North Carolina

Program Year: Two

Client: Source Water Protection Program (North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources)
Click here for North Carolina's Final Report (PDF).

State-identified Need: Establish source water protection connections at the local level to compliment existing state-level partnerships.

Horse Pasture River, North Carolina. Photo: Carolyn Reusch
Horse Pasture River, North Carolina. Photo: Carolyn Reusch
Project Summary: Develop recommendations to help the NC SWP Program assist local leaders and officials as they justify, initiate and implement source water protection activities.

Methodology: A kick-off meeting with more than forty representatives of associations of local governments, watershed organizations, land trusts, state agencies, and academic centers established the team's focus on five areas: developing incentives to undertake source water protection; improving access to critical information and technical assistance for local governments and nonprofit organizations; pointing out how a variety of funding programs and mechanisms can be used for source water protection; and clarifying how regulatory programs can support source water protection. Further interviews with attendees and others in the state led to the development of a set of final recommendations.

Recommendations: Recommended actions include:

  1. Enhance the NC SWP Program website to promote the involvement of local government, watershed groups and land conservation organizations in source water protection.
  2. Create incentives to encourage source water protection actions on the part of water suppliers, land developers and local governments.
  3. Improve access to relevant state and federal funding programs.
  4. Offer Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund interest rate reductions for sponsoring source water protection projects.
  5. Work with partners to enhance Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund support of drinking water protection, green infrastructure, water and other environmentally innovative activities.
  6. Establish new outreach/coordination mechanisms such as a state "Source Water Collaborative."
  7. Promote the development of local funding for source water protection.
  8. Enhance existing regulatory programs to support source water protection.

Results: Before the final report was completed, conversations among the project team, North Carolina's CWSRF administrators, and Source Water Protection program staff had already resulted in increased consideration for source water protection in the clean water revolving loan fund. The SWP program became a sponsor of the Greater Triangle Stewardship Development Awards in April 2011.

FOR QUESTIONS:
Kelley Hart
(415) 495-4014, ext. 201

Elizabeth Schilling
(202) 207-3355, ext. 41