Stormwater Management Models for the Arboretum

About the Program

Category: County Resiliency (Best in Category)

Year: 2021

The N.C. Cooperative Extension New Hanover County Center at the Arboretum is now the host site for six innovative stormwater management systems. Our region is experiencing record rainfall and flooding. With increased development and impermeable surfaces in the area, stormwater runoff is a growing threat to the water quality of our fragile surface waters. These stormwater management systems showcased at the Arboretum serve as educational models for critical urban sustainability in management of water quality and quantity in a one-stop shop setting, and include a rain garden, infiltration zone, cistern, permeable pavement, and constructed wetland/bog garden.Since completion of the systems in fall 2019, a rain garden workshop was conducted in cooperation with the City of Wilmington’s “Heal our Waterways” program and was attended by twelve citizens. At least one of the participants is known to have since completed construction of a rain garden at their residence. Recurring workshops are planned for at least a semi-annual basis. University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Introduction to Environmental Science class has brought two hundred forty undergraduate students in twelve lab groups to examine all six management systems, with a special emphasis on the stormwater infiltration zone, a particularly innovative way to improve water quality while preventing flooding. This student lab experience will continue each semester due to its convenience and accessibility.The stormwater infiltration zone was completed in the fall of 2019 just prior to Hurricane Dorian. Engineered to handle 4.6” of rainfall in 24 hours from our rooftops and parking areas that are not addressed by the rain gardens, cistern, permeable pavement and constructed bog/wetland, the infiltration zone managed over 10” of the day’s rainfall without breaching the weir, avoiding any additional flow to the overburdened Bradley Creek watershed. This innovative model for urban stormwater management can be instructive for both commercial and residential properties to improve our coastal water quality.