MORGANTOWN – The city’s Board of Parks and Recreation said it is not currently interested in participating in a fecal coliform abatement project focusing on runoff from Stanley’s Spot Dog Park.
Not yet, anyway.
During a brief special meeting, members of the board said they would prefer to see water testing from Deckers Creek indicating such a facility is needed before signing on, particularly given likely impacts to the park during construction of the treatment structure.
As reported, BOPARC was recently approached by representatives from the West Virginia Water Research Institute wishing to seek West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection grant funding for a “proof of concept” project that would filter dog waste out of groundwater running into Deckers Creek.
The project would have consisted of constructing either a fenced off subsurface flow wetland, which uses plant roots to absorb bacteria, or a drain trench directing runoff to a graduated stone and sand filtration system similar to a soil absorption system on a residential septic tank.
It was explained that the first year of the likely three-year-long project would be spent testing fecal coliform levels in the creek at locations above and below the park.
Morgantown Mayor, and BOPARC Chair, Danielle Trumble said BOPARC would like to see some of that work done in advance.
“We’re going to ask them to collect data to show need, and then we would consider approving application in a future cycle,” she said.
