Pickering Creative Group Receives Lower Platte South
NRD Tributary Award for Foreman Ridge Development.

Gary Pickering of Pickering Creative Group recently received a tributary award from the Lower Platte South Natural Resources District, for outstanding design and implementation of his Stormwater Pollution Plan and erosion control structural best management practices in the Foreman Ridge development. Foreman Ridge is a low-density acreage development located on the southwestern fringes of Lincoln, which is adjacent to the south bank Cardwell Branch. The vision for the development was to create a living space that a landowner would be proud to pass down to future generations. The idea was to create a development where natural resources are enhanced and embraced, naturally adding value to the entire site, and lessening the impact of stormwater to the adjacent Cardwell Branch.

The entire development encompasses 76 acres, and the emphasis was to do minimal grading work. The site also created 5 ponds with multiple benefits, which are part of 24 acres of greenspace and commons areas on the site. Seven acres of greenspace has been reseeded back to native tallgrass prairie. Erosion and sediment control was a top priority throughout the life of the project, with nearly 12 acres of erosion control blankets installed to prevent rill and gully erosion on all roadside ditches. Brock Peters of Containment Contracting Services was called upon to design the Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP), and also serve as the erosion and sediment control contractor for the project. Off-site sedimentation has been controlled first by stopping the erosion process from beginning with the use of erosion controls. A series of sediment controls was utilized in key areas, catching sheet flows in areas when vegetation was not fully established. The result has been a construction site that has become a model for similar acreage developments to follow. By incorporating a well-developed Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan followed by effective execution of that plan, Foreman Ridge is a green, clean, and attractive development, and a site worthy of recognition in the Lincoln area.

~ Lincoln Business Journal