Working landscape

The Dell, completed in 2003, is a hybrid BMP (Best Management Practice for stormwater runoff) that encompasses approximately 11 acres on Grounds. The project has recently been awarded the 2017 Best Maintained BMP award from the Chesapeake Stormwater Network.

Learn more about the award and cast your vote for the Grand Prize winner. Voting will be open until March 13, 2017.

About the Dell

The area comprised of the Dell is laid out as a park, providing recreation and education opportunities for the community and wildlife habitat in an urban setting. The project blends the benefits of a stream daylighting and restoration project, a wet pond with forebay, and the surrounding restored riparian habitat. Biofilters work together to mitigate the surrounding urban stormwater runoff issues so common to cities. The Dell also serves as a memorable entrance for visitors arriving at the University, and functions as a demonstration landscape and Virginia-native ecobotanic garden for students, faculty, and local community.

This multi-faceted collaborative project transformed the Dell valley in several ways including converting a neglected and overgrown low area into a beautiful three-quarter acre pond surrounded by meandering walks and contemplative sitting places; creating a botanical garden of native Virginia plants representative of three physiographic provinces; restoring a 1,200 linear foot section of piped Meadow Creek to a more naturalized profile; and providing an innovative and elegant stormwater management system central to the campus.

The benefits from an environmental perspective became obvious shortly after the Dell became operational. A major road intersection just downstream that routinely flooded with every large summer thunderstorm remained free of standing water even during the heaviest of storms. In this intersection area, Meadow Creek is still in a pipe which, before the Dell project, was clearly undersized. Partly as a result of this success, a larger restoration of Meadow Creek was undertaken downstream several years later by the City of Charlottesville. Hydrologic studies of the Dell show that an approximately 50% reduction in the peak flows from storm events was achieved for Meadow Creek.

Maintaining the Dell

Maintaining such a wide and varied BMP collection and associated landscape requires the input and resources of many individuals at UVA. Facilities Management’s Environmental Resources staff have assumed the overall role of management of the Dell, relying on the combined staff of other departments to do the hands-on work. All aspects of the combined practices are inspected on a routine basis to ensure that they are kept in top condition. UVA has four certified stormwater BMP inspectors that provide training and oversight for all other involved staff.

Facilities Management’s Landscape Department conducts routine, sometimes daily, inspections as part of their normal work day looking for anything that could detract from the appearance or function of the Dell. This runs the gambit from removing trash to identifying and removing invasive plants. Mosquitoes are kept in check by native and other fish introduced in the pond and through the design of the system that purposely limits favorable mosquito habitat.

The Utilities Department within Facilities Management is responsible for the structures and piping that control the flow in and out of the Dell, and for maintaining the sediment control structures within the system. Bathymetry surveys of the forebay conducted by Environmental Resources have shown that the forebay accumulates about two feet of sediment every five to six years. This has led to two cleanings of the forebay during its 13 year life. These cleanings involve the bypassing of the stream, draining and sediment removal of the forebay, removal of invasive plant species, and inspection of the structure. The most recent cleaning also included the repair of the safety bench that surrounds the forebay and the entire pond as well as the inspection of the underground outlet/weir structure.

Even with 13 years of service, the Dell has remained a centerpiece on Grounds as a highly functional community gathering place and as a BMP designed to improve the hydrologic and water quality conditions of Meadow Creek. With age, the vegetation has matured giving the Dell the appearance and function of a well-established ecosystem. In 2008, Landscape Architecture magazine published an article by Linda McIntyre on the Dell titled, Making Hydrology Visible which leads off with the statement, “The Dell on the University of Virginia Campus proves that restoration and sustainable stormwater management can be beautiful and smart.”

UVA continues to live up to this standard and is proud to have the Dell visible to all. Tours of the Dell for students, community members, and others are routine. Having the Dell on Grounds also presents the opportunity for Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Architecture, and Arts faculty to utilize the facility as a living laboratory for class projects and studies. Catch and release fishing is allowed, though a state fishing license is required.

Additional resources

For more information about UVA’s stormwater program, visit the Environmental Resources stormwater management webpage.

The Dell at the University of Virginia – Photos and information panels by Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects