Sullivan Park Stormwater Wetland Project

The remnants of Hurricane Ivan tore through the Lehigh Valley in September 2004, causing major flooding on small streams throughout the region. A College Hill neighborhood just north of campus sustained considerable damage from runoff rushing down the hill from Forks Township above. Discussions with State Representative Bob Freeman and the Bushkill Stream Conservancy led to the idea of developing a portion of Sullivan Park (poorly used and always wet from existing springs) into a constructed stormwater detention wetland. Lafayette Civil & Environmental Engineering students (class of 06 and 07) turned the idea into a conceptual plan. In collaboration with the Northampton County Conservation District and the City of Easton, PADEP and PADCNR grants were obtained for final design and construction, which began in August 2009 and was completed in spring 2010. Class of 2010 students developed a monitoring plan for the wetland, and the class of 2011 helped plant it. Class of 2013 students installed a V-notch weir for measuring inflow, and several honors thesis students have collected data on nutrient and flow dynamics at the wetland. This project was successfully completed through the efforts of many partners, but particularly the City of Easton, Bushkill Stream Conservancy, the Northampton County Conservation District, and the help of many students. As a fitting reward for all these efforts, the park won the state-wide 2014 Green Parks Award! (Laf pics here)

See below for a pictorial timeline:

Damage from Ivan, fall 2004

Eroded channel, spring 2005

Sullivan Park, spring 2005

Typical saturated conditions in the ball field

Surveying the park, spring 2005

Infiltration test, spring 2005

Soil borings, spring 2006

Installing weir to measure baseflow, spring 2006

Beginning of construction, Aug 2009

October 2009

October 2009, channel diversion structure

November 2009

November 2009, diversion channel

November 2009, Filter sock and sediment forebay

View into outlet structure

Planting day, spring 2010

CE 351 volunteers

Summer 2010

Transducer installed, summer 2010

Monarchs and other biota show up, summer 2010

Buckeye on blue vervain

Monitoring, September 2010

Removal of invasive Japanese hops, fall 2010

Interpretive sign installed in 2011

Setting up trench for installation of V-notch inflow weir - Nov 2013

Setting up trench for installation of V-notch inflow weir – Nov 2013

Casting concrete into V-notch form - Nov 2013

Casting concrete into V-notch form – Nov 2013

Patching concrete after uncovering forms - Nov 2013

Patching concrete after uncovering forms – Nov 2013

Noxious invasive pricker-bushes (aka multiflora rose) have got to go

Noxious invasive pricker-bushes (aka multiflora rose) have got to go – spring 2014

Noxious purple loosestrife removal, Sept 2015

Noxious purple loosestrife removal, Sept 2015

Rip it out by the roots!

Rip it out by the roots!