Benning Park Recreation Center LID Retrofits

Project Description

Situated atop a piped section of Piney Run, a historic stream that flows into the Anacostia River, the Benning Park Recreation Center is an important community and recreational resource residents of southeastern Washington, DC’s Ward 7. While the 8.5-acre site provides abundant indoor and outdoor recreation amenities, several of its paved outdoor areas, such as its four basketball courts, two tennis courts, and an unused right-of-way, recieve no stormwater treatment.

Recognizing an opportunity to improve water quality in the Anacostia watershed while continuing to provide high quality outdoor recreational space and facilities, the District Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) selected the site as a location for low impact development retrofits.

With a goal to provide treatment for these impervious surfaces, the equivalent one acre of impervious area, Biohabitats is leading the design and construction of LID retrofits. These included the creation of a dry swale bioretention area and a bioretention area that features a Furbish SmartSlope Vegetated Retaining WallTM. The project also involved the removal of 5,000 square feet of asphalt and the installation of native plants and natural cover to transform the right-of-way into a park-like setting. Biohabitats was the prime contractor for this design-build effort, with Triangle Contracting acting as prime subcontractor leading construction implementation.

The project, which was funded by DOEE’s Stormwater Enterprise Fund and the U.S. EPA’s Clean Water Revolving Fund, helps restore the site’s natural hydrology while preventing erosion, reducing stormwater pollution and enhancing habitat.