RiverLink awarded $510,000 from NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund

RiverLink is pleased to announce that it has received three grant awards from the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund (CWMTF). The organization will use the funds for three projects: a research-based stormwater management project, a stream restoration project and a watershed master plan.

The research-based stormwater management project will study the performance of stormwater best management practices (BMPs) within a mountainous landscape. Located in the Dingle Creek sub-watershed, this study will provide valuable water quality and quantity data for structural BMPs sited on steep slopes. As very little stormwater management research exists specific to Western North Carolina's terrain, this study will provide valuable data to stormwater professionals throughout the western part of the state.

In collaboration with the City of Asheville and NCDOT, the Smith Mill Creek Watershed Master Plan will develop a strategic watershed wide approach to improving and protecting urban waterways. The plan will focus on the sub-watershed that drains to Patton Avenue in West Asheville and will provide viable solutions to persistent flooding, erosion, and poor surface water quality problems.

The Smith Mill Creek Stream Restoration project will restore 490 linear feet of an unnamed tributary that flows into Smith Mill Creek. The project site is located in West Asheville within a new green residential neighborhood, Craggy Park. In addition, RiverLink will provide neighborhood and community outreach through their Adopt-A-Stream Program, Name-That-Creek Program, and WaterRICH Program, which targets stormwater best management practices for residential homeowners. This project aims to reduce sedimentation and improve surface water quality in both the unnamed tributary and Smith Mill Creek. 

RiverLink is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide critical leadership toward continued improvement of the environmental quality and economic vitality of the French Broad River and its watershed as a destination for all to live, work, play and learn. RiverLink was established in 1987 and is the only non-profit exclusively focused on the French Broad River Watershed.

North Carolina's Clean Water Management Trust Fund (CWMTF) was established by the General Assembly in 1996. CWMTF receives a direct appropriation from the General Assembly to issue grants to local governments, state agencies and conservation non-profits to help finance projects that specifically address water pollution problems.