Beaver Lake Bioswale Installation for Prevention Joanna Mentzer Crop Science

Welcome to Beaver Lake Proposed Bioswale Sites & Benefit of Native Plants in Sustainability and • Offering 633 campsites Project Progress Bioswales Phytoremediation •Over 2 million visitors each year •487 miles of shoreline Asacropscientistwithaspecialinterestin Native Plants- Plants that are indigenous to sustainable landscaping, I am proud to be •420,000 people use Beaver Lake Water a region in a given geologic time period •539 billion gallons of drinking water comes associated with projects such as this low from Beaver Lake each year. impact development bioswale installation. It Native plants bring many beneficial is a perfect opportunity to use my knowledge •700,000 boaters visit lake per year factors to bioswales such as: (USACE-http) of plants as a tool to reduce pollution in my West Bioswale local community. • Not being invasive to the region • Having greater root depth, which aids in Installations such as these not only are East Bioswale water beautiful to look at, but they will also • Provides natural habitat for indigenous strengthen plant and animal diversity, and in species. (Jurries,2003) an economical and passive manner, aid in Fig 2. Illustrates the placement of the bioswales that will filter runoff water as it exits the . (Hodges, 2015) protecting Beaver Lake’s water quality and ecosystem health.

Fig. 1 Beaver Lake, Rogers Arkansas (Photo by Joanna Mentzer) Project Coordination Pollution Having the opportunity to help coordinate this project from it’s start has been an Prevention Opportunity exciting learning journey.. I have gained experience in…. At the Prairie Creek Park on Beaver Lake, Fig. 3 Typical Bioswale Design (Wahl, 2009) areas next to a large parking lot (see Fig 1.) •Development of contracts were noticed to be very eroded, indicating •, Gentle slopes guide water into the bioswale Fig. 5 Native and Non Native Plants Illustration (MARC) •Selection of optimal vegetation for bioswale high volumes of stormwater runoff were • Grass filter strips slow sheet flow water installation. exiting the parking lot and flowing into the and filter sediments. What Will Our Bioswales lake. • Native plants and grasses in the bio- •Timing deliveries of vegetation orders to retention area reduce nutrient and pollutant Do? ensure plant availability for installation concentrations through uptake, as well as • Reduce erosion and flooding dangers. •Vegetation management before, during, and Common Contaminants Found in aiding in water after installation Stormwater Runoff infiltration. •Reduce concentrations of chemicals, nutrients, and fuels re-entering waterway •Sourcing and ordering local materials in • Excess nutrients such as phosphorous • Reduce polluting sediments from reaching cooperation with the equipment operator’s which cause (the enrichment waterways. needs during installation of an ecosystem with chemical nutrients.) • Aid in infiltration of rainwater to recharge •Sediments such as dust and soil particles, •Installation and maintenance of on-site local water table. erosion controls and eroded asphalt that cloud waterways • Add aesthetic quality and value to and disrupt both freshwater and marine property. •On-site project monitoring for reports to ecosystems. • Aid in plant and animal species diversity, project director. • Metals such as lead, copper, aluminum, and support ecosystem health by and zinc, which can become accumulatively References providing habitat and forage for native 1. US Army Corps of Engineers- toxic in waterways. insect and animal species. http://www.swl.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation/Lakes/BeaverLake.aspx •Chemicals and fuels that contaminate and •Provide runoff treatment of up to 2. Hodges, Kevin PE- SCS Aquaterra, reduce productivity of waterways. Fig 4 West bioswale being installed. Photo taken April 8, 2016. (Hodges) (Jurries,2009) (Photo by Joanna Mentzer) ~25,000 gallons/day 3. Jurries, D. 2003. (bioswales, vegetated buffers, & constructed wetlands) for stormwater discharge pollution removal. www.deq.state.or.us/wq/stormwater/docs/nwr/biofilters.pdf This poster was prepared in partial fulfillment of SUST 4103 Sustainability Capstone 4MidAiRilCil