Meadow Creek
The headwaters of Meadow Creek lie on the eastern flank of Observatory Hill and on the western side of the Grounds. At the base of Observatory Hill, Meadow Creek enters a stormwater sewer system that conveys the stream under the Facilities Management complex to just east of Alderman Road . Meadow Creek formerly entered another stormwater sewer about halfway between Alderman and Emmet Street which conveyed the flow under the tennis and basketball courts in the Dell. A recent daylighting project has restored the stream to a natural state, complete with meanders and floodplains. Vegetative swales, floodplains, and riparian buffers serve to prevent erosion as well as to filter out pollutants and particulate matter from the water as it flows through the Dell. The reconstructed stream then flows into a retention pond were natural physical, biological, chemical processes improve the quality of the water. Water flows from the pond via a pipe which takes Meadow Creek under Memorial Gymnasium, Nameless Field, and the Carr’s Hill Field. The stream emerges again on the north edge of the Carr’s Hill field where it runs on the surface under the railroad tracks, along the Lambeth Field parking lot, until it again enters a pipe to cross under Emmet St. Meadow Creek surfaces again on the north side of Emmet St. near the new arena. As part of the John Paul Jones Arena project, another portion of the creek will be daylighted on site to increase the quality of water discharging from University property.
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West Side Master Plan
The West Side Master Plan covers the west side of University Grounds, specifically, the university area that drains that drains into Meadow Creek. As with the Moores Creek Master plan, the West Site plan maintains a banked capacity for stormwater both in terms of quantity and quality. Future university development in the area will be required to meet the needs of the master plan. The goal of the plan is to regionally manage stormwater so as to limit or reduce impacts to Meadow Creek. |
