• Field reconnaissance and project planning guidance
• Wetland delineation and natural resources permitting assistance
• Hydraulic design calculations and scour analysis
• Culvert replacement/bridge civil design
• Roadway design
• Grant application assistance
• MassDOT Chapter 85 Review
• Bidding assistance
For more than two decades, the City of Grand Rapids has invested in Green Infrastructure to help manage stormwater runoff within the City. Starting in the early 1990s with CSO separations and continuing with the Vital Streets program, the City’s goal has been to reduce water pollution and flooding, enhance overall environmental quality within receiving waters, and provide utility services that utilize natural and/or engineered systems that mimic natural processes. The City Commission adopted the Green Infrastructure Portfolio Standard policy in 2018 to establish measurable goals for water quality and infiltration volume for green infrastructure. And in 2023, the City’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit added additional requirements for water quality practices for roads, which has increased the use of green infrastructure.
Challenge
With almost 1,000 assets of GI installed throughout Grand Rapids, the City was interested in knowing which GI practices are working well within its rights-of-ways and what improvements may need to be made to maintain its GI program for the future.
Solution
To understand how each Department within the City viewed GI, what aspects they were responsible for, and ways they felt the designs could be improved upon, GZA conducted a series of listening sessions with City staff. Following the interviews, GZA reviewed and evaluated current conditions of 81 sites across the Three Wards, which included twenty-four (24) leaching and infiltration basins, twenty-four (24) permeable paver systems, twenty-four (24) bulb out rain gardens, and nine (9) vegetated swales, which were observed once in the Summer and once again in the Fall. GZA also reviewed City as-built documents, conducted flood tests, and verified topography to understand if the original design intent was meeting City stated goals and objectives.
Benefit
The final field sheets for each GI reviewed identified findings per three categories – As-Built Design Observations, Current Condition Observations, and Maintenance Observations. Per findings and discussions with the City, overall recommendations and site-specific recommendations were made by GZA that began to identify changes to be enacted by Grand Rapids so that continued support and development of green infrastructure was seen as a positive aspect of roadway design, maintenance, and outreach and education to the public.