For this project, I decided to focus on the state of Boone’s flood and runoff management. The area has had poor flood management in the past, and some fixes, like uncovering Boone Creek and having more green spaces around town could help with this issue.
Flood Reduction and Runoff Management in Boone, NC
The town of Boone, as well as App State’s campus, have been developed without care to the natural parts of the area, which has caused many problems. The expansive parking lots and other non permeable surfaces covering the town has caused major runoff issues — if you’ve ever been to the Boone mall after the rain, the whole parking lot is flooded.
Boone creek runs through App’s campus, mostly parallel to Rivers Street, but in most parts of campus, it can’t be seen. Much of the creek has been covered up by parking lots, roads, and walkways. It peeks through in Durham park, near the skywalk, and past Peacock lot, but for the most part it is hidden away. The creek would be able to help with flooding, by providing a place for rainwater to flow instead of into the buildings, tunnels and pathways on campus. Instead, that water has to flow through those places, because the pipes underground are not large enough for the amount of water moved. If the creek were uncovered, it would be able to carry more water out of town, helping majorly with drainage. Much of campus is bricked or paved over. There are few green spaces, such as Durham park, Sanford mall, and a handful of smaller areas between and behind buildings. Besides just making campus more visually appealing, these areas help get rainwater into the ground, instead of pooling around campus.
In October 2017, the biggest flood in Boone history occurred. The rain alone made getting to and from class nigh impossible, but the flooding on campus and in town were the worst Boone has ever seen. Legends lot and Durham park were completely flooded, the tunnels were unusable. Cars in the Boone mall’s parking lot were almost completely submerged, some were floating with the current of the overflowing Boone creek. Some students tried to have fun in the floodwater and rain, sitting in plastic bins floating in the water and swimming through parking lots. Boone is built on a floodplain, but there are ways to keep flooding to a minimum.
There are some solutions to the drainage problems in Boone, and some, such as Boone Creek restoration in 2016 have already shown to be effective. Stream daylighting is a term referring to physically uncovering streams and restoring them to a more natural state. The Standard did this with a section of Boone Creek during its development. More green space in Boone would help with the drainage of rainwater back into the water table. Building parking decks instead of lots and dorms taller instead of longer would reduce the amount of non-permeable materials covering the ground, also giving more space for drainage as well as usable green space for parks and other aesthetic and recreational purposes.
In the end, although Boone is built on a floodplain, there are still many ways we can try to better deal with runoff and floods than how we are currently handling it. Many of the solutions will also help with the appearance and natural parts of the area.
Sources
Oakes, A., 2015. Boone Creek Restoration Begins As Part Of $54M Standard Project. WataugaDemocrat.com. Available at: <https://www.wataugademocrat.com/news/boone-creek-restoration-begins-as-part-of-m-standard-project/article_849e82fe-dd74-11e4-9b52-9f3fe07d525f.html>
Lasure, K., 2020. Historic Flood: Heavy Rain Floods Residences, Submerges Vehicles. WataugaDemocrat.com. Available at: <https://www.wataugademocrat.com/news/historic-flood-heavy-rain-floods-residences-submerges-vehicles/article_8127de34-f38b-5360-8391-4fb03a23ca94.html>
Ohnesorge, S., 2020. Cleanup Begins After Major Flooding In Boone. https://www.wbtv.com. <https://www.wbtv.com/story/36673884/cleanup-begins-after-major-flooding-in-boone/>
YouTube. 2017. Historic Boone, NC Flooding – October 23Rd, 2017. <https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vxHcjAnX2IQ>
Townofboone.net. 2020. Special Flood Hazard Areas – Town Of Boone. <http://www.townofboone.net/departments/planning-inspections/special-flood-hazard-areas/>
Eliot Burress RC 2001 