Foley’s project to manage the stormwater in the Beulah Heights community is nearing completion with funding from the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program.
The Beulah Heights Regional Stormwater Facility in southeast Foley should be completed this fall, Leslie Gahagan, Foley sustainability and natural resources director, told members of the Foley City Council.
The council voted to accept an additional grant from the MBNEP to finish the project. Gahagan said the group has already provided some funding for the drainage program.
“We’ve been working with them on the Beulah Heights Stormwater Management Facility,” Gahagan said. “To date, they’ve given us about $320,000 in grant funds. They added another $70,000, which will bring us to $390,000 to complete that project.”
The Alabama Department of Environmental Management also previously provided grant funding for the Beulah project.
The project will improve drainage of 480 acres in southeast Foley. Drainage improvements in the area have been underway since 2008. The current project will expand drainage and water-quality improvements while helping reduce the risk of flooding.
Before improvements began, stormwater runoff flowed directly into Wolf Creek. The project allows stormwater to be diverted into retention basins, helping manage runoff and reduce the amount of sediment and other pollutants reaching the creek.
Planned improvements also include a system designed to trap sediment before it settles into the retention pond. The system will allow accumulated sediment to be removed more efficiently without having to excavate material from the pond.
After the stormwater facility is completed this fall, the city will continue additional work to improve drainage in the Beulah area.