3. Challenges Facing Omaha
Meet the increasing
requirements of the Federal
Clean Water Act
Balancing the following
needs:
Regulatory compliance
Economic affordability
Community acceptance
Economic
Affordability
Community
Acceptance
Regulatory
Compliance
CSO
Solutions
4. CSO is not a sewer separation program,
it is not the City’s sewer overhaul program
*When Omaha is ‘done’ separating the sewers as a part of CSO, it
will have separated less than 20% of is combined sewer system*
5. CSO is a Public Health Program that
must meet federal law that requires
us to reduce the amount of human
sewage and disease causing
bacteria that enter the rivers and
streams.
6. Evolution of the CSO Program
2009 - Original CSO LTCP submitted to NDEQ
2014 - Revised CSO LTCP submitted
Both LTCPs generally rely on ‘gray infrastructure’
Need to manage 8 billion gallons of CSO annually
Assumed there was little “green” in the original LTCP…
7. Evolution of the CSO Program
Green Infrastructure was part of the program from
the start... may not have called it “green”
Use water as a resource instead of a waste product
Each capital project explores GI opportunities
Committed to working with private entities & all City
Departments, including Parks Department
Parks in Omaha provide a unique opportunity for GI,
projects so far include:
8. CSO GI in Omaha Parks
A great collaboration…
Elmwood Park - 2012
Spring Lake Park - 2016
Adams Park - 2016
Field Club Trail, Vinton-2016
Albright Park (Gilmore) -
Construction
Fontanelle Park – Just started
Hanscom Park – 90% design
Hitchcock Park –95% design
Others being explored
Non-park GI
Country Club - 2013
SOIA Lift Station – 2014
24th Street - 2015
9. Elmwood Park
29 acres of Aksarben neighborhood routed
through park w/7 weirs, bioswale & bioretention
10. Adams Park Wetlands
Large scale GI taking on 277 acres of urban
runoff with 77 acre-feet of detention volue
17. Funding
Saved approx. $5 million by utilizing GI
Grants from Nebraska Environmental Trust & Nebraska
Game and Parks commission totaled $1.3 million
Overall, the project cost the City $10.4 million dollars,
with funding paid for from the Sewer Revenue Fund
18. Why this project…
This was not the City’s idea, this was the neighborhood’s
idea.
My boss at the time, Marty Grate, said that the City
needed a ‘signature project’ that helped give back to
the community something tangible, to help them see
what they are paying for
The Public Works Department asked permission from the
Parks Department to use Spring Lake as that project.
19. Janet Bonet
South Omaha Resident
Spring Lake Park Team
A Little History and
Residents Perspective
20. Spring Lake
Park Team
President Janet Bonet
Vice President Jason Rose
Secretary John Bonet
Treasurer Callyann Casteel
Board Members
James Bonet
Jean Incontro
Gary Hansum
22. Spring Lake Neighborhood
Spring Lake
School
Henry Doorly Zoo
Rosenblatt
Stadium
Spring Lake
Golf Course
South High School
Suicide Hill /
Baseball Field
County Treasurer
Office
Current Swimming
Pool
Old Ball field
1930’s Rubble
Fill
Small Dam
31. 1960’s Landfill Site part of the park
The playground,
parking, and
picnic shelter
(1994) are in the
background.
The “dead spot”,
noticed in 1995,
is in the
foreground.
150 ppm salt
35. 1994 – SLPT BLOSSOMS DRIVES EFFORT TO “PUT
THE LAKE BACK IN SPRING LAKE PARK”
1995 – FEDERAL MANDATE SEWER SEPARATION
1999 – SLPT & KSU COMMUNITY VISIONING
2000 – COMPLIANCE ENFORCEMENT NOTICE
2001 – SLPT CONCEPT PRESENTED TO MAYOR
2002 – OMAHA GEARS UP FOR CSO
PROGRAM
2005 – SLPT AMONG COMMUNITY
STAKEHOLDERS ON CSO STEERING COMMITTEE
Moving toward doing something
36. Why do it? It has been said:
It’ll never happen, City does not care about
South O
It’s just a dump anyway, just fill it in
I’ll be dead before those trees make shade
I’m leaving the neighborhood why should I care
The city doesn’t care about our parks why
should I
The kids today will just mess it up so why try
It’ll cost too much
Nobody will appreciate all that work
Who the heck cares
Who is going to take care of it when it’s done
37. Positive Partnerships
Broader-than-usual
Out-of-the-box
Creative
Project-specific
Mutually beneficial
Truly collaborative
Uniquely innovative
Community inclusive
In order to be poised to
seize the opportunities
presented by changes in
the broader trends:
Community needs/wants
Government
mandates/budgets
NGO funding shifts
Social/environmental
conditions
Engineering & design
innovations
Funding sources
38. Keep Omaha Beautiful
Douglas County Health Dept
Nebraska Dept Environmental Quality
Papio Missouri Natural Resources District
City Depts. – Parks, Planning, Public Works
Jacobson Helgoth Consultants / Tetra
Tech
Nebraska Wildlife Federation
Audubon Society & Sierra Club
Groundwater Guardian Program
Society for Ecological Restoration
Nebraska Statewide Arboretum
Joslyn Institute for Sustainable
Communities
EPA TOSC / Kansas State Univ
UNL Water Resources Program
KSU Urban Design in School of
Architecture
National Parks Service
Center for Health, Environment & Justice
Advisory Team & Expert Resources
39. The Other Kind of Experts
Neighbors –
residents and
businesses
History Sources
Youth / Schools
Community
Groups
Potential Park
Visitors
39
SLNA Visioning Session with KSU Team
52. Of Miracles and Mandates:
Maximizing Opportunities for Partnership Building
By Janet Bonet
Neighborhood Activist
South Omaha, Nebraska
NUSA
Houston, TX
May 22, 2015
EPA – Region 7
Technical Outreach
Services to Communities at
Kansas State University
64. Pat Slaven, PLA, ASLA
City of Omaha
Park Planner
Omaha Parks and the CSO Program
Project Role:
Department Liaison
between the Parks Department
and everyone else
65. Return the “lake” to Spring Lake Park
Park Goals: Respect History of the Park
66. Attract more and a greater
diversity of wildlife
Park Goals: Wildlife Habitat
67. Provide more and varied
recreation opportunities in the Park
Park Goals: Recreation
69. Making sure we’re all swimming
in the same direction
Parks and the Project Team
Park Planner Responsibilities on CSO Projects:
Make sure everyone understands Parks Department goals for the project
Attend regular meetings with Public Works, consultants, project
management team
Attend onsite meetings to discuss issues and solutions
Review and comment on progress plans in terms of park goals
Enforce Parks Dept. tree mitigation requirements
Coordinate with other park entities, i.e. golf course staff, park
maintenance staff, etc. and communicate their concerns to the project
team
72. Will create maintenance nightmare, wet areas
Will create places to lose balls, slowing down play
Will interfere with play in general
Golf Courses and Green Infrastructure
73. G.I. Team met onsite Bob and golf course staff
Discussed concerns
Developed design to address concerns
Golf Courses and Green Infrastructure
74. Parks to mow, pick up trash
Public Works to hire or contract out for special
crews to maintain green infrastructure components
Park Maintenance
75. Educational Signage
Describes history of the spring lake, the CSO project lake
reconstruction and the benefits of putting the lake back
into Spring Lake Park.
Bilingual text makes sign accessible to all citizens
80. Hydrology & Hydraulic Design
Rocky J Keehn, PE
SEH
Senior Water Resources Engineer
Project Role:
Lead Water Resources Engineer
for Consultant Team
81. The Modeling Challenge
Required to Design for:
Green Infrastructure,
10-year,
100-year,
Dam Break – PMP and
natural seepage flows
82. Water Quality -Cascading Planes
Lots of models
use this concept.
Aids in showing
Note: areas broken into direct
impervious and indirect (includes
pervious). For indirect pervious CN
was from 74 in urban yard areas and
61 in undisturbed areas
HydroCAD
83. Water Quality – First Flush Systems
HydroCAD
Inlet
1st Flush
Large
Flows
1st Flush Pond
Emergency Outlet Natural Downstream Pond
Primary Outlet
84. Water Quality – Manhole Spillway
HydroCAD
Inlet
1st Flush
Large
Flows
1st Flush Pond
Emergency Outlet Natural
Spillway
Primary Outlet Infiltration
Pond
Downstream,
no pipes
86. Detention to protect channel
#5 Primary
outlet to
channel #4 -Gate Control to
adjust flows from
pond
HydroCAD
#2 - Location Primary
Overflow -Armored
#3 - Location
Emergency Overflow –
Access Road
#1 Pond
outlet to Gate
Control MH
Detention Pond
87. Constructed Wetland – final protection
Multiple depths…various vegetation
Stop Logs Control water elevation which
allow “tweaking” to make sure vegetation
as planned is established
Stop Logs
HydroCAD
7 area contribution to wetland
88. Extend Dry Basin
Outlet
Spring Flow
Lake Drawdown pipe
MH with gate
Lake control
structure, main
overflow
Emergency “F” Street dam overflow.
Lake Outlet
Complex Outlet Under “F” Street
Extend Dry Basin
Overflow
Dam Design Floods all way up north valley, 100
year all under water including wetland, 10-year
trail just under water
90. Value of modeling…something not
working…design or construction
related?
Emergency overflow,
showing signs of flow
and erosion
Primary overflow
Cone Structure
Emergency overflow
designed for 10-year.
Primary: 1070.71,
Emergency 1071.50,
10-year 1071.24.
Road OK
Emergency overlow
working too often.
Check.
As-built Prim: 1071.24,
10-year now 1071.58
Overtops road!
Model explains what
might be the
problem...shows a
very sensitive design.
91. Treatment Train..
SAFL Baffle in
residential
neighborhood
First Flush
Diversion Manhole
Extended Dry
Detention
Basin
Dry Detention
Facility
Meandering
Channel with
Boulder Drops
Constructed
Wetland
Flat
Sloped
Channel
Spring
Lake
Combined
Pipe now
Storm Pipe
Missouri
River
92. Conveyance Train
Dry Detention
Pond and
gated outlet
pipe
Meandering
Channel with
Boulder
Drops
Constructed
Wetland and
outlet pipe
under trail to
Lake
Energy
Dissipation
Structure to
“Natural”
Channel
Spring
Lake and
pipe
under “F”
Street
Low flow
culvert and
“Texas
Crossing”
to wetland
Roof/impervious
surface near
houses
Though the
yards
Down the
Street
Storm pipes
through the
park
93. Replace pipes (grey) with surface
flow (green) to reduce project cost
Dry Detention
Pond and
gated outlet
pipe
Meandering
Channel with
Boulder
Drops
Constructed
Wetland and
outlet pipe
under trail to
Lake
Energy
Dissipation
Structure to
“Natural”
Channel
Spring
Lake and
pipe
under “F”
Street
Low flow
culvert and
“Texas
Crossing”
to wetland
Green infrastructure reduced cost by $5 million