Photo supplied.
A two-stage water quality and water quantity stormwater ponds at the centre of the map, located at the new Towerhill Highlands community in Millbrook. Wetlands adjacent the ponds provide habitat and groundwater discharge. Connecting streams and ditches connect the ponds with the natural system and into Baxter Creek. Map courtesy: Baxter Creek Watershed Hub, Baxter Creek Watershed Alliance.
Natural green infrastructure is becoming a key mechanism in urban planning.
It reduces pollutants and excess stormwater from being released directly into the environment especially into our Baxter Creek. While it is called “natural”, green infrastructure is really any human-made landscape feature that reduces pollutants or water runoff from rain or snowmelt entering directing into wetlands, watercourses, or groundwater recharge areas.
In settled areas, people may recognize naturalized stormwater ponds as green infrastructure. In Millbrook, as new communities are developed, we are seeing modern stormwater ponds, an example of green infrastructure, being included in site plans to reduce the risk of downstream flooding. However, these ponds are often designed as two-stage ponds, where the first pond traps pollutants (such as sediments like sand) by allowing the sediments to settle while the secondary ponds act to contain excess water flows. During high runoff events, this system helps to reduce the amount of direct runoff, including some pollutants, from directly entering nearby waterways.
Stormwater ponds are just one form of green infrastructure. If you have a rain barrel on your property, or a gravel driveway, or have built a swale or ditch for your property, all of these features are types of green infrastructure. Naturalizing these features is a good step in reducing pollutant and water volume loadings to streams.
As natural areas and pervious surfaces like agricultural lands are reduced through residential development, finding opportunities to offset these losses through restoration and conservation in other areas of the watershed is an important way to balance change in the landscape. Baxter Creek Watershed Alliance is actively monitoring the state of our green infrastructure and looking to consider a proposal of baseline targets for our watershed to help off the loss of natural areas.
Baxter Creek Watershed could use help for their Spring Amphibian Monitoring program. Do you want to help with our watershed monitoring? Do you know a high school student looking for volunteer hours? Last year we launched an Anuran (Frogs and Toads) Wetland Monitoring protocol for recording breeding abundance in local wetland areas. Amphibians are a key indicator of water quality and wetland habitat! If you are interested in volunteering to help us send an email to baxtercreekwatershed@gmail.com and request an information package.
By Craig Onafrychuk, reprinted from the spring newsletter
