NORTH AUGUSTA — Between North Augusta’s municipal building and the SRP Park area by the river is a 40-acre stretch of restored wetlands known as the Brick Yard Ponds.
According to the city of North Augusta’s website, the park first served an industrial purpose.
Until the 1960s, “the area where the park is located was an industrial site. Brick makers, oil companies and many other industries set up camp on the riverfront. The Savannah River and near by railroads served as an early transportation route. After several flooding events, industry owners abandoned the property for higher ground,” the website said.
By the 1990s, a push came to reconnect the city and its residents to the Savannah River area and with it came a desire restore the wetlands.
“The holes made by clay miners had evolved into a sort of wetland system that was in extremely poor condition. There was little aquatic life and low dissolved oxygen in the water. The wetlands needed a restoration after storing piles of industrial trash and debris as well as filling up with polluted stormwater for decades,” the website said.
The city of North Augusta partnered with the developers of Hammonds Ferry to create a plan to rehabilitate the park. Part of that included a study to find out what elements were needed to restore health to the area’s ecosystem.
“These elements included dissolved oxygen, water movement, a connected system, diverse aquatic species, and a variety of plants. The incoming sources of excessive nutrients needed to be identified and eliminated to improve water quality. Our teams worked to fix these problems. The ponds were connected to one another by removing berms that had been present for decades. Waterfalls and pumps were installed near the constructed wetland to provide movement and aeration to increase dissolved oxygen levels. Plants were selected and placed in specific locations to remove pollutants coming into the system with rain water from roadways, yards, parking lots and garden areas,” the website said.
Deer, alligators and fish are among the many animals living in the area and the park is teeming with plant life indicating the project’s success.
“To prove the system works, water samples are taken at several locations such as where water enters from storm drains, within the perched wetlands, beyond the constructed wetland, and within the ponds. The sample results continue to indicate that the system is removing pollutants as designed. Other indicators like the improvements in wildlife use, wetland plant colonization, and aquatic species colonization show improved overall water quality at Brick Pond Park. Today the wetlands within the park are much healthier than before and can sustain the abundant wildlife that is required to maintain a healthy wetland ecosystem,” the website said.
