Integrating Flood Hazard Mitigation and Watershed Planning Through Regional Institutional Approaches: A Recommendation For The Tar River Basin Of North Carolina
Creators: name: Stein, Julie
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2005

description: In just one year, Governor Mike Easley of North Carolina directed over $350 million in federal and state funds toward citizens, businesses and public agencies that sustained property damages during the hurricane season of 2004.1 These funds are assisting the recovery process not in the state's coastal areas, but in the mountains of western North Carolina where heavy rainfall and overflowing rivers caused most of the damages. Flood hazard mitigation in communities with flood hazard risks or flood-prone areas can significantly reduce property damages as well as the emotional stress and long-term economic losses resulting from future flood events. Thus, hazard mitigation is a required element of sustainable communities. Reducing the potential for damages increases the resiliency of a community's members and its economy in the face of future disaster events. In regards to the environmental component of sustainability, the development of Gilbert White's concept for floodplain management, or non-structural flood hazard mitigation actions, emphasizes the natural and beneficial functions of floodplains, proactive approaches, and restoration and protection efforts that achieve broad environmental objectives into the future. "With increasing reliance being placed upon non-structural measures such as land acquisition and land use regulation, the need for consistency among the policies and actions of local governments bordering a common stream is acute."2 One jurisdiction's action in the floodplain will have impact-favorable or unfavorable-on jurisdictions downstream, across the river and even upstream. As a result, hazard mitigation actions implemented by local government or property 1 North Carolina Office of the Governor website: http://www.governor.state.nc.us/. Last accessed April 14, 2005. 2 Platt, Rutherford. 1980. Intergovernmental management of floodplains. Rutherford H. Platt, Ed. Program on Technology, Environment and Man, Monograph #30, Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado, ., p. IV. owners in a community can be negated by the lack of similar action among other communities in the floodplain. In addition, floodplain management measures may become less effective if an equal amount of attention is not given for the impacts of increased impervious surface throughout a river basin. Increased impervious surfaces, particularly, in the upper portions of the basin can contribute to higher volumes of water reaching streams within the river basin and at a faster rate during a flood event. Effective flood hazard mitigation requires consistent floodplain management across multiple jurisdictions in conjunction with a broader basinwide planning approach. The challenges associated with regional land use regulation and intergovernmental coordination-both horizontally and vertically-have been well researched and documented for hazard mitigation as well as other water resources management issues. As a result, many experts including academics and practitioners abandoned the notion of regional planning approaches for application in these urban planning specializations decades ago. The most effective way to reduce the potential damages and escalating costs of future flood disasters is to integrate flood hazard mitigation actions with watershed planning tools; thus, a regional approach is inevitably needed. With scarce literature and findings about recent basinwide planning approaches, we must then look to successful models of regional planning approaches in other fields such as transportation planning and significant or natural resources protection. As a result, it becomes obvious that all regional planning approaches struggle from obstacles and the factors for success are directly linked to the regional context-especially, the local governments involved and the priorities, motivations and goals that each brings to the table-in which the model was applied. This masters project seeks to overcome the void in recent research about potential models for regional hazard mitigation by using diverse case studies of regional approaches and considering the local context within a specific river basin. As a result, the paper that follows concludes with a recommended regional institutional approach for the Tar River Basin of North Carolina. The recommended approach is designed to promote strong collaboration between state and local governments, and achieve diverse benefits through the integration of flood hazard mitigation and watershed planning.