the 3 HOAs, OWASA, Orange County Soil and Water, Orange County Stormwater Engineering, as well as additional community partners supported this grant including Friends of Bolin Creek, NCSU Extension Service, UNC EcoLab, Carrboro High School environmental teacher, and two adjacent HOAs.
The 319 grant was awarded, and supported the construction of a regenerative stormwater conveyance (RSC), which was completed in late 2023. The grant also supported 3 educational workshops led by NCSU Extension specialists, Town stormwater specialists, and volunteers sharing approaches to control stormwater and volunteer workdays to remove small trees and plant native vegetation. The educational and volunteer time, a small grant for plants from Soil and Water, as well as contributions from the HOAs, homeowners, Friends of Bolin Creek are match funds for the federal grant.
Upcoming
- Volunteer planting workdays (March 16 and 23 from 9 am to 2 pm) to plant native plants to stabilize the parcel.
- Celebration of this project will be held April 13 from 1-3 at the Century Center to share this model so that other neighborhoods can work together to address stormwater.
- Landscaping for Erosion Control workshop will be held in April
- A video is being created by a UNC environmental communications intern to capture the project
- Signage and paths will be established