Innovative Design for Oak Terrace Preserve Featured in “Coastal Heritage”

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Oak Terrace Preserve (OTP) is part of the feature article in the Spring 2008 issue of “Coastal Heritage” produced by the South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium. The article highlights stormwater issues and focuses on the unique efforts going on to improve water quality by slowing stormwater.

Download a PDF of the newsletter here.

In response to the Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to clean up waterways, “a number of local officials, environmentalists, developers, architects, engineers, and scientists are calling for innovative “green-infrastructure” practices that can improve water quality in new developments and redevelopments, while saving money over the long term.”

The article lists several Low Impact Design techniques to help control stormwater runoff and pollution. Several of these (in bold) are fundamental parts of the planning for Oak Terrace Preserve.

Planting and maintaining vegetated buffers along waterways. Trees and plants help to absorb pollutants, filter runoff, and stabilize banks.
Installing porous pavement. These surfaces allow runoff to infiltrate into the subsoil where cleansing can occur.
Building bio-retention landscaping features such as swales, rain gardens, and pocket parks. These treatment systems, which use natural processes, primarily have been located in parking ot islands but can also be sited in community areas or individual yards.
Constructing stormwater wetlands. They may be dry or boggy at times but can fill with stormwater after rainfall and allow potential pollutants to be filtered.
Installing rain barrels and cisterns that save rainwater, and reorient gutter down spouts to send water onto lawns instead of pavement.
Installing green roofs, which allow soil and plant materials there to reduce overall runoff.
Concentrating homes in a compact portion of the development site in order to provide open space and natural areas elsewhere on site to filter rainfall.