Development in the Swannanoa's watershed lead to a high level of sediment draining into the river. As a result, the North Carolina Division of Water Quality placed 14.1 miles of the river -- sections 6-78c (2.6 miles long) and 6-78d (11.5 miles long) through Black Mountain in eastern Buncombe County -- on the 303(d) list of impaired waters in 2002 and 2008. The DWQ cited impaired biological integrity due to develop�ment. Section 6-78d was also declared to be impaired by turbidity. Reasons for the sediment problems in the Swannanoa were identified as "...habitat degradation, poor-quality riparian buffer zones, nutri�ent enrichment, sedimentation, channelization and toxicity ..." according to the EPA report.

RiverLink, the regional non-profit working to revitalizing the French Broad River and its watershed as a place for everyone to live, work and play, applied for and received Clean Water Act 319 project funds from the DWQ in 2000. RiverLink set to work on a series of Best Management Practices (BMPs) to restore the river's biological integrity and provide educational and recreational opportunities to area citizens.

RiverLink established partnerships within the community to develop local ordinances aimed at reducing nonpoint source pollution. With the cooperation of stakeholders along the river, RiverLink implement a series of BMPs - Riparian Plantings, Invasive Exotic species removal, streambank restoration, conservation easements, bioretention cells and rain gardens. Along a 1.3-mile segment of the river, RiverLink worked with the community to establish two conservation easements that provided a 150-linear-foot buffer on both sides of the river. RiverLink and community partners also restored and stabilized the banks and replanted the riparian area.

A total of $547,563 in CWA section 319 grant funds supported this project. The City of Asheville, Town of Black Mountain, Warren Wilson College, Biltmore Estate, Buncombe County Government, Land of Sky, Evergreen Community Charter School, Buncombe County Soil and Water Conservation District, Montreat College, the Mountain Valley Resource Conservation and Development program, NC DENR DWQ (Asheville), Quality Forward, Rindt-McDuff Associates, Trout Unlimited-Land of Sky Chapter, University of North Carolina-Asheville Environmental Quality Institute, Buncombe County Metropolitan Sewerage District, Pigeon River Fund, North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund, and Resource Data, Inc., provided an additional $365,043 in matching funds.

The full EPA report is available at: water.epa.gov/polwaste/nps/success319.

(Image provided by RiverLink.)

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