Wellness Waterfront

Running adjacent to on-campus restaurant Wellness Kitchen, one will find a small water body with a big story- Parkerson Mill Creek.

Although the stream first sees daylight at Wellness Kitchen, the main headwaters of Parkerson Mill Creek are mostly buried underground in pipes, according to Eve Brantley, Associate Professor and Extension Specialist.

“In the past, streams in the way of a construction project were put underground. That’s not the way things are done anymore,” Brantley said.

Parkerson Mill Creek is considered an impaired water, water that does not meet water quality criteria. According to Brantley, Parkerson Mill Creek is similar to many other streams in that it receives a lot of stormwater runoff, water that often brings with it many pollutants such as oil, gas, and litter.

The creek section outside of Wellness Kitchen was formerly an eroding channel with unstable streambanks, bad water quality, and inadequate habitat conditions.

2014 brought on better times for this Parkerson Mill Creek section as a restoration project was begun with the hopes of revitalizing the stream.

“What we did in partnership with an engineering firm, an ecological engineering contractor, Facilities, a stormwater management group, the Office of Sustainability and so many others on campus was create a blueprint for how that stream could flow and carry water.” Brantley said. “It would not erode but become a stable and healthy system that would over time get stronger and healthier instead of what it was- a channel that didn’t have a lot of vegetation or habitat diversity and was continuing to get worse.”

“That particular project was very constrained being adjacent to the Coliseum parking lot and the Wellness Kitchen that was just being completed.” said Ben Burmester, Campus Planner. “The project design had to be fairly creative to ensure the stream had enough room to carry the high flows and velocities while also not encroaching on the adjacent developed sites.”

The interdisciplinary efforts proved to be quite successful, and the section of Parkerson Mill Creek outside of Wellness Kitchen has seen much improvement since the project.

“The project in front of the Wellness Kitchen is a great example of what a healthy stream looks like and restoring more stream segments will help restore stream health.” said Michael Kensler, Director of Campus Sustainability Operations.

“What we hope we’ve done is create a stream that is getting healthier each year instead of a stream that was each year looking increasingly worse.” Brantley said.

According to Kensler, “The Parkerson Mill Creek restoration project by the Wellness Kitchen received national recognition and praise from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), the higher ed sustainability professional association, for its quality, innovation, and interdisciplinary approach.”

“The stream itself has been tested with the recent heavy rains along with a high rain event a couple years ago during Christmas break. So far, that restoration has held up well and we have not had any erosion issues.” said Burmester.

While the stream has seen a great deal of progress, Parkerson Mill Creek is still considered an impaired water, and stormwater runoff is still an issue. Consequently, the stream has become a place where stormwater management practices are a priority.

Brantley said there is currently a project underway examining the quality of stormwater flowing off campus and the best ways to improve that water quality.

Kensler highlighted other measures being taken including increased use of green infrastructure (which uses the natural environment and nature-mimicking engineered systems to manage stormwater runoff by slowing it down, spreading it out, and letting it soak into the ground) and stream segment restoration.

Kensler also mentioned a strong, collaborative effort between the city and university to identify and eliminate sources of pollution that contaminate the stream. Alabama Water Watch (a citizen water quality monitoring program), too, plays a role as an entity helping to keep track of stream water quality. Furthermore, Auburn University has a Stormwater Management Plan to help guide university practices to improve water quality in the creek.

“Auburn University has committed to sustainable stormwater practices through our policies and design standards.” Burmester said. “New projects on campus are designed and constructed to not negatively impact downstream waterways and improve water quality to both the Parkerson Mill Creek and Town Creek watersheds.”

The stormwater practices are impressive, but in order for even further advancement, students must accept their roles in contributing to a healthy stream.

“It (Parkerson Mill Creek) is getting better, but we have to continue to take care of it.” Brantley said. “We can’t just walk away.”

“Students can contribute to Parkerson Mill Creek health by putting nothing in the creek, on the ground, or down storm drains except water.” said Kensler. “Trash on the ground ultimately washes into the creek.”

“Something as simple as just throwing your trash away means that we’re keeping campus clean and we’re keeping our streams clean.” Brantley said. “That stream goes on down into Chewacla Creek and on down into the Tallapoosa River, and we’re all connected all the way down to Mobile Bay. So what we do here has an impact, and very simple actions can bring a lot of positive benefit.”

“We want students to know that PMC is a true campus asset and that the university has a goal to make the stream a campus amenity by restoring segments, improving water quality, and making the stream more visible and accessible.” Kensler said.

Brantley hopes Parkerson Mill Creek will continue to be a priority and connector across campus. “I think with the continued support and emphasis from faculty and facilities and athletics we have a great chance to show how an urban stream can be an amenity- that it can be something that brings value to campus- and we can continue improving the stream one section at a time.