On Thursday, Nov. 4, Guilford County government is expected to approve a grant to help improve the environment in eastern Guilford County through streambank restoration.
A grant of just under $27,000 from the NC Department of Environmental Quality [NCDEQ] will be used along with other money for the Rock Creek Stream Bank Stabilization Project, which the Guilford County Board of Commissioners approved last year.
The project will repair a stream bank of Rock Creek that has failed near a walking trail.
According to documents provided to the county commissioners along with the grant information, “This is possibly the result of removal of stream bank vegetation during routine maintenance of the City of Greensboro sanitary sewer easement/line. In an effort to mitigate and repair the damaged portion of the stream bank, Guilford County Planning and Development has secured this grant funding from NCDEQ.”
The total project cost will be supplemented by about $50,000 from grant funds secured by the Guilford County Soil and Water Conservation District Board.
The project, which is a collaboration between the county, the Piedmont Conservation Council and others, involves restoring the stream bank on one side to its original location using clean fill material, reinforcing the stream bank with a protective covering and creating a boulder pattern that will reduce stress on weak stream wall sections by redirecting the fastest water to the center of the channel.
The project’s planned budget was about $56,500. However, with additional grant money received after the budget was drawn up, the design was enhanced.
Any additional costs will be covered by a combination of grant and private funding.
If this damage is the result of problems with maintenance of the sewer easement by the City of Greensboro, why don’t they pay for it themselves? Taking grant money for something the City has caused is a poor example of stewardship of the environment. The City should have been cited by the state and Corps of Engineers and made to rectify the situation at their cost.