Contractors have started building a new stormwater feature at J.E. Broyhill Park. The Regenerative Stormwater Conveyance will slow down rain water at the lower end of park and reduce erosion.
Stormwater runoff has been an issue in J.E. Broyhill Park for many years. Parts of the park stay wet due to poor drainage, and the stream bank at the southern end of the park is eroding.
The City of Lenoir partnered with the local Cooperative Extension Office and North Carolina State University to build a Regenerative Stormwater Conveyance (RSC) for J.E. Broyhill Park. An RSC is a series of cascades, riffles, steps, and pools designed to stabilize an eroding gully. The staircase series of small pools will catch, slow, and filter rainwater as it moves through the park. The project is being funded with a $240,000 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant awarded via the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.
Workers have enlarged the gully at the lower end of the park and installed four of the RSC steps so far. Workers will also plant vegetation to help stabilize the ponds and prevent future erosion. Four more steps will be installed. Contractors should be finished in a couple weeks.
N.C. Cooperative Extension Caldwell County Director Seth Nagy said the RSC in Lenoir will be used to help future research and design for stormwater solutions in the state.
"The project will be monitored and what’s learned will be included in the North Carolina Stormwater Design Manual," Director Nagy said.
Most of the RSC will not stay wet. The step pools will drain and filter stormwater after it rains. The lowest one or two step pools may stay wet most of the time because of groundwater infiltration.
Click the following link to learn more about the Caldwell County Cooperative Extension, caldwell.ces.ncsu.edu.
About J.E. Broyhill Park
Built around 1970, J.E. Broyhill Park covers 9.4 acres and is easily accessible from Downtown Lenoir. The park offers picnic shelters and grills, picnic tables, outdoor basketball courts, playground, walking path, and restrooms. The park is located at 509 Ridge St. NW.
When it rains, water runs toward the gully at the lower end of J.E. Broyhill Park. This stormwater causes erosion over time.
Staff at NCSU designed a staircase series of basins that will catch, slow, and filter stormwater.
This photo shows the gully and how water will flow through the new Regenerative Stormwater Conveyance (RSC).
Four of the staircase pools have already been installed.