UPDATE: Nov. 7, 2019 : The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s Beaufort Boating Access Area on Lennoxville Road is anticipated to reopen on Friday, Nov. 8. We thank everyone for their patience as renovations were completed through a partnership between the N.C. Wildlife Commission, The North Carolina Coastal Federation and the Town of Beaufort.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 12, 2019
North Carolina Coastal Federation, Town of Beaufort and N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission partnering to renovate Beaufort Boating Access Area
The boat ramp is temporarily closed as environmentally friendly upgrades are being made.
BEAUFORT -- The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s Beaufort Boating Access Area on Lennoxville Rd. is temporarily closed due to parking lot and surrounding area upgrades. After recognizing the importance of reducing the amount of stormwater runoff from the site, the Commission partnered with the federation and Town of Beaufort to replace the compacted gravel parking spaces with Ecoraster pervious paving grids.
The drive aisles will also be paved as part of the project, but most of the runoff will flow into the permeable parking stalls. Instead of hitting the compacted gravel ground, the rain will now soak into the pavers, reducing the volume of polluted runoff reaching Taylors Creek.
“The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission strives to constantly improve and renovate our boating access areas to maintain one of the top boating programs in the nation. Our partnership with the federation on this project allowed us to go even further with this parking renovation and add these stormwater improvements to further benefit Taylors Creek. We are looking forward to boaters being able to enjoy the finished product soon,” said Commission Engineering Section Chief, Gary Gardner.
“This is a good thing for Taylors Creek,” said Beaufort Town Manager, John Day. “We’ve been looking forward to breaking ground on this project for some time. We were adamant about making the ramp upgrades as environmentally friendly as possible and are thrilled with this partnership to make a great project.”
Not only will the parking lot be modified but in addition, existing green spaces and stormwater devices will be enhanced to capture more runoff. “The current gravel lot actually produces very silty runoff due to the years of compaction. This project will improve a very heavily used water access point. It’s really a win-win for everyone,” said Coastal Specialist with the federation, Bree Charron.
The federation was able to match Commission funds with grant funds from the N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund to ensure the permeable paving components of the project could move forward. The Town of Beaufort is also working to secure additional funds to hopefully add more permeable areas on the site.
Decreasing the volume of runoff to its surrounding water bodies is a key goal of the Town’s Watershed Restoration Plan that was approved by the state in 2017. “It is really great to see joint resources going toward implementation of the Beaufort Watershed Restoration Plan. The Town has really embraced the plan and its strategies to reduce runoff in Beaufort,” said the federation’s Deputy Director, Lauren Kolodij, who helped work on the plan.
Construction at the Lennoxville Rd. site is scheduled to be completed by the end of November.
For more information on this project and other water quality improvements, visit the federation’s website at nccoast.org/stormwater.
About the North Carolina Coastal Federation
The North Carolina Coastal Federation is a nonprofit membership organization that works to keep the coast of North Carolina a great place to live, work and play. Through a variety of programs and partnerships, the federation provides for clean coastal waters and habitats, advocates to protect the coast and teaches and informs people about the coast and what they can do to protect it.
The federation has offices in Ocean, Wanchese and Wrightsville Beach, N.C.
To learn more, please visit nccoast.org or call 252-393-8185.
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