Bioretention Fields

By Kadie Beth Duncan Communications Intern UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant

being used to properly dig the bioretention cell was a really cool experience.” Camden County’s Public Works Road Crew provided the tools and construction assistance for the installation. They worked alongside Warren and Brown to excavate the area and add sand and topsoil to form the base layer of the bioretention cell. Mulch, rocks and gravel form the second layer, and a variety of native plants

Tincluding swamp sunflower, blue ageratum and blue-eyed grass were planted on top. he UGA Cooperative Extension office in Camden County While the COVID-19 pandemic slowed the progress of the has experienced its fair share of soaked floors and wet shoes. When project, the bioretention cell was fully installed and functioning by it rained, water streamed into the building. the end of 2020. The native plants have been established in the

Fortunately, these days the floors remain dry thanks to the area, and two rain barrels donated by the Georgia Department of installation of a new stormwater management practice that Natural Resources, Coastal Resources Division have been installed. alleviates flooding and serves as an educational tool for visitors. The final step of the project is to create and display educational

In 2019, Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant teamed up signage at the site in 2021. with the Camden County Extension office and the Camden County “We will hopefully have an open house and some educational Department of Public Works to find a solution to the flooding. The events that will help give people examples and a demonstration of fix was a bioretention cell that captures and treats runoff by mimicking the natural water cycle.

“A bioretention cell is a landscape depression that is designed to hold the rain for about 24 to 48 hours to slowly allow the water to seep back into the ground,” said Jessica Brown, stormwater specialist for Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant, who led the project.

As stormwater flows over surfaces like the parking lot outside of the extension office, it picks up pollutants and carries those to streams and larger waterways, degrading water quality, Brown said. The bioretention cell limits the amount of runoff, keeping nearby bodies of water clean.

Brown first learned about the flooding issues from Jessica Warren, Camden County Extension agriculture and natural resources agent, who is based at the facility in Woodbine, Georgia.

“Our office had some flooding issues when we had heavy rainstorms, or severe weather events, since the parking lot is slightly A bioretention cell is a stormwater management practice that helps mitigate flooding risks graded towards our building,” said Warren. by layering organic materials such as sand, top soil, gravel, mulch and plants. “We would have water come in the doors and Photo provided by UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant saturate areas in the office, so you would see it standing several inches up on the foundation of the building.” what they could do with their landscape issues, [such as] how to

With a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency better integrate native plants or how to manage stormwater issues and the assistance of a UGA student studying biochemical in their landscape,” said Warren. engineering, Brown designed and oversaw the installation of the The project, which was recently awarded the Four for the Future bioretention cell. award by Georgia Trend and UGA Public Service and Outreach,

The project was a valuable experiential learning opportunity for has also opened the door for the Camden County Extension office Jake Forcier, a UGA Public Service and Outreach Student Scholar to serve as an example for other communities in coastal Georgia interning with Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant. experiencing similar issues.

Brown “truly set me up for success and allowed me to put my best foot forward in my first engineering project outside of school,” Forcier said. “Going out there and seeing all my calculations