U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) yesterday awarded Horry County with the regional 2014 EPA Rain Catcher Award in the Neighborhood/Community Category for the Crabtree Swamp Restoration Project in Conway, South Carolina.
The award was given at an award ceremony during the Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4/International Erosion Control Association Municipal Wet Weather Stormwater Conference, in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Crabtree restoration effort consisted of two projects focusing on a strategy of controlling sediment transport to address fecal bacteria, dissolved oxygen, and to reduce turbidity. The effects of urbanization had greatly altered the Crabtree canal, leading to increased runoff volumes, peak flow rates, flooding, and water quality impairments.
The projects utilized a two-stage design to reconnect the canal with the remnant hardwood floodplain via a gently sloping riparian bench. The new channel configuration provides for flood storage and bank stabilization, and increased biological habitat.
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Press Release, August 20, 2014