Local Group Using Neighborhood Gullies to Prevent Environmental 'Disasters'

At first glance, environmentalists with the look like they’re trying to do the impossible—stop water from rolling down a hill.

But after looking closely at their work, especially within the Poplar Point community, a finely tuned and drawn-out plan comes to life as experts do all they can to increase the health of local waterways.

Kirk Mantay, a 38-year-old project manager with the South River Federation, specializes in waterfront community programs and showed Patch one of the organization’s most recent ventures.

Tucked away deep inside the Poplar Point community is a long gully, about 4 feet wide and 4 feet deep. It looks like a decorative lawn design, but in fact it’s an advanced environmental system that prevents sediment from entering the South River.

“[This gully] takes the speed out of [the water], slows it down and gives it time to be absorbed into the earth,” Mantay said.

The gully, a compilation of pebbles, rocks and chair-sized boulders, confronts stormwater as it heads toward the South River at the top of the neighborhood’s cul-de-sac. The road concentrates the water flow into the gully and from there, the water is slowed down until it stops at the bottom of the hill, Mantay said.

“[The solution] is what we don’t see at the bottom of the gully. We don’t want to see any dirt or sediment,” Mantay said.

The environmentalist reached down at various spots in the gully to pull up nitrogen- and phosphorous-rich sediment that looks perfectly normal but poses a serious threat to local waterways.

“It looks like harmless dirt, but it’s actually two-thirds of the problem,” he said.

Communities Coming Together

“There are a lot of communities with these types of problems,” Mantay said.

But many neighborhoods are hesitant to tackle similar projects because resident think, “We don’t want to pay for it,” Mantay said.

The Poplar Point gully cost $3,000 and was installed in one day with the help of 10 people about three weeks ago.

With so many waterfront communities in Edgewater and Riva, dozens of neighborhoods need similar gullies, Mantay said. It might take the sacrifice of a few thousand dollars from homeowners, but the money not only helps the environment, it ensures a better future for the next generation, he said.

“A lot of these land owners, they do view these properties as investments, and to let a gully choke out their waterfront land and rip through the soil, that’s not a sound investment practice,” Mantay said.

The South River Federation project manager acknowledged projects take a long time to receive permits, but once the green light has been given, the plans are executed quickly.

While the Poplar Point gully is a positive note for environmentalists, there’s a “pollution disaster” just down the street at an area Mantay called “the Church Creek Lane gully.”

Located behind the storage unit, the gully at Church Creek Lane is exponentially larker than the Poplar Point gully, plunging 30 feet into the ground and stretching more than 20 feet wide.

The main problem at Church Creek Lane is that sediment builds and builds upon itself, creating a poor area for wildlife and an even worse scenario for stormwater runoff.

The gully’s size is big, but its problems are even bigger, Mantay said.

“This is a disaster. It’s a $300,000 problem,” he said. “This is a nutrient-deficient eco system.”

Bogs to the Rescue?

The answer to similar environmental issues may not be as complex as the problems themselves, Mantay said—it could be something as simple as a natural bog like the one on Lake Shore Drive.

Bogs or wetlands serve as an ideal scenario for sediment to get caught up, slowed down and absorbed into the ground, preventing stormwater runoff.

“The bog here is very much what it looked like 400 years ago,” Mantay said. “This is teeming with wildlife.”

Mantay said the Lake Shore Drive bog drastically reduces pollution and gives wildlife a place to thrive. He said he’s seen ducks, fish, beavers and other birds occupying the bog. With its high levels of fungi and natural nutrient consumers, the bog serves as “a natural filter” and is “self sustaining,” Mantay said.

Different problems call for different solutions, but as Mantay and the South River Federation seek solutions, they’re excited to see how they can help the region restore the environment for future generations to come.