Huntley Hills Park is a popular community green space in the City of Chamblee, Georgia, featuring a vibrant butterfly garden, children’s playground, and a local stream serving as a tributary to Nancy Creek.
Originating in Peachtree Corners, Nancy Creek stretches through several residential neighbourhoods in the state of Georgia. Ultimately reaching the Chattahoochee River, the creek spans a 37.8 square-mile (97.9 square-kilometre) watershed. This area includes seven cities – Atlanta, Brookhaven, Chamblee, Doraville, Dunwoody, Peachtree Corners, and Sandy Springs.
Sections of Nancy Creek have been identified on Georgia’s impaired waters list for failing to meet state water quality standards for primary contact and recreational uses. This represents a growing challenge in our metropolitan communities – and protecting urban waterways like Nancy Creek from stormwater pollution is critical to sustainable development.
Community waterways face numerous impacts from stormwater contaminants. Nutrient inputs from lawn fertilisers, grass clippings, and organic debris elevate nitrogen and phosphorus levels, promoting algal growth and reducing water quality.
Stormwater also carries gross pollutants, such as litter and plastics. Generally non-biodegradable, these bulkier items accumulate in local waterways before they are conveyed to downstream riverine and marine environments.
In the City of Chamblee, the development of Floating Treatment Wetlands aims to address these issues by providing practical, environmentally beneficial approaches to urban creek restoration and water quality.
Combining Nature-Based Principles with Traditional Trash Booms
At Huntley Hills Park, Atlan Stormwater partnered with Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and Cox Enterprises to install a 54-module Floating Treatment Wetland (FTW). Designed to intercept stormwater pollution while supporting ecological restoration, the system will provide long-term benefits through improved water quality, community beautification, and enhanced biodiversity.
Installed in a V-shaped configuration, this nature-based stormwater treatment solution will guide gross pollutants and debris into central collection areas. This will allow them to be removed efficiently during routine maintenance, preventing them from being washed downstream.
This multipurpose asset provides the functional benefits of a traditional trash boom system, while integrating additional biodiversity gains – with the ability to plant each module with local plant species for site aesthetics and habitat creation.
The Georgia Native Plant Society and Nemophily Natives led plant selection and establishment, helping source a diverse range of native wetland species – including False Indigo Bush (Amorpha fruiticosa), Eastern Bluestar (Amsonia tabernaemontana), Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), and Fringed Sedge (Carex crinita).
These species were primarily chosen to support biodiversity and their suitability for native pollinators and macroinvertebrates, including butterflies, moths, dragonflies, and bees.
This project complements Atlan Stormwater and the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper’s ongoing efforts in establishing Floating Treatment Wetlands in the region – creating a broader network of infrastructure to collectively manage and improve the health of the larger Chattahoochee River system.
In addition to capturing floating debris, the Huntley Hills Park FTW will also drive better water quality outcomes across the Nancy Creek watershed.
Floating Wetlands submerge plant root structures directly in the water column, exposing large surface areas for biofilm growth. These plant roots and biofilm provide a network of physical, biochemical and microbial pathways for treating stormwater pollution. This optimises FTW’s stormwater treatment capability, providing high-performance sedimentation, nitrification, and phosphorus uptake.
By combining trash interception, native habitat creation, and community engagement, this project demonstrates how FTWs can integrate with urban watershed renewal and broader community sustainability objectives.
Together, we can work in our urban catchments to stop pollution at the source. With growing demand for biomimetic stormwater solutions to improve the water quality of our urban streams, creeks, and rivers, projects such as Huntley Hills Park showcase the benefits of Floating Treatment Wetlands in ensuring Joy in Water for future generations.