Plattsburgh's Bio-pond to Battle Runoff Pollution

The city of Plattsburgh has unveiled a project to protect water ways and prevent flooding

What’s been described as a pond without the water, the new grass, shrubs, and drainage pipes are all part of the Lake City’s newest tool to help battle toxic and often costly water pollution.

“We have frequent storms and more severe storms which really create a problem in terms of storm runoff,” said Plattsburgh City councilor Rachelle Armstrong.

The plot of "green infrastructure" just off of the U.S. Oval can hold up to 30,000 gallons.

It allows stormwater to go through the soil, trapping any solid debris before plants absorb nutrients, such as phosphorus, that would otherwise pollute open water.

In the end, clean water makes its way into Lake Champlain.

“We intercepted the flow from over 40-thousand square feet of pavement from both parking long and road,” said city engineer Kevin Farrington.

The spot was picked not only because of how close it is to the lake, but also because the area is prone to major flooding. 

“If your door threshold is too low, like the city gym, then that water can rush like a torrent and cause all sorts of flooding damage,” said Farrington. 

In 2010, 2 1/2 feet of storm runoff gutted parts of the gym, creating about $15,000 worth of damage.

The bio-pond project was funded by a $200,000 grant from the Lake Champlain basin program. About $90,000 went to construction alone, the rest went to mapping and model every pipe in the city.     

Source: WPTZ

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