The project will focus on supporting communities in multiple counties that are highly likely to experience hurricanes and other large rainfall events which seem to be increasing in frequency and intensity. Processes will focus on evaluation and co-designing nature-based strategies that enhance community resilience to extreme rain events.
Identified nature-based strategies will contribute to water quality improvements in the Neuse, Lumber, Cape Fear, and White Oak Rivers, safeguarding and enhancing the water quality of drinking water sources for millions of people downstream. The project will focus on the following counties: Cumberland, Hoke, Johnston, Onslow, Robeson, Scotland and Wayne.
These four critical river basins bolster a blue economy, critical to the socioeconomic wellbeing of communities across the coast and are critical habitats for a diversity of fish and wildlife species.
As a critical first step project sponsors will seek input from local landowners, land managers and other agriculture community representatives. This step will allow these groups to share past experiences and help guide the development of possible new programs to address flooding events in their communities.
Objective 1:
Invite landowners in the project area to participate in a Landowner Questionnaire where they provide information on past flooding events and how those events have impacted their farming and forest management operations.
The Questionnaire has been developed to provide interested parties with an opportunity to share specific information on the impacts of flooding and other large rain events on their lands. The survey will also provide opportunities to share thoughts on additional practices or community needs, along with funding, landowner compensation and program management.
One practice referenced in the questionnaire is identified as “Water Farming“. Water Farming is a practice that can be utilized to offset damage caused by extreme rain events. An explanation of this practice can be found at: Water Farming Information
Drainage Districts are also referenced in the questionnaire and are identified in North Carolina as: North Carolina’s drainage districts are established under Chapter 156 of the General Statutes. These districts are authorized to levy assessments of property owners within their boundaries to fund drainage improvements. The districts are responsible for managing water flow in designated areas, ensuring collaborative efforts to manage water effectively. Property owners are obligated to manage water drainage responsibly under the “reasonable use” doctrine, which requires them to prevent runoff from becoming a nuisance or causing damage to neighboring properties.
If you are interested in participating in the survey, please follow this link to complete the survey.
Objective 2:
Conduct community outreach meetings to identify flooding areas, identify and assess conservation practices that are effective mitigation measures at the landscape scale.
If you would like to be included in any community outreach meeting or receive additional information on other outreach efforts, please complete the Contact Form.
Partners for the community outreach meetings will include Local Soil and Water Conservation Districts, NC Farm Bureau Federation, NC Association of Conservation Districts, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Division of Soil and Water Conservation, Sustainable Forestry and Land Retention Project, River Basin Associations, and others.
To encourage participant engagement the following issues will be considered:
The goal in answering this question is to identify current and near-term weather-related exposures specific to your operation.
The goal in answering this question is to prioritize climate-related threats specific to your operation. We know that experienced producers will already have a good understanding of the key sensitivities of their operation to typical weather patterns.
The goal in answering this question is to identify adaptive actions that address the key climate threats to your operation. You will want to develop a list of practices that enhance the response, recovery and transformation capacities of your operation. Be sure to include in this list practices that promote both specific and general resilience. A useful way to be sure you have considered all potential options is to think through, for each type of resource under management, the specific practices that enhance resilience and are a good fit for your operation.
The goal in answering this question is to find the most appropriate mix of practices that reduce climate risks and capture new opportunities for your operation. Selecting among options will likely involve some cost/benefit tradeoffs typical of traditional risk management, but it can be difficult or impossible to estimate the costs and benefits of climate resilience practices because of the uncertainties associated with climate risk. When evaluating potential adaptation options, remember to include a mix of complementary practices that work together to enhance the resilience of your operation both now and over the long term.
Targeted risk management practices are most useful when they target high-value crops or livestock during sensitive life cycle stages (e.g., at birth, or during flowering or fruiting) and target high-value perennial crops near the end of a long production cycle. These practices can also be very useful during the early stages of a transition to a new, fundamentally different operation that positions the business to thrive in future climate conditions.
This discussion will determine what organizations/structures most landowners and/or land managers are most comfortable in partnering to achieve flood mitigation practices and programs.
Serval existing conservation practices have been identified to begin the conversation, and they are listed in Table 1. below.
Table 1. Current conservation practices being considered for flood mitigation.
Nature-Based Infrastructure Practices
Categories |
Best Practices and Descriptions |
|---|---|
Agricultural |
|
| Cover Crops | Including legume and non-legume cover crops on fields during winter |
| Hardpan Breakup | Breaking up compacted hardpan layers to allow for soil water infiltration |
| Forests and Tree Planting | Planting bottomland hardwood and/or pine forest species |
| Agroforestry | Combining mixed pine trees with pasture fields |
Wetland and Stream |
|
| Wetland Restoration | Restoring natural wetlands along streams at/or a lower elevation with the use of grasses, sedges and water control structures, or developing bottomland hardwood banks on prior converted agricultural land |
| Natural Stream Channel Restoration | Restoring previously straightened streams to the original configuration |
Structural |
|
| Dry Dams and Berms | Creating catchment areas to store water during flooding (water-farming) |
| Land Drainage Features | Installing land drainage ditch controls, such as tile and tiling outlets |
Objective 3:
Establish community groups through Conservation Districts and other local partner organizations to include landowners, land operators, and other stakeholders.
This is just the beginning of a needed conversation that will allow local agricultural community leaders to participate in ways to address flooding and large rain events in their local communities.
If you would like to be included in this important conversation and opportunity, please use this form to submit your contact information.