Enhancing Biodiversity, Community Resilience, and Water Quality Benefits through Effective Stormwater Wetland Management

The project site, the former location of an early public housing project, had been abandoned and overgrown and provided very little community value. The project is located close to the core of the City, just south of downtown Atlanta, along the I-75/I-85 corridor and adjacent to Arthur Langford Park. Parts of the surrounding areas are economically depressed while others are beginning to redevelop. This was one of the first concerted watershed restoration projects undertaken by the City of Atlanta. It was seen as a demonstration project – a 5-acre publicly accessible greenspace that shows the possibilities of urban watershed restoration – to build support for other similar projects. City of Atlanta approaches watershed restoration/green infrastructure as a means to address flooding and water quality but also to improve community resilience and address equity, especially in older and economically depressed parts of the City. Approximately 1,100 linear feet of stream was completely restored and several storm sewers that discharged directly into McDaniel Branch were rerouted into a series of stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs). These BMPs, consisting of ponds and constructed wetlands (five in total), were designed to provide water quality treatment and flood peak attenuation for a portion of the runoff coming from the highly urbanized 176-acre basin. These BMPs capture stormwater runoff from the areas surrounding the site and also divert part of the first flush from an existing 66-inch storm sewer that drains the upstream portion of the drainage basin. The stream was reconfigured to achieve stable geometry and re-connected to the floodplain. Since the construction of this project, the Department has developed a management plan addressing the wetland and upland meadows, the ponds, invasive species control, mosquitoes, wildlife including geese and beaver, and public access. Working with a combination of contractors and local environmental nonprofit group Trees Atlanta, the Department’s management has resulted in an area with diverse vegetation and aquatic life that has attracted wildlife that could not otherwise be conceived in a dense urban setting. Having learned of this, Atlanta Audubon recently designated this area as a Wildlife Sanctuary. The project sits across the street from two neighborhoods: Arthur Langford Park/Joyland and High Point Estates. Many members of these communities were either opposed or indifferent to the project and future public access. Due to the City’s management efforts, several of these neighbors are now recognizing the community benefits the new greenspace can provide. The City intends to continue engaging community members through educational programs with partners like Atlanta Audubon and Trees Atlanta, as well as volunteer workdays and tours, as a precursor to embarking on a formal plan for public access. Most communities have dilapidated urban areas that provide little community value. Atlanta used stormwater treatment and a stream restoration demonstration project not only to mitigate urban stormwater issues and improve the health of a stream previously impacted by combined sewer overflows, but also to provide publicly accessible greenspace that has begun to revitalize an urban neighborhood and attract diverse wildlife. This project demonstrates the possibilities of urban watershed restoration, and will build support for other similar stormwater projects. This presentation will focus on the McDaniel Branch project as part of the City of Atlanta’s watershed protection goals of flood and water quality protection, improving community resilience, addressing equity, design and construction of the stream restoration and wetlands, funding, obstacles and opportunities created by the project’s urban setting, and the journey from a stormwater BMP and stream restoration project to its designation as a wildlife sanctuary.