Step 1: Snow is plowed into piles in the middle of tree and grass swales of the parking lot, as well as in grass ditches along the sides.
Step 2: As the snow starts to melt, runoff flows along the swales in the middle and along the sides of the lot.
Step 3: The grass and trees slow and clean the stormwater before it reaches the brook in two ways:
- By slowing down the runoff, much of the water has a chance to seep into the ground.
- Once in the ground, the water is filtered through the subsurface geologic layers or taken up by the surrounding vegetation.
Step 4: Some of the sediment in the water that remains pooled in the swales filters down into the grass. The runoff is then directed toward stormwater grates, which drain to collection ponds called stormwater ponds. There are several stormwater ponds in the Sugarbush base area to treat and detain runoff.
Step 5: In the stormwater ponds, the remaining sediment settles to the bottom of the pond.
Step 6: Clearer and cleaner water at the surface of the pond is piped to the closest stream or brook.