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Tenleytown Main Street (TMS), in partnership with the Center for Watershed Protection (CWP) and the Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE), completed the construction of a green stormwater infrastructure retrofit project in the spring of 2023. This project, located at the intersection of Wisconsin Ave, 42nd Street, and Emery Place NW, constructed a stormwater Best Management Practice (BMP), removed excess impervious surface, and engaged the local community through educational workshops. TMS is a community-based non-profit organization that works to strengthen the economic vitality of Tenleytown and create a thriving and walkable business district.
The BMP utilized in this project is called a Bioretention system. A Bioretention is a vegetated stormwater management system that mimics the natural environment to reduce stormwater volumes and pollutants for the purpose of restoring our streams and rivers.
A bioretention provides the following benefits:
- Reduces stormwater runoff
- Slows stormwater flows
- Removes stormwater pollutants
- Provides habitat for birds, bees, and other pollinators
- Improves air quality
- Reduces air temperatures
By capturing stormwater and treating the pollutants stormwater carries, a bioretention helps protect and restore our streams and rivers.
A secondary benefit of the retrofit project was the increased traffic calming achieved in the intersection. The new bioretention area was literally carved out of the roadway, a technique often employed in right-of-way retrofit locations. By changing the configuration of the intersection, adjusting traffic flows and strategically placing traffic bollards, the bioretention retrofit also increased the safety for motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians alike.
How is a Bioretention Maintained?
Routine maintenance is necessary for all stormwater management practices. Routine maintenance for a bioretention includes cleaning out the inlets to ensure that stormwater can flow into it, clearing overflows of debris so they can function during larger storm events, and sustaining the vegetative cover by weeding, mowing, and pruning as needed.
Project Status: This project is now complete.