Alluvial Decoder at Crabtree Creek Raleigh, NC / 2021

Heavy rain from major storms can cause water in creeks to rise quickly. When creeks and streams are filled, stormwater flows onto nearby land, sometimes covering adjacent greenway trails, roads, and development. But as the floodplain absorbs stormwater, it lessens the impacts of flooding to communities and environments downstream.

This project reveals and interprets how stormwater impacts this site. A series of markers represent historic floodwater heights. A key under the bridge reveals names and dates of the ten largest named and unnamed storms (as of December 2021). A reinstituted meadow along the greenway path will help absorb and clean water from future floods, while providing an ecologically diverse habitat for plants and animals.

In collaboration with William Dodge and Lincoln Hancock as the Gang of Three