Project Objectives

At this point in time there are five project objectives proposed for consideration in the project workplan. These will be revised and refined in the coming months in collaboration with the project team and the US EPA as the workplan is developed. Depending upon other required project activities, such as for federal NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) requirements and QAPP development (and their costs), some objectives proposed below could possibly have to be substantially modified as the workplan is developed. The proposed objectives are:

1. Develop a project management team and strategy.
2. Develop Integrated Water Design (IWD) concepts and identify technologies that address these concepts.
3. Demonstrate IWD and determine how they function in a community.
4. Develop and demonstrate technology assessment tools.
5. Technology transfer, outreach and education.

Objective 1: Develop a project management team and strategy.

Tasks:
1a: Develop project management teams and protocols.
1b: Define relationship between technical advisory team and educational advisory teams.
1c: Develop project QAPP (Quality Assurance Project Plan).

Objective 2: Develop Integrated Water Design (IWD) concepts.

Tasks:
2a: Develop IWD concepts.
2b: Identify technologies that fit these.
2c: Select technologies from 2a and 2b for improving water quality and quantity characteristics in the demonstration community.
2d: Evaluate potential applicability of the IWD approach in other communities.

Objective 3: Demonstrate IWD and determine how they function in a community.

Tasks:
3a: Select the demonstration community on the basis of likelihood of achieving scientific objectives and level of interest by the community to participate.
3b: Survey to determine extent of systems (detail survey door to door).

• Soils, septic systems, storm water technologies, water table management. technologies, flood control methods, erosion and sediment control technologies etc.
• Probe systems, describe soils, survey elevations.

3c: Preliminary investigation of groundwater and surface water flow from different locations (Hydrology of the site).
3d: Install monitoring network to characterize existing baseline water quality condition.

• Three point problems.
• Locate plumes from septic systems.
• Install well/ piezometers.
• Geo-probe for well installation and soil samples.

3e: Establish surface water monitoring station.
3f: Develop bacterial source tracking strategies.
3g: Collect surface water and groundwater quality data and surface water flow data.
3h: Install IWD technologies.
3i: Collect surface water and groundwater quality data and surface water flow data.
3j: Analyze data to determine impacts of IWD on flow and water quality.

Objective 4: Develop and demonstrate technology assessment tools.

Tasks:
4a: Refine and modify a GIS-based tool (AVSWAT-2003 proposed) to assess impacts of septic systems and IWD on water quality and flow in small watersheds.
4b: Determine whether the GIS-based tool accounts correctly for improvements in water quality.
4c: Use model, if appropriate, within other parts of Pasquotank River watershed to predict water quality conditions.

Objective 5: Technology transfer, outreach and education.

Tasks:
5a: Develop hands-on demonstrations at Lake Wheeler Training Center and other demonstration sites and deliver practitioner training for IWD including assessment of soil properties related to water flow and water quality, on-site wastewater technology, storm water management technology, drainage and water table control in NC.
5b: Deliver educational outreach to community decision-makers in the Paquotank River watershed.
5c: Educate homeowners in the demonstration community and the watershed.
5d: Develop quarterly report/final project report.

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