CONSTRUCTION AND GOALS OF THE DUKE
UNIVERSITY WETLAND
CENTER'S STREAM
& WETLAND ASSESSMENT
MANAGEMENT PARK
(SWAMP) IN THE NORTH CAROLINA PIEDMONT
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(Cooperating
Agencies and Sponsors)
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PROJECT
SUMMARY
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The Stream and Wetland
Assessment Management
Park is on a restored section
of the Sandy Creek
stream and floodplain within Duke Forest
near Duke
University's West Campus. Water
quality in Upper Sandy
Creek, a headwater for the Cape Fear
River in the North Carolina Piedmont, has for years been impaired by high N and P
concentrations, sediment load and coliform bacteria. To address these problems,
the restoration activities included the following:
- Recontour and replant more than 600 meters
of degraded stream to hydrologically reconnect the stream with the
adjacent floodplain and allow natural riparian wetland biogeochemistry
transformations to improve stream water quality.
- Build
an earthen dam and 1.6-hectare (ha) stormwater reservoir to regulate
stormwater delivery to downstream water bodies, replace a deteriorating
dam farther downstream, and allow for additional retention and removal
of excess nutrients and sediments from the stream. Water levels in the
reservoir will be controllable for research purposes.
- Build
a 0.5-ha treatment wetland to intercept and improve the water quality of
a tributary stream impacted by high concentrations of N and P.
- In
2009, 2 years after the dedication of the initial 3-phase project,
construction began on the restoration of another tributary branch of Sandy
Creek that receives runoff from
210 acres on and around Duke West Campus.
- In 2012,
a 0.4-acre Best Management Practices (BMP) extended-detention stormwater
wetland was built along Duke University Road to promote retention and
settling of pollutants and sediment. Restoration of 734 linear feet of
an unnamed tributary adjacent to the BMP was completed in 2014.
The
3.2-ha SWAMP ecosystem serves as an outdoor classroom and field laboratory
for students and researchers and provides a site for research on biological
diversity, hydrology, mosquito control, invasive plant species and other environmental
concerns. Signs along the trail and boardwalks into the site inform the
public about the project and the role of wetlands in promoting water quality.
NEXT: Rationale for the Project
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Integrated Stream and Wetland Restoration: A watershed approach to
improved water quality on the landscape
DUWC Director Curtis Richardson talks about
the theory, history, and results behind The Stream and Wetland Assessment
Management Park
in a series of four Vimeo videos.
This webinar was sponsored and originally presented by the
Association of State Wetland Managers on July 25, 2017.