Montessori Middle School of Kentucky

Stream Restoration

The purpose of this project is to improve water quality and reduce stormwater runoff in the South Elkhorn watershed. In addition, the project will involve students and educate the general public about storm water quality and practical solutions to improve it. The MMSK property is the most upstream portion of the Elkhorn tributary that is not in a pipe.  All of the runoff from upstream enters the property through three culvert locations. Most of the watershed (inside New Circle) was developed prior to the requirements of stormwater detention or water quality treatment; as such the runoff is very flashy, peaks quickly, and carries a large load of pollutants from road and parking lot runoff.

Goals for this project are:

• Utilize rain gardens to capture and treat on-site runoff.  
• Utilize constructed wetlands to capture pollutants from off-site runoff.
• Restore stream by lowering floodplain and banks to reduce sediment from bank erosion and increase stormwater detention/retention capacity.
• Install wetlands in new, lower floodplain to retain runoff and treat pollutants.
• Install organic (carbon) filter/aquifer in stream bed to treat pollutants in stream baseflow (nutrients, especially nitrogen)
• Use 10,000 gallon underground infiltration chamber system to recharge groundwater from relatively clean roof runoff.
• Water quality monitoring and data collection will assist teachers, students and researchers to determine BMP effectiveness and treatment efficiency.

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