CWAA ― Urban Water Sustainability Leadership ConferenceOctober 4, 2011
Lessons Learned from Green Infrastructure (GI) Project Experience in Developing Code
Requirements and Community Engagement
Overview
• Seattle and Seattle’s Green Infrastructure (GI) Program
• GI in the Right-of-Way• Public Involvement to Maximize Success• Strategies for Multiple Benefits
Presented by: Nancy Ahern, Deputy Director, Seattle Public Utilities
Seattle Public Utilities and Seattle’s Green Infrastructure Program
Water Supply
Manage Solid Waste
Urban Drainage and Wastewater
Seattle’s Drainage and Wastewater System
System Drivers:• Combined Sewer Overflow
(CSO) and Stormwater Permit Compliance
• Sediment cleanup• Urban flooding• Water quality• Creek habitat• Climate change
Green Stormwater Infrastructure
• Integrating into Capital and O&M Programs• Analyzed cost/performance of parcel
and ROW based strategies• Used that analysis in planning• Have retrofit 232-acres of Seattle’s
creek watersheds to date
• Incorporation into Code• New development must use GI
• Incorporation into Rate Structure• Rate credits for impervious area
managed
Why Include GI in the Urban Drainage Strategy?
• Citizen interest: • Alternative for right-of-way improvements for
informal areas• Reducing environmental impacts on Seattle’s
receiving water bodies• Providing ratepayers cost-effective solutions
that maximize social and environmental benefits • Helps toward other City goals
– 2030 Challenge– Seattle reLeaf
Natural Drainage SystemsBuilding GI Experience and Knowledge
Project Project Drainage Area
SEA Street #1 2.3 acres
NW 110th Cascade 28 acres
Broadview Green Grid 32 acres
Pinehurst Green Grid 49 acres
High Point 129 acres
1111
SPU CSO System
• 90 permitted CSO outfalls– 37 CSO outfalls do not meet CSO
requirements
• 35 CSO storage facilities (8.1 MG)• 100-200 million gallons CSO
discharged annually• About 200 CSO discharge events
annually• Integration with King County
May 4, 2010 - Meeting No. 1
12
History Sets Context for CSO Control
CSO Control Approaches
CSO Control Relative Cost Range per gallon
• Green Stormwater Infrastructure $2.50 to $22
• System Retrofits $1 to $2
• Infiltration/Inflow $30 to $32
• Flow Transfer site specific
• Wet Weather Storage $12 to $40
• Wet Weather Treatment $8 to $25
CSO Reduction: Leading with Green
Private parcels: RainWise
Alleys: Retrofitted with permeable pavement
Roadways: Retrofitted with roadside rain gardens
Photos Courtesy of T. Tackett (SPU)
CSO Compliance with Anticipated Consent Decree
Big Pipe Photo
Solutions
Grey Green
Presented by: Tracy Tackett, Green Stormwater Infrastructure Program Manager, Seattle Public Utilities
GI in the Right-of-Way
Public Rights-of-Ways and Roadside Rain Gardens
Potential Seattle & King County Joint GI Implementation
Potential Right-of-way Bioretention or Permeable Pavement
Seattle CSO Basins
King County CSO Basins
City Boundary*All KC and SPU uncontrolled basins are under consideration for RainWise
Green is Not Always the Silver Bullet
Public Sensitivities to Roadside Rain Gardens
• Reduction in parking availability• Perceived safety issues• Change in neighborhood
aesthetics• Resistance to any changes• O&M concerns
Raingardens not exactly to scale.
Parking: How big is a Rain Garden?
Policy:Is Participation Voluntary vs. Mandatory?
Sensitivities to GI Challenges with Developers or Other Departments
• Competing needs for space• Change in desired aesthetic• Cost
Citywide Policy
• What is financial feasibility?
• Is parking higher or lower priority than stormwater goals?
• What is our risk tolerance?
Has your agency had any push back for adoption of green practices in the ROW?
Examples?
Discussion Question:
Presented by: Jennifer Price, Program Manager, CH2M HILL
Public Involvement to Maximize Success
• Manage expectations– Show interim conditions – Schedule and adaptation
• Community concerns are specific– Curb and gutter vs.
unimproved– Importance of street character– Duration of residence matters
• Don’t rely on community meetings alone
Lessons Learned from the Ballard Community
Getting to Informed Consent on GI Projects
• Engage vs. inform• Early and often in process
– Meaningful engagement for residents in siting and design
• Transparent decision processes
• Find common ground• Inform about O&M levels of
service
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Revised Public Involvement Processfor GI Projects
• Introduce CSO problem and solutions by leading with RainWise
• Use design visualization to demonstrate why GI is a good solution
• Identify all potential stakeholders• Maintain consistent
communications• Engage stakeholders in multiple
benefits
FeasibilityAnalysis
FeasibilityAnalysis
Internal Site Visits
Internal Site Visits
Identify Stakeholders and Policies
Identify Stakeholders and Policies
Update Basin Specific
Outreach Plan
Update Basin Specific
Outreach Plan
Field/Site Specific
Feasibility
Field/Site Specific
Feasibility
Modeling and BMP
Sizing
Modeling and BMP
Sizing
Interactive Workshop• Project purpose
and need• Criteria for selection
Interactive Workshop• Project purpose
and need• Criteria for selection
FinalizeCommunications
Plan
FinalizeCommunications
Plan
Concept Analysis
And Scenario Building
Concept Analysis
And Scenario Building
Initial Communications• Community Briefings• Stakeholder Interviews• Personalized mailing• CSO Community Council
Initial Communications• Community Briefings• Stakeholder Interviews• Personalized mailing• CSO Community Council
GI Project Timeline
2-3 months
Project Initiation Preliminary Evaluation of Alternatives
3-4 months
RainWise MarketingRainWise Marketing
Proj
ect M
anag
emen
t Pu
blic
Com
mun
icat
ions
DesignDesign
Electronic or MailCommunication
Electronic or MailCommunication
ReviseScenarios
ReviseScenarios
5% Site Plan2-3 Scenarios5% Site Plan2-3 Scenarios
Status UpdatesStatus
Updates
Interactive Workshop
• Selected streets• Design input
Interactive Workshop
• Selected streets• Design input
Electronic or MailCommunication
Electronic or MailCommunication
CSO Community Council MeetingCSO Community Council Meeting
Proj
ect M
anag
emen
t Pu
blic
Com
mun
icat
ions
CouncilBriefingCouncilBriefing
SelectOption
Project Approval
Revisit Technical Feasibility as Needed
6 months minimum 1+ years
GI Project TimelineDetailed Evaluation of Alternatives Design
One-on-one Outreach to
address concerns
One-on-one Outreach to
address concerns
On-Site Walks-and-Talks
On-Site Walks-and-Talks
CSO Community Council MeetingCSO Community Council Meeting
Interactive Workshop
• Design input
Interactive Workshop
• Design input
Communications Plan Update
Communications Plan Update
What strategies or approaches have you used to gain acceptance of a Green Infrastructure project?
Discussion Question:
Presented by: Peg Staeheli, Principal, SvR Design Company
Strategies for Multiple Benefits
The quest: How to get more benefit from our public
infrastructure investments
Permitting Maintenance
Finance
Taxes/Bonds
Local / State/ Federal
Private
Planning
Policy
Government
Development Pattern
Public/Private
Delivery
Public Crews
Private Contract
Volunteers
Local
State
Federal
Departmental Partners in
Process
Construction
Traditional
Alternative
Involve
Collaborate
Communicate
Multi-Benefit Solutions- Looking at the Systems
Stormwater Goals via Stormwater
Code
CSO Reduction
Bioretention/ Rain Garden
Permeable Pavement
Rainwater Harvesting/ Detention Cistern
Trees
Greenroofs
GI for CSO Reduction and More
Some Examples: How GI Gets You More
• Significant reduction in total stormwater volume
• Increased awareness about stormwater and impacts
• Increased green space (increased walkability, increased habitat)
Yale Street Private Development
Bell Street ParkFrom SEAstreet to People Place Bringing it all
Together
THREE MOVES: reclaim. elevate. mix.
www.depave.org
water section: down garden
Winslow Way, Bainbridge Island, WA
Winslow Way, Bainbridge IslandStrategies for the Multifunctional Street
• Ensuring walkable space• Using Bioretention in several forms with enhanced landscape• Permeable pavement – strategic use• Manufactured systems when space is tight• Retaining mature tree canopy• Additional Trees
GI into Northgate Area Comprehensive Planning
“transforming the center’s underutilized, auto-oriented office/retail area into a higher intensity mix of office, retail, and housing …
emphasis has been placed on creating new public plazas and parks, and on restoring degraded environmental features.”
Northgate Mall, Seattle WA 2007- 2011
Seattle Public Utilities partnered with the Seattle Department of Planning & Development
Result: Client Assistance Memo – CAM515 extending the strategy beyond a single project
High Point Seattle
High Point- SPU’s Successful GI Implementation 2001-2011
How does your agency involve other departments (from Planning through Inspection) in your planning and implementation for Green Infrastructure?
Discussion Question:
Thank YouThank You