Dickerson Park Zoo unveils waterway improvements

A ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted this morning by the city of Springfield and the Springfield-Greene County Park Board marked the completion of waterway improvements at Dickerson Park Zoo.

The $732,000 project, funded by the 2006 countywide Parks sales tax, is one in a series of six lake, stream and waterway improvements in historic local parks, according to a city news release. The project was designed to improve water quality and aesthetics for the zoo’s lake. The work entailed stabilizing banks and revegetation to improve water runoff quality from animal exhibits and reduce flooding. As a result, bacteria flow into the Little Sac River will be reduced, the release said. 

Specific elements of the project are:

• a new 38-foot pedestrian bridge to replace the existing deteriorating structure;
• five extended-detention water quality basins to remove pollutants from animal exhibits and improve water quality runoff downstream;
• excavation for two rain gardens to improve water quality and act as an educational tool for zoo visitors;
• construction of a new island within the existing lake to reduce bank erosion and provide an updated exhibit space for lemurs; and
• storm-water improvements – berms, swales, and pipes – to reduce flooding at several locations in the zoo.

Olsson Associates Inc. is the consulting engineer for the zoo improvements, and the general contractor is Herion Construction, the release said.