Designs completed for stormwater gully project at covered bridge

DUMMERSTON — The Windham County Natural Resources Conservation District (NRCD) recently completed final design work on a stormwater gully restoration and erosion mitigation project in Dummerston.

Windham NRCD worked with Fitzgerald Environmental Associates, LLC, the Dummerston Conservation Commission, and the town of Dummerston on this project. The successful implementation of these designs will have recreational and water quality benefits to Windham County communities.

"This is a popular site that receives a tremendous amount of visitation," Windham NRCD District Manager Cory Ross said in a news release. "It will be great to restore safe access to the river while protecting water quality."

The Dummerston covered bridge parking lot and access steps are a popular destination for locals and tourists alike. The access allows boaters and swimmers to enter and exit the river and provides great vantage points of the state's longest covered bridge, frequently featured in tourists' photos.

Flood damage resulted in the erosion of these steps and the creation of a gully down to the river. This damage resulted in potentially unsafe access for visitors to the site. Further, the stormwater gully represents a threat to water quality in the West River. Continued erosion during rain events can transport sediment and other pollutants from the parking lot into the river.

Engineers with Fitzgerald Environmental Associates collected field data and completed site analyses necessary for the design of new access steps and additional site modifications that will protect water quality.

Implementation will include the installation of timber infiltration steps that will restore safe access to the river while protecting water quality. Additional project components will include installing a small rain garden and an infiltration basin to intercept stormwater before it can flow toward the new steps and into the river, as well as regrading the site and planting native vegetation on the hillside.

The construction phase in the project is scheduled to take place either late this fall or early spring of 2024. This project was funded by the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation Clean Water Initiative Program through grant funding administered by Mount Ascutney Regional Commission.

This Town and Village item was submitted to The Commons.