Stormwater Solutions visited a bio retention cell in Beaufort, North Carolina. The stormwater device is located on Pivers Island and operated by Duke University. We were on site removing weeds from one of the devices so it can continue to correctly infiltrate. The bio retention cell has two different types of sandy media and both are topped with a thin layer of mulch. The grass and weeds if left alone would have obstructed the device from infiltrating like it should. We cannot use any heavy equipment which could possibly compact the media.
Bioretention cells are designed to capture and treat the first flush of runoff from impermeable surfaces. Since this first flush of runoff contains a large portion of the pollutants, it is captured and infiltrated into a soil profile like the one described above. Here, the runoff is treated and released to the local ground or surface water.