Henrico receives $2.5 million for stormwater enhancements

Henrico County will receive $2.5 million from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to use toward the completion of five stormwater restoration projects. In total, the DEQ awarded $20 million for such projects to 15 state localities. The money came from the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund, which provides matching grants to localities for improvement projects that implement cost-effective best management practices. The 24 projects to receive funding from the state this year will reduce water pollution.

The objective of stormwater restoration projects is to prevent conventional stormwater drainage systems from being overwhelmed during heavy rainfall. Such rainfall can cause runoff to travel to streams and rivers, carrying pollutants and disturbing sediment or degrading habitats over time and ultimately negatively impacting the Chesapeake Bay. Stream restorations or the construction of wetlands are among the most common methods to prevent that from happening.

The five Henrico projects are all stream restoration project and will take place at the following sites:

• Bretton Woods – $370,980;
• Henrico Water Reclamation Facility – $766,153;
• Old Nine Mile Road Landfill – $512,003;
• Quarter Mill Apartments – $515,725
• Virginia Home for Boys and Girls – $343,730.

The grants represent the fifth round of SLAF funding, created by the Virginia General Assembly in 2013. Each year, officials evaluate and rank the applications in priority. This year, DEQ received a total of 59 applications from 34 localities for projects totaling more than $39 million. Funding for this round ranges from $82,000 to a maximum of $4 million. To date, more than $80 million in SLAF funding has been awarded to support 193 stormwater improvement projects across the commonwealth.

“This stormwater funding is vital to assist our partners in local government to improve their streams and the health of the Chesapeake Bay,” said Secretary of Natural Resources Matthew J. Strickler. “As the Commonwealth prepared its new plan for a cleaner Chesapeake Bay, the Phase 3 Watershed Implementation Plan, we heard clearly from local governments that this funding support is essential to meeting our comprehensive goals.”