In 2025, a series of heavy rain storms that moved through Pendleton County revealed the deteriorating situation concerning flood water and its danger to structures, especially at the bottom of the hill near the Town of Franklin Park. Pendleton Senior and Family Services was particularly afflicted twice by rising waters. Only the efforts of the staff kept damage to a minimum.
Heavy rains that dump inches in a compressed amount of time put the Town of Franklin in a potential pincer. The debris-choked riverbed of the South Branch of the Potomac River has actually risen instead of eroded, making an overflow of the banks more possible. Stormwater flowing quickly down impermeable roads and parking lots means it ends up in the most vulnerable locations much more quickly. Add in a patchwork sanitary sewer system, part of which could date back a century, and the problem becomes apparent.
Since then, the Town of Franklin and supporting agencies have worked on exploring, planning, and now providing solutions for the issue. Grant funding supported a community meeting, distilling information from it into a plan of potential mitigation options, and then, finally support for a tangible construction to reduce stormwater flow. That will take the form of renovating the town parking lot with permeable pavers and a stormwater catching system that will both slow the flow and filter pollutants from the water.
Grant funding comes from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Chesapeake Bay Small Watershed Grants Program. The $604,953 grant plus a $174,400 matching contribution will pay to build “a transformative green infrastructure project that will reduce flooding, improve water quality, and strengthen the resilience of downtown Franklin for generations to come,” shared a release from the Town of Franklin. A grant information sheet from the NFWF adds that “the Town of Franklin . . . will install green stormwater infrastructure practices on the town’s municipally owned parking lot and adjoining sidewalks in the heart of downtown.”
As the town’s release explains, “for years, heavy rainfall has caused localized flooding in downtown Franklin, resulting in flooded streets, parking areas, and water immersion into nearby businesses. This project directly addresses these documented flooding issues while improving one of the community’s most visible and heavily used public spaces.”
It shares that the project will include multiple features to trap and filter stormwater and prevent rapid flow to the river and surrounding areas. These include permeable pavers, similar to those installed recently in the parking lot of the Moorefield Town Park. They have the appearance of traditional asphalt with small pores to trap and redirect water. Permeable materials will also be used to construct sidewalks nearby on Main and Spruce streets. Stormwater will go into “underground Silva Cell systems that allow stormwater infiltration and treatment.” To aid in the capture of water, the lot will feature natural green space islands “planted with native species.”
Underground infrastructure will receive work. The lot’s function as a Treasure Mountain Festival center of events will be improved by “enhanced lighting and streetscape improvements,” as well as ADA-compliant pedestrian features.
As the grant announcement document shared, the parking lot represents “one of downtown Franklin’s largest contiguous impervious surfaces” extending for 1.73 acres. The system is expected to capture and treat 1.6 to 1.8 million gallons of stormwater per year that might otherwise create inconvenience in town or carry road and other pollutants to the South Branch River.
In a larger sense, the project also demonstrates the catalyst role that the Mon Forest Towns has come to represent in both mobilizing the community to gather information on needs, as well as assisting local governments in securing grant funding for a variety of purposes all designed to enhance their ability to sustainably develop stronger local economies.
Discussions have already commenced with both the town council and the appointed parking committee on developing alternative parking for the area while construction is taking place.
