Courtasy Clemson Facilities
A drawing showing what the Suber Dam area will look like after construction, with new trees and a path around the pond.
Earlier this semester, work began on a new water feature on the south side of Clemson’s main campus.
The Suber Dam, the grass area behind the Strom Thurmond Institute and below the end of Lee Hall near Perimeter Road, is being extensively renovated to create a modern stormwater retention pond.
The new pond will consist of two basins, one behind the existing stone dam, which will cascade over the dam into a lower basin. The basins will typically be filled with water, with the area around the ponds flooding to absorb excess water during storms, helping to lessen erosion and pollution issues in Hunnicutt Creek, where most of the runoff from campus drains.
The pond will also form a distinct water feature at the south entrance to campus, where many buses and apartment shuttles drop off.
The project includes a mulch maintenance path open to public use. University Facilities is currently evaluating projects to improve this area as a usable and accessible green space. The current design already includes a lawn area by the pond for students to enjoy.
University Facilities is also working with the landscape architecture department, which uses the area for student instruction, to develop a replanting plan to replace the trees that had to be removed as a part of the earth moving for this project.