The BCWA was a group of citizens in Cary, NC who worked together to improve water quality, wildlife habitat, and recreation in Black Creek, a small urban watershed in the Neuse River Basin. Buoyed by the popularity of the Black Creek Greenway, the BCWA has provided education and installs green stormwater infrastructure including bioretention, wetlands, and rainwater harvesting. Though BCWA doesn’t formally meet anymore, many organizations and homeowners continue to install GSI on their own, including with Town of Cary’s GSI Grant Program. A partnership between WRRI and NC State Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering continues to implement projects funded by grants and partner cost sharing. Black Creek is listed by the state as impaired due to excessive stormwater runoff and associated pollutants. Read on for info about how you can help!

Join Us To Protect Black Creek

• Learn How to Install Rainscapes to Reduce Runoff and Pollution
• Apply for a GSI Grant to install GSI on your Town of Cary property
• Reduce Toxins Running Off of Parking Lots
• Make Your Yard Friendly for Wildlife
• Pick Up After Your Pets
• Join the BCWA Listserv for Opportunities to Volunteer
• Sponsor BCWA Activities (tax-deductible)

Maps

• ArcGIS Online Map with Black Creek Projects
• Watershed Map with Black Creek Projects (2013)
• Black Creek Watershed Map (Dec 2010)

Thanks to BCWA members and GIS wizards Elena Horvath and Amin Davis for the maps.

Reports

• Partnering with a school community, Town of Cary and homeowners to improve Black Creek (2019)
• BCWA Update (2018)
• Achieving New Milestones for Stormwater Runoff Reduction- EPA Final Report (2016)
• CWMTF Report with Residential Choice Survey Results (2012)
• Less Rain Down the Drain – EPA 319 Final Report (2013)
• GIS Subwatershed Prioritization (2011)
• Black Creek Watershed Plan and Assessment (2009)

Rainscaping

Rainscapes are landscape enhancements that reduce stormwater runoff from properties. 

Learn more about rainscaping

Partners

Current and former BCWA partners include:

• Town of Cary
• NC Cooperative Extension Wake County Center
• NC Division of Water Resources
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• Natural Learning Initiative, NCSU College of Design
• Center for Human and Earth Restoration
• Daly 7
• Kingswood Elementary School
• Accreditation Commission for Health Care
• Beechtree HOA
• Clemson University
• Northwoods Elementary School
• Lake Crabtree County Park
• Silverton HOA
• Windchase at Beechtree HOA
• Harvest Church
• NCSU Department of Horticulture
• Cary Rotary
• Wessex HOA
• Buckhurst West neighborhood
• Young Marines of Raleigh
• West Cary Middle School
• NCSU College of Natural Resources