Streams around Lake Townsend, the largest Greensboro municipal water reservoir, are getting some work done to them thanks to a grant from the NC Department of Agriculture’s Streamflow Rehabilitation Assistance Program. Guilford County government has been awarded just over $150,000 for the project.
The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Division of Soil And Water Conservation has offered Guilford County the money to help cover the costs of removing vegetative debris from streams near the lake.
A lot of benefits are expected to come from the work. The project, which is part of the state’s Streamflow Rehabilitation Assistance Program, is meant to protect and restore “the integrity of North Carolina’s drainage infrastructure, clearing waterways, reducing flooding, and protecting people’s property before the next big flood event happens.”
The Guilford County Soil and Water Conservation Commission, which will be working closely on the project with the Division of Soil and Water Conservation, will oversee the work.
Lake Townsend is named after James Townsend, the Greensboro City manager from 1947 to 1961. The large lake is near the Bryan Park Complex and Golf Couse off of Highway 29 North.
Lake Townsend was built in the late ‘60s and opened for recreation in 1969. Like many area streams and lakes, it requires maintenance and attention from time to time when certain areas become overgrown.
The contract for this new project runs through the last day of 2024.
On many projects paid for with state grants, matching funding is required from the relevant local government – however, in this case, no matching funds are required; so, the decision to move forward on the project was easier than usual.
The streams wouldn’t have needed as much rehab had there not been the immense building of commercial and residential projects approved by the city and county in the last couple of years that disturbed the beautiful hills, trees, and natural native growth that had been established for years in the area around the creeks and waterways leading to the lake. The scenic area of fields, flowers, trees, and hills has been destroyed in just a few months by bulldozers, concrete buildings, and blacktop that will cause horrible runoff during rainstorms into the waterways and has ruined a lovely drive along Summit Ave. and Hwy. 29 forever.
in other words . . . someone built in the flood plain & tax money must now be spent to clear vegetation that slows stream flow during rainstorms?