In 2014, the West Union Sustainable Stormwater Interceptor Enhancement Project was initiated to address stormwater quantity and quality in Athens. The project installed biofiltration boxes along a section of West Union Street to reduce stormwater runoff, improve water quality, and demonstrate innovative stormwater control techniques. These specially designed in-ground trenches collect stormwater from nearby sidewalks, streets, and parking lots, hold it so it can slowly absorb into the soil and provide water to plants, and send excess runoff into the storm sewer, creating a natural filtration process that greatly improves stormwater quality. Four boxes were installed, each topped by flowering plants. The project also included a manufactured Hydrodynamic Water Quality System to treat approximately 136 acres of stormwater from the west side of the city that drains into Oxbow Creek by removing sand, road grit, trash, and oil from runoff before releasing the filtered water into a tributary of Oxbow Creek. A third part of the undertaking, the Stream Restoration Project, reclaimed an Oxbow Creek tributary and created a riparian area to further enhance water quality, increase wildlife habitat diversity, and decrease invasive plants.