Until we returned from our vacation to find a pond clogged with silt - and dying trout. Dirt that apparently washed down the creek during hard rains April 2 and 3 completely blocked the pond's intake, cutting off the flow of oxygenated water to the trout. Sedimentation isn't any more wrong just because it happened to us. But it's certainly more personal. Our trout were no more or less valuable than any others lost in silt-laden waters, but they underscore the need to protect our streams.
County commissioners have a proposed sediment ordinance on the table.
While it is no more restrictive than state regulations already in place, it would put enforcement into the hands of local officials. That should mean more on-site inspections. The draft ordinance contains a notification requirement to ensure that home construction on sites less than an acre is at least monitored. It was reported here two weeks ago that sedimentation is the number one water pollutant in Western North Carolina. My young fish-lover doesn't have to rely on the printed word to know the truth of that statement.