PLANNING
SRPC's Permeable Reactive Barrier (PRB) Installation project was funded through a NHDES Watershed Assistance Program grant in 2018. Currently, few options for removing nitrogen migrating in groundwater from septic systems are being used in the region; however, PRBs are a low-cost solution to control nitrogen. They are an exploratory technology consisting of wood chips, additives, and sand or gravel to treat waste from septic systems before the groundwater discharges into surface waters, thereby reducing nitrogen loading to streams. This project has had many phases over the last four years, the most recent of which was construction that took place the week of Monday, Jan. 24.
Based on results from a lengthy data collection and scoring process, the project team chose to work with a private landowner whose home is located off Durham Point Road. Durham's Department of Public Works, in conjunction with the team’s consultants, experienced conducive weather conditions to finally install the wood chip and sand inceptor trenches after months of delays. Next steps will be several rounds of water quality monitoring to compare samples to those taken prior to the installation to determine the project's efficacy.
This project is projected to end in June 2022.
