5 minute read
Case Study
Strategies for Environmentally Sustainable Water Management
By Christopher McGinty, Superintendent, Parks Maintenance, City of Framingham, MA
Introduction
As Superintendent of Parks, one of my critical responsibilities is to negotiate and partner with various city committees, accounting for a variety of viewpoints. When we begin to develop a project, we need to assess how the project will impact the surrounding environment of the area, as well as the most effective ways to work with groups in our city to support an environmentally sustainable approach. To construct and maintain the project, we work closely with the local Conservation Commission and strive to complete both an environmentally and economically responsible project.
The needs of the city necessitated an increase in the footprint of our athletic facilities (e.g., football stadium, tennis courts). Working with the Conservation Commission, we determined that the only way we could increase our facilities’ footprint, while meeting wetland regulations, would be to install pervious pavement.
Site Conditions
• School and park facilities are in close proximity to wetland areas. Existing tennis courts were approved and grandfathered in well before the current wetland regulations were enacted.
• Roads are close to nearby waterbodies. The back of the high school property drops off into the Sudbury river. After a rain event, water often overflows into these sensitive areas.
Problem
• Polluted water from impervious road surfaces leaches into the nearby waterbodies, presenting continual threats to water quality.
• High levels of coliform bacteria (related to geese populations) and calcium chloride (related to snow removal) are an issue.
• Litter accumulates and becomes both a pollutant and an ongoing maintenance challenge (e.g., clogged drains).
• Runoff from fertilizers and other products used at city recreational facilities and residential properties near waterbodies is also a concern.
• Cleaning the storm drains near the recreational areas, parking lots, and at the river edge is a challenge. Water from rain events needs to drain properly.
Goals
• Increase the amount of impervious surfaces at our municipal and school properties and install rain gardens to mitigate the amount of water runoff into the Sudbury river and other waterbodies.
• Increase drainage efficiency and ensure that any water overflow that drains into the river is as clean and pollutant free as possible.
Steps Taken
Types of permeable pavements include porous asphalt, pervious concrete and permeable interlocking concrete pavement. We evaluated the various options for what would best serve our needs for each problem location. Porous asphalt was installed in newly constructed areas at the football stadium, as well as in parking lots and surrounding areas, where water typically collects when it rains. We used post-tension concrete on the tennis courts, which allows for efficient drainage. Block pavement was also used to improve drainage in areas of high compaction.
We installed rain gardens to slow water movement and minimize runoff from streets into the storm drains. Rain gardens help to filter and clean water before it reaches the river and wetland areas.
Results / What We Learned
We had a significant number of volunteers to help with the installation of these rain gardens, but no volunteers to support the long-term care. We also over-designed the rain gardens, which has made the maintenance more of a challenge than we had anticipated. We have no maintenance budget to properly staff for all the required upkeep. Also, our staff does not necessarily have the horticultural knowledge to distinguish desired native plant seedlings from weeds in the rain garden areas.
Many different groups use these facilities and there has been a significant increase in the amount of trash settling into the rain gardens. Although we provided additional trash receptacles, unsightly trash frequently gets stuck in the rain garden plants, which is labor intensive to remove and causes a maintenance headache. For future projects, to slow water movement, we are considering buffer strips that use only grasses, and require less labor to maintain.
In areas where we installed pervious pavement, we use salt, but not sand, when plowing in the winter to avoid the need for an annual vacuuming program to remove the sand that would accumulate. Moving forward, we will be strategic about where we install pervious surfaces, prioritizing locations where plowing is not required. I can communicate to my staff and ensure that sand is not used in pervious pavement areas; however, a greater challenge is communication with personnel from different departments who may share plowing responsibilities for the city, but are not familiar with direction relating to maintaining environmentally sensitive sites.
Conclusion
Pervious pavement provides a sound alternative to capture and move excessive runoff that may affect the long-term health of the river. I plan to use pervious pavement at all of our beachfront public areas along the river. These areas are appropriate locations for this type of alternative surface because they are not used in the winter and are not part of the winter plow schedule. I also plan to increase the installation of buffer areas or more simple rain-type gardens to slow water movement in locations where water drains into parking areas at beach-front locations. We will employ mostly grasses to filter and clean the water before it flows into the nearby wetland areas. •
