RUTLAND—A sand filter designed to reduce, treat and filter stormwater runoff has been installed on city-owned property at Southern Boulevard, within the Moon Brook watershed. The Rutland Natural Resources Conservation District (RNRCD) was awarded a Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation Ecosystem Restoration Grant to design and install the stormwater management utility.
With this funding, the RNRCD hired a local engineering firm to design a sand filter that will treat and infiltrate stormwater runoff on-site and reduce the total volume and peak flow rates of stormwater runoff. A local construction company was hired to construct the sand filter, which was installed in June.
Ecosystem Restoration Grants are made available to Vermont municipalities, local or regional governmental agencies, non-profit organizations, and citizens groups as part of the Ecosystem Restoration Program’s on-going efforts to reduce surface water pollution from phosphorus and sediment. Funded projects typically involve efforts to improve stream stability, protect against flood hazards, improve in-stream and riparian habitat, lessen the effects of stormwater runoff, protect and restore riparian wetlands, re-establish lake shoreline native vegetation, and enhance the environmental and economic sustainability of agricultural lands.