Friends to Monitor Runoff from New Residential Development

On March 7, 2023, the City of Middleton Common Council approved the rezoning of the Acker Farm Development–known as Redtail Ridge–from Agricultural land to a Planned Development District-General Implementation Plan (PDD-GIP). The approval comes with a list of contingencies that must be met, one being that the City of Middleton Engineer must approve the stormwater management plan. On April 19, 2023, the Water Resources Management Committee (WRMC) discussed and approved the comprehensive stormwater management plan. 

The developer will now put together specific stormwater management plans that will require approval by the City of Middleton Engineer. This is of course of special interest to the Watershed Committee and the Friends as a whole. The Redtail Ridge development is adjacent to sensitive habitats of the Conservancy and recent restoration efforts in the wetlands. The majority of the runoff from the development will drain directly into the waters of the Conservancy and then into Lake Mendota. 

The position of the Friends is that as much runoff as possible should be contained and allowed to infiltrate into the ground at the locations where it is generated such as roofs, gutters and impervious surfaces. The current plan calls for 100 percent capture of runoff from an average size storm producing 2.5” of rain. This is known as “stayon” and is typical for current developments in Middleton, but it will not prevent significant runoff during larger storms. The Watershed Committee will continue to monitor and comment on the plans as they become available. 

The Friends have requested–and Dane County has approved–adding a water quality and flow monitoring point at the western tributary of Pheasant Branch Creek where it enters the Conservancy at Pheasant Branch Road. This stream will receive a majority of the runoff from the Redtail Ridge development as well as runoff from the Misty Valley Subdivision and overflow from Graber Pond. Watershed Committee member Herb Garn and his team of volunteers have established a location to monitor waterflow and will collect samples as part of an ongoing water quality study. This effort works in conjunction with Dane County’s runoff monitoring program at the new 160-acre prairie restoration. Three samples have already been collected this spring during rain and snow melt events to establish a baseline condition.