Green

Stormwater Infrastructure Planned for Hinesburg Village

-- Lewis Creek Association, December 2014

As part of the continued effort to improve water quality within local streams and rivers, the
Lewis Creek Association has initiated the preliminary design of stormwater treatment measures
at the Patrick Brook Project Site in the Town of Hinesburg. The project site is located on a
triangular-shaped piece of land to the south of Patrick Brook and east of Mechanicsville Road on
the Hinesburg Village
Cemetery property (Figure 1).
The project site was selected
as a potential location for
stormwater treatment as part
of a Town-wide hydrology
study completed in 2011 and
2012. The Lewis Creek
Association has managed the
project through funding
provided by Vermonts
Department of Environmental
Conservation Ecosystem
Restoration Program.
Figure 0: Patrick Brook Project Site
In its current condition, the majority project site is kept mowed as lawn (Figure 2). There is a
row of trees along Mechanicsville Road and the channel bank area along Patrick Brook consists
of tall grasses, shrubs, and trees. The terrain on the project site can be described as flat and
generally slopes from north to south towards an existing depression in the southwest corner.
The soils at the project site consist of limerick silt loam (Le) that is classified as a hydric, poorly
drained soil, and saturated soils were observed at the base of the steep slope adjacent to the
cemetery during site investigations.
There is an existing drainage
system that collects stormwater
runoff from the project site, the
cemetery, and from a small
existing swale to the southeast.
The drainage system discharges to
the west of Mechanicsville Road
through a 24-inch culvert. From
the outfall, runoff is conveyed to
Patrick Brook in a drainage

Figure 0: Project Site looking Southwest

channel. Approximately 10 acres of drainage area contributes to the existing drainage system.
Additional utilities located on site include a 12-inch high-pressure water main that traverses the
project site from the pump house located at the cemetery entrance, a 6-inch transite water
main, a hydrant, and two water valves.
As part of the preliminary design, four alternatives were developed for consideration at the
Patrick Brook project site. Alternative 1 consists of No Action, Alternative 2 includes Vegetation
Enhancement, Alternative 3 consists of creating a Stormwater Basin, while Alternative 4 includes
creating a Flood Bench along Patrick Brook. Conceptual sketches of each alternative were
created as part of the alternatives analysis, and a memorandum was prepared to describe the
existing conditions, site constraints, and alternatives.
Although each alternative has advantages and disadvantages, the current preferred alternative
is to implement Alternative 2, Vegetation Enhancement. The preliminary plans show the area
currently mowed for lawn reduced to an area along Mechanicsville Road and around the
existing pump house. The remainder of the project site would be converted to a wet meadow
enhanced with shrub plantings, with future refinement of the proposed planting plan to
potentially include herbaceous plants and other additions. The alternatives and preliminary
design are scheduled to be presented to the Hinesburg Selectboard in the near future.