RiverLink continues cleanup of Buttermilk Creek

Press Release

RiverLink

In 2009 RiverLink with support from the Clean Water Management Trust Fund, worked to improve water quality in the Hominy Creek Watershed by restoring Buttermilk Creek through Malvern Hills Park, and Rhododendron Creek in West Asheville Park. As part of this effort numerous stormwater best management practices (BMPs), where installed to capture and remove pollutants from stormwater run off prior to the water entering the streams. Stormwater BMPs are important to the water quality of our region and like most landscaped areas; they require occasional maintenance to ensure their functionality.

On December 7th, Malvern Hills park neighbors and RiverLink volunteers gathered at Malvern Hills Park to help us maintain the stormwater BMPs installed during our Buttermilk Creek Stream Restoration and Water Quality Improvement Project. The volunteers cut back vegetation, remove weeds, leaves, and sapling trees from the three bioretention areas in the park.

According to Dave Russell, Director of Volunteer Services ,”A big THANK YOU to all those who came out to help, your assistance helped protect water quality in our streams. We could not have done it without you!” If you are interested in future clean ups at Malvern Hills or West Asheville Park please or anyplace in the French Broad River watershed email us at volunteer@riverlink.org.

In 2011 RiverLink completed the restoration of an unnamed tributary of Hominy Creek running through the center of Malvern Hills Park. The unnamed stream is an important amenity to the neighborhood, and during the project we worked with the community to name the stream. The name “Buttermilk Creek” was selected for its historical value. The water in the stream historically has run white, due to the washing out of the MilkCo trucks, allowing milk filled water to drain into the stream, often emitting a stale milk smell. Now named Buttermilk Creek, it runs to Hominy Creek, making a great recipe for cornbread.

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About Carrie Eidson
Multimedia journalist and Green Scene editor at Mountain Xpress. Part-time Twitterer @mxenv but also reachable at ceidson@mountainx.com. Follow me @carrieeidson

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