Nature Park Plans to Connect Trail Network to Former Landfill Site

A nature park in South Carolina is planning to connect its 12-mile trail network to the site of what once was a municipal landfill.

The connection between the former landfill site and Lake Conestee Nature Park will ultimately lead to a series of one-way trails with observation points and is expected to open in the spring or summer, according to a Greenville Journal report.

The Conestee Foundation, which operated the nature park, said it plans to install signs throughout the former landfill, marking which areas of the site are safe for visitors to access and which areas are unsafe. Closed landfill sites are considered potential sources of contamination to surrounding groundwater and surface water and contain contaminants that may cause health problems for humans and wildlife if ingested.

Greenville Journal has more details:

Following its annexation into the city limits, Lake Conestee Nature Park is planning to connect its 12-mile trail network to the nearby site of a former municipal landfill.

Dave Hargett, founder and executive director of the Conestee Foundation, the nonprofit that owns and manages the nature park, said work is well underway to establish a single trail connection between Lake Conestee and several service roads on the former landfill property.

The 100-acre landfill, located at 684 Mauldin Road, was closed by the city of Greenville in 1995 when the county opened its Enoree Landfill Subtitle D portion to handle municipal solid waste, according to Greenville Public Works Director Mike Murphy. That site was closed in 2007 when the county built its Twin Chimneys Landfill along Augusta Road.

Read the full article here.