STEELE
CREEK NEWS
Partnership
to Manage and Monitor Water Quality in Beaverdam
Creek Watershed
(March 16, 2002) The Charlotte City Council and Mecklenburg County
Board of Commissioners approved zoning for a new mixed-use
development west of I-485 between Dixie River Road and Shopton Road
West in July 2001. The developer, Pappas Properties, plans to build
over 2,800 detached and multi-family residences around a town
center. The development also will include shopping, office space,
and the Upper
Steele Creek District Park.
The development
will cover over 1,000 acres and comprises approximately 30% of the
Beaverdam Creek Watershed. Beaverdam Creek drains into Browns Cove
on Lake Wylie. Browns Cove does not benefit from circulation of Lake
Wylie and does not get a flushing from the lake to clean it out. A
portion of the I-485 construction is within the watershed and
already has deposited sediment into Browns Cove.
Runoff from the
new development has the potential to adversely impact the watershed,
and as a condition of zoning approval, Pappas Properties agreed to
implement certain water quality management, monitoring, and modeling
activities.
The City of
Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, and Dixie River Land Company LLC (a
Pappas subsidiary) have been working together to form a partnership
to satisfy the conditions of the rezoning as well as to evaluate,
predict, and study the surface water quality of the Beaverdam Creek
watershed as a whole. They hope this cooperative working
relationship not only will protect and enhance surface water quality
in the area but also provide an opportunity to apply the lessons
learned to other watersheds throughout the county.
The project will
include an inventory of existing conditions and ongoing monitoring
at several sites along creeks and in the cove. Monitoring will cover
sediment levels, biological conditions, stream channel stability, as
well as water quality. The project also will include a watershed
management plan to protect the creek and cove.
The cost of the
initial phase is $375,000, which will be jointly funded by the city,
county, and Dixie River Land Development.
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