North Branch Park River Project Advisory Committee Meeting #1

North Central Conservation District

North Branch Park River

Green Infrastructure Design & Watershed Plan Update

Project Advisory Committee Meeting #1

June 15, 2023

Project Team

• North Central Conservation District

− Joanna Shapiro, Fiscal Agent/Project Oversight

• Fuss & O’Neill

− Erik Mas, PE, Technical Lead/Project Manager

− Akta Patel, GI Design Engineer

− Support Team (Landscape Architecture, Urban Design, Engineering, Ecology)

• Meri with Park Watershed

− Mary Rickel Pelletier, Project Coordinator

• Trust for Public Land

− Walker Holmes, Community Engagement

North Central Conservation District

Project Partners, Funding, & Goals

Project Funding

− Long Island Sound Futures Fund

Project Goals

− Advance Green Infrastructure Implementation

− Update 2010 Watershed Management Plan

Project Advisory Committee

• Role of the Advisory Committee

− Watershed communities, local neighborhoods, and other organizations

− Provide input to inform the green infrastructure design and watershed plan update process

• Committee Members

− Neighborhood representatives

− Property owner representatives

− Municipal and state agency representatives

• Participation

− 6 virtual meetings (approximately every other month)

− Review and comment on draft deliverables

Project Background

2010 Watershed Management Plan

• CTDEEP Funded Planning Project

• EPA Nine Elements

• Steering Committee, Field Assessments, Land Use Regulatory Review, Project Concepts, Public Outreach, Project Website

• Lower Watershed – Restoration Focus

• Upper Watershed – Protection Focus

https://portal.ct.gov/-

/media/DEEP/water/watershed_management/wm_plans/nbparkr/ nbprwbppdf.pdf

Project Background

Related Projects

2018 CSO Long-Term Control Plan and 2021 Update

−

2021 Water Quality Monitoring Study

−

North Branch Park River Drainage Study (2023)

− Sewer Separation Design – Granby Street and Blue Hills Avenue (2023)

City of Hartford

− Green Infrastructure Handbook

− Hartford City Plan 2035, Complete Streets Initiatives

−

Implementation of Green Infrastructure features

Town of Bloomfield

− Plan of Conservation & Development (2022 – ongoing)

CRCOG – Mobility Study (2021 – ongoing)

North Branch Park River Watershed Subwatersheds

Beaman Brook

North Branch Park River Watershed

Water Quality – Impaired Urban River

• Recreation, Habitat for Fish, Other Aquatic Life and Wildlife

• Statewide Bacteria TMDL

• Elevated Fecal Indicator

Bacteria

− Stormwater runoff

− Combined Sewer overflows

− Septic systems

− Illicit discharges

• Channelization, erosion & sediment deposition

North Branch Park River Watershed

Stream Assessment Findings

• Broad variability in stream conditions

• Considerable local influence

• Downstream not always bad

North Branch Park River Watershed

Related Issues

• Chronic flooding

• River disconnected from the community • Development along lower portion of river

• Development potential in upper watershed

• Climate change impacts

• High social vulnerability

Vision for the North Branch Park River

Healthy Urban/Suburban Riparian Corridor

• Landscape scale green infrastructure that improves water quality

• Scenic riparian landscape offering healthy neighborhood amenities

• Increased ecosystem connectivity benefiting migratory and recreational paths

• Shared regional natural resource, a focus of urban/suburban collaboration

floodplain

parkland or parking lots

Vision for the North Branch Park River

Healthy Urban/Suburban Riparian Corridor

Restoring Ecosystem Functionality

Ongoing Muddy River restoration (today)

Muddy River Restoration

• Targeted dredging of choke points (flooding)

• Bank stabilization and plantings • Habitat improvements • Historic landscape restoration • Stream daylighting

• Stormwater improvements & GSI

Tree stewardship

Project Goals

Advance Green Infrastructure Implementation

• Develop designs for “high-impact” green infrastructure projects

• Build on site-specific concepts from 2010 watershed plan and other ongoing/planned projects • Pollutant load and runoff volume reduction

− Bacteria, nutrients, sediment

Secondary benefits

− CSO reduction, flood resilience, community amenities

“Scale green infrastructure. Providing an alternative to separating the combined sewer system will preserve property values, protect agriculture and landscape, and ensure cleaner water.”

“Implement the North Branch Watershed Management Plan. Implementing this plan will improve riparian health of the North Branch and Gully Brook sub-basin in an area adjacent to the North Hartford Promise Zone.”

Hartford City Plan 2035

Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI)

• On public/institutional properties • Within municipal right-of-way

• At existing outfalls

• Site, neighborhood, landscape scale • Implementation challenges

Other Engineered & Natural GI

Urban tree canopy growth

Riparian corridor restoration

Urban rewilding

Floodplain restoration

Project Goals

Update 2010 Watershed Management Plan

Focused update of 2010 plan

EPA 9 Elements

Update current watershed conditions

Green infrastructure designs

Policy/non-structural recommendations

Consideration of climate resilience

Project Scope

1. QUALITY ASSURANCE PROJECT PLAN

2. PROJECT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETINGS

3. DESIGN DEVELOPMENT OF PRIORITY GI PROJECTS

4. WATERSHED MANAGEMENT PLAN UPDATE

5. PUBLIC OUTREACH AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

6. PROJECT MEETINGS AND MANAGEMENT

Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) (Task 1)

Required due to federal funding

Completed and approved

Applies to any information/data used for decision-making (existing data, field data collection, assessment, engagement)

Deliverables

• Approved QAPP

Source: City of Stamford (Summer 2021)

Project Partner Meetings (Task 6)

Friday mornings (9-10 AM), 8 meetings

Organizations with a direct or indirect role in implementing projects that emerge from this project and the watershed plan update. Including Project Partners in discussions as this team develops various GI designs and project recommendations.

Future Project Partner meetings to focus on:

−

Design/planning work completed by the consultant team

−

Work planned by the consultant team for the coming 1-2 months,

−

Outstanding data/information requests for the Project Partners (e.g., GIS data)

−

Update from the Project Partners on relevant ongoing projects

−

Items for group discussion such as review comments on draft deliverables

−

Schedule of upcoming project meetings

Project Partner Meetings (Task 6)

Meeting Schedule (Friday, 9-10 AM)

−

June 16th (today’s meeting)

−

August 18th

−

October 13th

−

December 8th

−

4 additional meetings in 2024 (date and times to be determined) or another meeting added during autumn of 2023 depending upon development of project content

Advisory Committee Meetings (Task 2)

Thursday afternoon (2-3 PM), 6 meetings

Intended to reflect a broader set of stakeholders representing the neighborhoods and communities in the North Branch Park River watershed. Advisory Committee meetings will assist in gathering input and evolve a comprehensive, "big picture" for how neighborhoods along the riparian corridor can benefit from improved ecosystem functionality along the North Branch - as well as identify appropriate, safe access (if simply a scenic view) to the volatile (flooding) and often contaminated North Branch.

Future Advisory Committee meetings to focus on:

−

Design/planning work completed by the consultant team

−

Summaries of other long-term landscape scale projects

−

Summaries of relevant landscape scale projects (e.g., the Emerald Necklace) that might serve as a model

Advisory Committee Meetings (Task 2)

Meeting Schedule (Thursday, 2-3 PM)

−

June 15th (today’s meeting)

−

August 17th

−

October 12th

−

December 7th

−

2 additional meetings in 2024 (date and times to be determined)

Project Partners invited to attend Advisory Committee meetings to provide direct discussion of technical issues with various stakeholder groups

Public Outreach & Community Engagement (Task 5)

Stakeholder Meetings

− In-person meetings

− Presentation, open house, or other format

− Municipal commissions, neighborhood organizations, community groups, etc.

Walkshops

− Walking tours for community groups, residents, neighbors

− Proposed GI concepts/designs

• Other Community Engagement Events • Project Website

Deliverables

• Event materials and participation

Green Infrastructure Design Development (Task 3)

• Compile GIS mapping

• Inventory public and institutional properties

• Identify existing GI

• Identify planned capital improvements

& Selection

• Desktop screening

• Property owner interviews

• Field inventories (20 to 40 sites)

• Green infrastructure concepts (up to 15)

• Technical Memo

• 5 projects

• Field survey

• Test pits & infiltration testing

• Wetland delineation

• Preliminary layout

• Opinion of cost

• Technical Memo

• 3 projects

• Level of detail to support local/state permitting

1. Data Gathering & Review

2. Project Screening

3. Preliminary Design

3. Permit Level Design

Watershed Management Plan Update (Task 4)

Focused update of 2010 plan

− Current watershed conditions

−

Green infrastructure designs

−

Policy recommendations

−

Consideration of climate resilience

Plan Format

−

Graphical Format

−

Satisfy EPA 9 Elements

−

GIS Story Map

Deliverables

• Draft and final watershed plan

Project Schedule

Next Steps

Finish data gathering and review

Research ongoing and planned projects & capital improvements

Desktop GI screening

Update watershed mapping

Finalize meetings schedule

Begin public outreach and community engagement

North Central Conservation District

Questions and Discussion

Contacts:

Joanna Shapiro jshapiro@conservect.org

Erik Mas emas@fando.com

Mary Rickel Pelletier maryp@parkwatershed.org

Walker Holmes walker.holmes@tpl.org