The investigators have noted that best stormwater management practices (BMPs) developed at the national level may not be effective in certain regional and local situations. Recent regional research suggests that may not be efficiently treating and removing pollutants in stormwater. Therefore, the ultimate goal of this project is to test innovative BMPs at a local development site (Oak Terrace Preserve), where before-and-after data will be collected and made available to determine if the design BMPs are efficient at maintaining pre-development flow rates and effectively filtering/removing NPS pollutants at the small watershed scale. The Noisette Company, Inc., a partner in the project, has created plans for Oak Terrace Preserve as a way to redevelop land surrounding the former Charleston Naval Base in an effort to revitalize the community and promote sustainable development. Oak Terrace Preserve is a 55-acre tract of land, which will be developed to include over 370 parcels (mixture of 303 single-family homes and 74 town homes). Noisette is planning to use Low Impact Development (LID) practices that disperse stormwater throughout the developed area and allow increased infiltration to occur, which in effect should minimize changes to the existing hydrodynamics of the site. These plans also include innovative BMPs that presumably will promote stormwater infiltration and the retention of pollutants.
The results of the research will provide insight into the hydrologic transformations that occur throughout the development of Oak Terrace Preserve and how this may affect post-construction hydrodynamics and stormwater management. The investigators will monitor two sites: (1) A control (with no BMPs), which will be located in a suburban setting, and 2) A treatment (BMP) watershed in the Oak Terrace Preserve. Resultant data should provide further knowledge of regional hydrodynamics in coastal South Carolina that is pertinent to both understanding stormwater management in the southeast and improving stormwater BMP methodologies.