About Creek Smart®
In the natural water cycle, water that falls to the Earth either evaporates into the air or infiltrates into the ground. However, in an urban environment, like the Ellerbe Creek watershed, impervious surfaces such as roads, sidewalks, and buildings, prevent water from infiltrating into the ground. When rain falls on these surfaces, the water cannot soak into the ground and it ‘runs off’. This stormwater runoff washes pollutants sitting on those surfaces into the creek, contaminating the clean water and increasing flooding.
There are ways to mimic the natural water cycle so that rainwater will infiltrate into the ground and reduce the amount of polluted runoff that enters the creek. You can make a large impact on the urban water cycle by implementing Creek Smart® practices at your home like:
The Ellerbe Creek Green Infrastructure Partnership has developed an innovative approach to address these problems that relies on integrating green stormwater infrastructure (GSI). Implementing GSI like rain gardens, green roofs, and permeable pavement into the City’s urban landscape to absorb and filter polluted stormwater will slowly release the cleaned, cooled water into the creek to restore its health and make it a resource for the community.
There are ways to mimic the natural water cycle so that rainwater will infiltrate into the ground and reduce the amount of polluted runoff that enters the creek. You can make a large impact on the urban water cycle by implementing Creek Smart® practices at your home like:
The Ellerbe Creek Green Infrastructure Partnership has developed an innovative approach to address these problems that relies on integrating green stormwater infrastructure (GSI). Implementing GSI like rain gardens, green roofs, and permeable pavement into the City’s urban landscape to absorb and filter polluted stormwater will slowly release the cleaned, cooled water into the creek to restore its health and make it a resource for the community.
