Goodbye Kentucky bluegrass! And hello green infrastructure
You know that strip of grass that’s wedged between the sidewalk and the street? The curb strip, the tree lawn, the — dare we say — starts with an ‘h’ and rhymes with ‘well’ strip?
Yeah, that useless strip of nonfunctional, water-intensive turfgrass that’s too narrow to play on and too wide to pave over.
Well, one such strip along East 11th Avenue in northeast Denver’s Montclair neighborhood recently underwent a landscape remodel that will reduce water use and provide a range of benefits to the community and environment.
The strip is in front of Denver Water’s Chips Barry Pump Station. For years, the curb strip was covered with Kentucky bluegrass, which required extensive watering to keep it green.
“We’re always looking for locations on Denver Water properties where we can remove nonfunctional grass, and this strip of grass met the criteria because it wasn’t being used for any type of activity,” said Bea Stratton, Denver Water’s landscape transformation program manager.
Denver Water partnered with Denver’s Division of Green Infrastructure, part of the city’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, to remove the old, water-thirsty Kentucky bluegrass that was in the right of way between the sidewalk and the street.
“We saw this as a really good opportunity to do a green infrastructure project in partnership with Denver Water,” said Colin Bell, a senior engineer with Denver’s Division of Green Infrastructure. “Instead of using pipes and concrete, green infrastructure uses plants and soils to manage stormwater and mitigate the urban heat island.”
The turfgrass was removed in fall 2024. Crews then regraded the area to create a swale, or shallow depression, down the middle of the strip and filled the depression with “bioretention media,” which is a special mix of sand and topsoil covered with medium-sized cobble rocks.
The next step was to create a path for stormwater. Crews made two cuts in the concrete curb, creating a channel for the stormwater to flow into the swale, down the cobblestone-filled depression, and then back onto the street.
Once the path for the stormwater was created, the last step involved planting more than 300 water-wise grasses, shrubs and flowers along with seven new trees.
“When it rains, water will flow down the street and get redirected into our new green infrastructure system,” Bell said. “When this happens, the water slows down and flows through the plants and trees and gives them water.”
Other benefits of the project include:
- Slowing the flow of the stormwater and reducing the amount of stormwater running down the street during rainstorms, which in turn reduces street flooding.
- Providing supplemental water for trees and plants planted in the swale.
- Catching dirt and debris so it doesn’t flow into the city storm system, which empties into the South Platte River. This improves the water quality of the stormwater runoff to protect the downstream ecosystem. The city uses a special vacuum truck to remove the captured dirt and debris from a detention area throughout the year.
- Using less irrigation water on the remodeled curb-scape compared to the old Kentucky bluegrass.
- Providing new habitat for pollinators like birds and bees.
- Adding natural beauty to the neighborhood.
- Helping reduce the urban heat island effect in the area.
“All the plants are climate appropriate, which means they’ll do well in our dry climate here in Denver,” said Karl Burkhart, a senior landscape architect with Denver’s Division of Green Infrastructure. “Once established in a few years, we’ll have a variety of species with lots of colors, heights and textures.”
Burkhart said DOTI has been doing a number of green infrastructure projects across the city.
Some of the smaller ones similar to Denver Water’s remodeled curb strip at the Chips Barry Facility are located at:
- East Eighth Avenue and Logan Street
- 24th Street and Broadway Street
- East 39th Avenue and Cook Street
- Larimer Street and Speer Boulevard
“Denver Water is excited to partner with the city on this project, and we’ll be in charge of maintaining the site,” Stratton said. “We’re looking forward to seeing the benefits while reducing our water consumption and adding beauty to the neighborhood.”
