Stormwater
Resiliency
Communities today face a growing number of environmental challenges including urban flooding and heat island effect. OV builds resiliency through education, awareness, planning, and land use design to help communities anticipate, stabilize, and improve future conditions. Below we share a Stormwater Resiliency Project Feature followed by a selection of three other Stormwater Resiliency projects our office has completed. We invite you to check them out!
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
Globeville Stormwater Systems Study
City and County of Denver, CO
BACKGROUND
Flooding is not a new issue for the communities within the Globeville-Utah Junction basin (Globeville basin), especially for the Globeville neighborhood. Due to the neighborhood’s low elevation and adjacency to the South Platte River, its residents have experienced both stormwater (pluvial) and river flooding (fluvial) throughout the years. The Globeville Stormwater Systems Study is a culmination of an extensive effort by the City and County of Denver, in partnership with the OV team, the community, and stakeholders to better understand the causes of flooding in the area; explore solutions for flooding and identify the preferred neighborhood solutions that alleviate flooding and provide multiple community benefits.
This project was awarded the 2021 Colorado Association of Stormwater and Floodplain Managers (CASFM) Grand Award for Engineering Excellence.
ENGAGEMENT
This study was built upon OV's pilot program developed for the Montclair Basin and tailored communication for the Globeville Basin. Essential to the process was the input from community members and members of the Stakeholder Vision Implementation Team (VIT), including residents, business owners, neighborhood associations, and community organizations. OV developed strategies to increase community education and awareness around local flood concerns and ways for individuals and property owners to protect against flood risk.
OUTCOME
Strategies and solutions identified through this study addressed water quality improvements, stormwater detention opportunities, a hybrid greenway along 48th Avenue with a new outfall at the South Platte River, green infrastructure, integrated mobility improvements, and a vision for neighborhood amenities along the river. The combination of flood management solutions was tied to an overall community connectivity benefit and set the direction for today’s engineering design, including the improved Globeville Levee and Regional Trail and the 48th Avenue Outfall and Greenway.
PROJECTS
Upper Montclair Stormwater Systems Study
OV Consulting worked with the City and County of Denver Public Works and Urban Drainage and Flood Control District to develop and launch a 2016 pilot program for innovative stormwater and water quality management rooted in community engagement, education, and resiliency. The Upper Montclair Basin Resiliency Planning, Education, and Outreach Program, as it became known, was inclusive of numerous city departments, City Council, stakeholders, and the community and included increased education and capacity building around stormwater management and water quality practices and the identification of ideas that not only addressed flooding but provided community benefits and placemaking opportunity.
This highly successful pilot program was an essential component of the Upper Montclair Stormwater Systems Study and the identification of community-driven investigations within the basin, including for green streets, park detention, transformative flood mitigation measures, and strategies to build neighborhood resilience. The Upper Montclair study changed Denver’s stormwater conversations paradigm and became a standard for the city's drainage basins.
Upper Montclair STormwater Systems Study
Hale Parkway Concept Design
In 2018, OV Consulting led a multi-faceted team of experts in a complex concept design process for Hale Parkway that integrated stormwater management, community recreational opportunities, transportation design, and neighborhood placemaking along the corridor. The concept design for Hale Parkway, an oversized roadway built atop the historic drainageway that today experiences significant flooding during storm events, includes adding a new linear park, road diet, multi-modal pathways, and natural community gathering points. The design process relied on significant public and stakeholder engagement to produce a concept that met the community goals of a greener and more sustainable neighborhood.
Hale Parkway Concept Design
Englewood Stormwater Management Plan; Resiliency & Education
Working with Mile High Flood District, the City of Englewood, and drainage engineering partners, OV Consulting is examing opportunities for flood management that alleviate flooding while building community benefits, including enhanced open space, improved mobility, and neighborhood placemaking. Key to this effort is establishing a community safety, education, and awareness program regarding stormwater inundation and water quality in Englewood that ties historical conditions and land use practices to today’s flooding issues and a range of solutions.
Englewood Stormwater Management Plan; Resiliency & Education
PROJECTS
Upper Montclair Stormwater Systems Study
OV Consulting worked with the City and County of Denver Public Works and Urban Drainage and Flood Control District to develop and launch a 2016 pilot program for innovative stormwater and water quality management rooted in community engagement, education, and resiliency. The Upper Montclair Basin Resiliency Planning, Education, and Outreach Program, as it became known, was inclusive of numerous city departments, City Council, stakeholders, and the community and included increased education and capacity building around stormwater management and water quality practices and the identification of ideas that not only addressed flooding but provided community benefits and placemaking opportunity.
This highly successful pilot program was an essential component of the Upper Montclair Stormwater Systems Study and the identification of community-driven investigations within the basin, including for green streets, park detention, transformative flood mitigation measures, and strategies to build neighborhood resilience. The Upper Montclair study changed Denver’s stormwater conversations paradigm and became a standard for the city's drainage basins.
Upper Montclair STormwater Systems Study
Hale Parkway Concept Design
In 2018, OV Consulting led a multi-faceted team of experts in a complex concept design process for Hale Parkway that integrated stormwater management, community recreational opportunities, transportation design, and neighborhood placemaking along the corridor. The concept design for Hale Parkway, an oversized roadway built atop the historic drainageway that today experiences significant flooding during storm events, includes adding a new linear park, road diet, multi-modal pathways, and natural community gathering points. The design process relied on significant public and stakeholder engagement to produce a concept that met the community goals of a greener and more sustainable neighborhood.
Hale Parkway Concept Design
Englewood Stormwater Management Plan; Resiliency & Education
Working with Mile High Flood District, the City of Englewood, and drainage engineering partners, OV Consulting is examing opportunities for flood management that alleviate flooding while building community benefits, including enhanced open space, improved mobility, and neighborhood placemaking. Key to this effort is establishing a community safety, education, and awareness program regarding stormwater inundation and water quality in Englewood that ties historical conditions and land use practices to today’s flooding issues and a range of solutions.
Englewood Stormwater Management Plan; Resiliency & Education