Members of the project team worked to construct a rain garden on Brook Lane last August. Courtesy photo

The Town of Shelburne has been awarded a grant of $12,395 from the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation to help fund stormwater system improvements on Brook Lane.

The grant will pay for the town to replace 260 feet of failing stormwater pipe with 260 feet of perforated pipe, stone lining, and two catch basins, according to Ann Janda, Shelburnes director of administration.

The storm drain culvert, which is failing, is located under the road and has been contributing to stormwater overflow issues in the whole Hullcrest Park area, creating safety hazards with water pooling up in ditches, she explained.

Shelburnes Stormwater branch of the Public Works Department worked on Brook Lane last summer in partnership with the Lewis Creek Association, to create a rain garden that would absorb excess water. But they could only concentrate their efforts on a portion of the Brook Lane storm water system.

At the time we wanted to do the whole project from curb to curb on Brook Lane, Janda said. But we did not get the grant we applied for then. This is our second attempt to find a grant that will support the funding.

The VDEC grant will cover half the cost of the project, the rest being paid for by the Town of Shelburne, Janda said. The Storm Water Department plans on using green techniques such as perforated pipe to fix the problems, and to reshape the ditches so that they will lie flatter and wont accumulate as much water. Janda said the nearby rain garden will also help to absorb water that would otherwise go into the ditches.

The Munroe Brook watershed where Brooke Lane is located covers a large swath of land in the center of Shelburne, from Rte. 7 to Dorset Street, and from the South Burlington Town Line to Irish Hill Road. The watershed is currently included in the Agency of Natural Resources Stormwater Imapaired List. Brook Lane is part of an older suburban neighborhood that is in need of stormwater retrofitting.

Ecosystem Restoration Grants such as this are made available to Vermont government entities, non-profit organizations, and citizen groups as part of the Ecosystem Restoration Programs on-going efforts to reduce surface water pollution from phosphorus and sediment. The grants support projects that improve stream stability, protect against flood hazards, improve in-stream and riparian habitat, lessen the effects of stormwater runoff, protect and restore riparian wetlands, re-establish lake shoreline native vegetation, and enhance the environmental and economic sustainability of agricultural lands.

Featured

See the rest here:

Shelburne awarded ecosystem restoration grant - Shelburne News