Piedmont Greenway Master Plan - Town of Kernersville

sensitive to erosion and need to be protected. Moore’s Creek has soils that are derived from the Madison-Cecil
association and can be characterized as strongly sloping to steep, well-drained soils that have a sandy clay
loam, clay loam and clay subsoil. These soils are formed mainly on uplands of the creek’s watershed. Beaver
Creek in Guilford County has soils composed of the Cecil-Madison association, and they differ from Moore’s
Creek soils due to the difference in slope and clay content. These soils are gently sloping and sloping, welldrained
soils that have a sandy clay loam, clay loam, and clay subsoil. The parent material is derived from
igneous and metamorphic rocks, reflected in the low pH of these soils.
In Forsyth County, the relief is largely determined by knobs or ridges and valleys. A broad plateau near
Kernersville borders this area on the east. The inter streams areas are remnants of an erosional landscape
dissection by streams. The average elevation in the county is 870 feet above sea level. Forsyth County lies at
the junction of four drainage basins. The Kerners Mill Creek watershed falls within the Deep River drainage
basin. Chewacla-Wehadkee-Congaree soils predominate in the creek corridor. These poorly drained areas
consist of loamy soils subject to frequent inundation by floodwaters. They are generally very nutrient-rich
and can yield botanically interesting habitats. One of these areas exists at the terminus of Kerners Mill Creek
at the headwaters of Salem Lake. Significant to the study corridor is an area east of the proposed Piedmont
Greenway along Kerners Mill Creek. This area is known as a Piedmont/Mountain Semipermanent Impoundment
and is characterized by its location in the low-gradient floodplain of Kerners Mill Creek.
The soils within the urban areas of the greenway corridor are well drained for the most part, with loamy
subsoils on area ridges and side slopes of mountain areas. Hydric soils (waterlogged soils) can generally be
found only in the floodplain areas of rivers and creeks. According to a soil map prepared by the Soil Conservation
Service prior to 1985, soils which are the most unfavorable for development purposes are typically
those located on the steep slopes of ridges within the city limits.
(Source: Soil Survey of Guilford and Forsyth Counties, North Carolina, United States Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation
Service. 1980., and North Carolina Natural Heritage Inventory of Forsyth County, North Carolina. North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program. 1998)
Water Quality
Land use in the study corridor is characterized by continuous urban development on the valley floors.
The primary effects on watersheds of the creeks are increased imperviousness, increased frequency of flooding,
destabilized stream configurations, disconnection of streams from floodplains and loss of riparian corridors.
Pollutants and toxicity are a secondary concern. Improving the streams in the urbanized parts of the
watersheds will require reconnecting the streams with their floodplains where feasible, and restoring riparian
cover. To do so will require changing land-use patterns in the watersheds. In new and redeveloped areas,
low-impact site design, where appropriate, will be most effective when aimed at a specific location within a
sub-watershed. Similarly, municipal urban runoff pollution prevention programs will be most effective when
they are targeted to subwatershed-scale objectives. Riparian buffers are some of the most effective tools to
meet goals of improving and protecting water quality.
Stream corridors in Guilford County identified for the greenway trail all flow into the City of
Greensboro's drinking water supply lakes, thus making water quality protection an important issue.
Reedy Fork Creek water quality issues include pathogens due to point-source pollutants and
nutrients from storm water. Agricultural lands adjacent to the creek can be sources of suspended
solids and low dissolved oxygen levels due to the lack of buffers and (BMP’s). The ecological
condition of the Reedy Fork Creek headwaters and Moore’s Creek and tributaries are rated as WS-
III in the watershed. A critical area has been established around Lake Brandt, Lake Higgins and
parts of Reedy Fork and the Moore’s Creek drainage area. This area is defined as “land adjacent to
a water supply intake where risk associated with pollution is greater than from remaining portions
of the watershed. A critical area is land bounded within one-half mile upstream and draining to a
river intake or within one-half mile and draining to the normal pool elevation of water supply reservoirs.”
The critical area restricts certain uses such as development density and the requirements of
agricultural (BMP’s). The rest of the watershed also has restrictions on development (more density
than critical areas), and BMP’s are not required for agriculture. However, as you approach the
more urban/suburban areas near Kernersville, water quality often degrades as the waters enter these
more densely populated areas.
The Piedmont Greenway corridor can serve to improve the surface water quality of Reedy
Fork Creek, Beaver Creek, Moore’s Creek, Kerners Mill Creek and their tributaries. If left unprotected,
some areas in those water bodies can fall below acceptable standards for recreational
water contact. Currently, storm water is collected in pipes and is eventually discharged into the
watershed of Reedy Fork and Moore’s Creeks. If more storm water were allowed to flow overland
through floodplain forests and wetlands (hence the need for establishing buffers) more pollutants
would be removed. Cleaner surface water in both creeks would benefit not only local residents,
but also the numerous forms of wildlife which depend on streams and creeks for their habitat. Due
to increasing land development along the creeks and within the watershed, water quality must
be protected and monitored to evaluate and improve/preserve present conditions. Inappropriate
agricultural, industrial, residential and commercial development adversely affects water quality and
creates stress on aquatic life and the stability of the watersheds.
By designating stream buffers through easements within floodplains will allow the development
of the Piedmont Greenway. Implementing best-management practices will help maintain the
water quality of Reedy Fork and Moore’s creeks.
(Source: NCDENR, Dept. of Water Quality (DWQ) and The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Surf your
Watershed Program, www.epa.gov).
PIEDMONT GREENWAY
Final Master Plan Report 11