Brubaker Run Floodplain Restoration named as Storm Water Solutions Magazine’s 2020 Top Projects
“By virtue of its function and purpose, floodplain restoration enables the project to utilize the floodplain area in a storm water capacity. While the primary goal is restoration, the secondary benefit is that storm water management requirements for a development project can be met within a previously unutilized portion of a site,” said Len Bradley, supervisor of engineering and associate at RGS Associates (SWS Magazine, 2020). Watch Len’s full interview here.
The Brubaker Run floodplain restoration at Lime Spring Square was recently named one of Storm Water Solutions Magazine’s 2020 Top Projects for its stormwater management implementation in a mixed-use development. An original article by Len Bradley appeared in SWS Magazine in July 2019, titled, “Restoring Lancaster County” and can be accessed here.
LandStudies worked alongside RGS Associates to design the floodplain restoration, and provided oversight to B.R. Kreider who did the construction of the project. This project could not have been done without the vision of Oak Tree Development Group, East Hempfield Township, McNees Wallace & Nurick, Wohlsen Construction, and other partners.
Benefits to this project include peak runoff rate reduction, enhanced groundwater recharge, suspended sediment reduction, nitrogen and phosphorus load reductions, and significant ecological and aesthetic improvements. This restoration approach exceeded the stormwater management (SWM) requirements of the development and helped East Hempfield Township meet their MS4 Chesapeake Bay pollution reduction goals at no cost to taxpayers. It also provides an additional 8 acres of buildable space for the land developer.
Pre- and post-construction conditions of this project were monitored, demonstrating improvements to rate control, volume control, water quality and biota.
Although floodplain restoration is not a viable option for every project site, it is one that should be in consideration for stormwater management. This project serves as an example to demonstrate the compounding returns on investment that are fundamental elements to our approach of Economic Ecology™, the symbiotic relationship between the environment and economics.
Additional links and resources:
Brubaker Run Floodplain Restoration – LandStudies
Spotlight on Success: Brubaker Run – Lime Spring Square Development – LandStudies
Brubaker Run Floodplain Restoration Commencement Ceremony – LandStudies
Remarks of Mark Gutshall at Brubaker Run Floodplain Restoration Commencement Ceremony – LandStudies
Working together to improve Lancaster County’s water quality – lancasteronline.com
