Sandy Springs Launches Stormwater Management Facility Project

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Construction has begun to create a regional, multi-use stormwater management facility in Sandy Springs.

The Marsh Creek Headwaters Bio-retention facility is designed to improve downstream conditions of the watershed, the area of land where water that is under it or drains off and flows into a common area, the city said on Wednesday.

The project, part of a larger effort to improve the overall watershed of the Marsh Creek Basin beginning with its headwaters, is expected to reduce flooding in the neighborhoods surrounding the immediate headwater area by reducing storm flow between 50 and 90 percent, depending on the severity of the storm event.

The city also states the project is projected to improve water quality by treating stormwater runoff, reducing pollutants by 20 percent, before it flows into Marsh Creek, a tributary leading into the Chattahoochee River.

Design of the facility incorporates hardscape and softscape features, creating an area that will be an attractive greenspace. Amenities include a permanent wet pond with a fountain, walking trails, extensive landscaping, benches, educational signage to explain the stormwater treatment process, as well as a bio-retention area with specially selected plant species to remove pollutants from stormwater runoff.

This project is partially funded by a Nonpoint Source 319(h) Grant from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD).

Water quality monitoring during pre- and post-construction will allow the state agency to measure the project’s effectiveness with hopes of replicating the successes in future stormwater treatment programs.

The total project cost is estimated at $4.6 million, and weather permitting, work is expected to be completed in spring 2016.

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