North Branch Park River Project Partners Kickoff Meeting

North Central Conservation District

North Branch Park River

Green Infrastructure Design & Watershed Plan Update

Project Partners Kickoff Meeting

March 31, 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

− Raul Irizarry, Community Engagement

North Central Conservation District

Project Partners and Funding

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 Nine Elements

Review Property Owner Issues

Review Municipal Planning Goals

Update Action Implementation Items

Advance Site-Specific Design Proposals

ArcGIS Story Map format

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 Meetings and Project Management (Task 6)

Project Partner Meetings

− Kickoff Meeting (today)

− Regular Coordination Meetings (8), approximately every 6-8 weeks

Virtual Meetings

Preferred day & time for meetings?

Are we missing any key project partners?

Deliverables

• Meeting materials and participation

Project Advisory Committee Meetings (Task 2)

Watershed municipalities & organizations involved in decision making and project implementation

− Participate in 6 virtual meetings with the Project Partners (every other month)

− Advise on the GI design process and watershed plan update

Advisory Committee members include:

− NRZ representatives

− Property owner representatives

− City and State Agency representatives

Deliverables

• Meeting materials and participation

Public Outreach & Community Engagement (Task 5)

Stakeholder Meetings

− In-person meetings

− Presentation, open house, or other format

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

Walkshop

− Walking tour for community groups, residents, neighbors

− Proposed GI concepts/designs • Other 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

ArcGIS Story Map format

Executive Summary

Deliverables

• Draft and final watershed plan

Project Schedule

6. Project Meetings

Management

Next Steps

Data gathering and review

Research ongoing and planned projects & capital improvements

Update watershed mapping

Desktop GI screening

Finalize Advisory Committee members

Refine meeting schedule and engagement plan

Schedule next Project Partners and Advisory Committee meetings

North Central Conservation District

Questions and Discussion

Contacts:

Joanna Shapiro

jshapiro@conservect.org

Erik Mas emas@fando.com

Mary Rickel Pelletier maryp@parkwatershed.org

Raul Irizarry raul.irizarry@tpl.org