Beaver River CSD Wetland

The construction of a new transportation facility at Beaver River CSD demanded a sufficient storm water management system to support the new building and surrounding asphalt. The construction site encompassed a majority of an existing wetland, but the portion that would remain undisturbed provided a foundation for this solution. The remaining portion of the delineated wetland required careful preservation and restoration to sufficiently offset the storm runoff for the new facility.

Operating with the fundamental philosophy that an instrumental responsibility of landscape architecture is sustainable design; the decision was made to rehabilitate and enhance the wetland as a sustainable practice for storm water management. The rehabilitation of the shallow extended detention wetland was designed to mimic the nature of the other federal wetlands located on the site including native plant selection for improved ecological diversity.

• Consideration of the limitations of working with National Grid right of way and traffic volume in relation to the adjacent school building.
• Evaluation of the availability for onsite sanitary treatment systems.
• Assessment of the site’s role within the larger watershed as well as soil types, substrate, drainage classification, and presence of wildlife habitat.
• Determination of the preservation of mature trees and undeveloped woodlands.
• Design to leverage an existing non-contributing palustrine wet meadow wetland for sustainable storm water management practices.