Montreat Aquifer Recharge: Implementing Low Impact Design Patterns in a Sustainable Community to Achieve Optimum Aquifer Recharge

This study was conducted over the period of several months in response to a problem presented to the author by Administrators of a town named Montreat located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. The problem this study attempts to address is decreasing aquifer recharge within Montreat, which in the past has led to strains on the local well system during times of drought. Anytime this happens it is a problem for the town of Montreat because the community has to then draw its potable water from nearby Asheville. This is an expense that a town with a limited budget like Montreat would like to avoid. In order to address the issue of aquifer recharge in this area research of storm water management techniques known as low impact development (LID) was conducted. Research was focused specifically on those LID strategies that slow down or stop stormwater runoff and allow it to infiltrate the soil and replenish ground water supplies. An in-depth, site-specific analysis helped to locate where in the town these strategies should be implemented to be most effective. Based on this research a site-specific plan involving several different LID design solutions was developed to better manage stormwater runoff in Montreat and help recharge the community's aquifer.