Underground Stream Sees Daylight
Date Posted: November 3, 2022
Posted In: News,
From St. Louis Post-Dispatch: A stream that has flowed underground in Tower Grove Park for more than 100 years formally saw daylight Wednesday morning during a dedication ceremony that involved members of the Osage nation, park officials, and the engineers and workers who revived it.
The stream, named Nee Kee Nee, or “revived water” in Osage, came to life when Andrea Hunter, director of the Osage Nation Tribal Historic Preservation Office in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, pressed the button that activated the clean water portion of the stream for the first time.
The water bubbled up, filled a basin, and began flowing over an edge over a series of stones and into the channel.
“We have a longtime history of being here and taking care of the landscape, taking care of the plants, the animals in the water, and that was a mission that we hold in common with the Tower Grove Park folks,” said Hunter.
The stream, a $2.6 million project with construction that started in spring 2021, meanders about 1,600 feet northwest through the eastern end of the park. It involved about three acres of new construction, with plantings of 61 trees and 137 shrubs.
The project treats stormwater from more than 43 acres of the park and neighborhoods to the south, said Chip Crawford, the managing director for the Lamar Johnson Collaborative and the project’s lead designer. It can treat 300,000 gallons of water that no longer has to enter the sewer system.
“It’s a pretty small stream with a mighty impact,” he said. “What started as a pretty straightforward stormwater infrastructure project has evolved into what I think will be one of the most culturally rich landscapes in our community, one that the St. Louis community can enjoy, be proud of and, most importantly, learn from.”