WENDELL - When two new construction projects in Wendell are completed, each business will be identified by its distinctive color, the bright red Sheetz logo and the blue SECU sign for the State Employees Credit Union, but the construction of both buildings will be green.

According to Wendell Planning Director Teresa Piner, both buildings will meet the requirements for the Low Impact Development (LID) project created through a partnership between Wendell, Rolesville and Zebulon to facilitate the companies' buy down of nitrogen credit. Wendell approved the project as part of its stormwater ordinance in 2009.

The construction projects include LID methods to keep water with excessive amounts of nitrogen from flowing into nearby streams and wetlands.

The two new Wendell building projects are at the intersection of Wendell Boulevard and Rolesville Road and water from the area flows into Buffaloe Creek.

"The importance of keeping nitrogen down is to improve the water quality. Too much nitrogen causes a lack of oxygen in the water which leads to an algae bloom," Piner said.

She added that with nitrogen and oxygen levels out of balance the creeks no longer support plantlife, which then effects wildlife in the area.

Under the stormwater ordinance and LID plan, businesses have options for avoiding water runoff that carries nitrogen into streams, including the use of rain barrels, water gardens, a retaining area called a grass swale or a cistern.

Sheetz chose to include a cistern system in their new store construction, the first one used in one of their convenience stores in the state.

The cistern will collect water from the roof of the convenience store and use it to irrigate the plants around the store.

"It cost more, about $30,000, but they chose to do it," Piner said.

The SECU building will incorporate grass swales into the property to keep water from flowing directly to the creek.

Grass swales are like small retaining ponds, dug into the ground to trap water so it can evaporate.

"The SECU (location) sits on a hill so it will have swales to slow the water flow," Piner said. "In the past we've encouraged moving water off the site. This encourages ponding at certain locations to let the water evaporate within a few hours or days."

Participating in the LID project allows the companies to buy down nitrogen credits - to pay a fee to the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources that offsets the amount of nitrogen that flows into the creek.

Between water collection efforts and the nitrogen credit buy down, the companies try to leave no environmental impact.

"Without the LID project, the businesses can't buy down their nitrogen level," Piner said.

"It's difficult to get to zero (impact). Even undeveloped land is not at zero."

Sheetz will also have a carwash at its location, which will conform to the town's ordinance requirement that the system must be able to recycle water.

"Since the drought, there are still limits on water use and irrigation in place. Water use has never gone back up, which is good for all of us," Piner said.

"Now only a car wash with water reclamation is allowed in town. Sheetz will have that. They will be the only one with a reclamation system in Wendell."

Julie McLaurin, an architect with O'Brien and Adkins, is the project manager on the Wendell SECU building. She says over the last few years every construction project has become greener as state requirements have called for buildings to be 30 percent more efficient and use 20 percent less water.

"The codes trend toward making everyday practices for the things we do on every building more sustainable," McLaurin said.

But the things we are doing don't add additional cost to the building."

McLaurin said materials used in construction are becoming more energy efficient and mechanical equipment runs more efficiently.

"Everybody thinks about that now; it's incorporated into everything we do now," McLaurin said.

McLaurin added there are also new specifications for waste handling on building sites that require recycling and reducing the debris that ends up in a landfill.