Project Advisory Committee Meeting #2

North Central Conservation District

North Branch Park River

Green Infrastructure Design & Watershed Plan Update

Project Advisory Committee Meeting #2

August 24, 2023

Introductions

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 LLC with Park Watershed

− Mary Rickel Pelletier, Project Coordinator

• Trust for Public Land

− Walker Holmes, Engagement Advisor

− Cally Guasti-O'Donoghue, Communications

− Brian Martin, 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

Introductions

Project Advisory Committee

Matt Hart* CRCOG

Caitlin Palmer* CRCOG

Denise Savageau

Alicea Charamut Rivers Alliance of CT

David Mann

David MacDonald Asylum Hill Neighborhood Assoc.

Kyle Bergquist West End Civic Association

Marion Griffin Hartford NEXT

Evelyn Green Resident

Phil Wright-Rigueur Resident

Janice Castle City of Hartford

Randal Davis* City of Hartford

Owen Deutsch* City of Hartford

Nick Casparino* City of Hartford

Frank Dellaripa* City of Hartford

Mike McGarry Hartford Flood Commission

Jonathan Thiesse Town of Bloomfield

Greg Sommer

Town of West Hartford

Duane Martin Town of West Hartford

Yaw Darko CT Land Conservation Council

Amy Patterson CT Land Conservation Council

Alex Dahlem Aide to House Speaker Ritter

Kellie Guilbert Aide to Senator McCrory

Marilyn Bantz CT DAS Property Manager

Ashley Stewart CT Green Bank

Marlene Krajewski* CT DEEP

Erik Bedan* CT DEEP

Christopher Bellucci* CT DEEP

Jason Waterbury* MDC

Jeremy Galeota* MDC

Zbigniew Grabowski UConn CLEAR

* Project Partners

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

Consultant Team Update

Task 3 – Design Development

• GIS Data Gathering and Review (80% complete)

−

Existing watershed characteristics & conditions

− Support desktop screening of GI opportunities and watershed plan update

−

Outstanding GIS data and information requests

• Awaiting Bloomfield storm system data. Currently using 2010 data.

• Requested information on observed flooding locations (MDC, Hartford, Bloomfield, West Hartford)

• Requested existing GSI and planned capital improvements (retrofit opportunities). Partners to review and confirm.

Consultant Team Update

Task 3 – Design Development

Desktop screening criteria

− Impervious cover

− Soils

−

Proximity to & condition of river/riparian corridor

− Storm drainage and combined sewer systems

− Parcel size

− Existing flooding

Consultant Team Update

Task 3 – Design Development

GI Property Owner

Interviews

Draft Questionnaire

Consultant Team Update

Task 3 – Design Development (Next Steps)

Finish compiling project GIS database

Complete inventory of public and institutional properties

Identify and map locations of existing and planned stormwater retrofits (MS4 and other projects)

Complete research of ongoing and planned projects & capital improvements • Desktop screening (select sites) • Property owner interviews • Field inventories (20-40 sites)

Consultant Team Update Task 4 – Watershed Plan Update

Preliminary existing conditions watershed maps

WATERSHED MANAGEMENT PLAN

WATERSHED OVERVIEW

48,000 WATERSHED POPULATION

HOW MUCH OF THE WATERSHED DOES EACH MUNICIPALITY COMPRISE? 74% BLOOMFIELD 22%

WHAT PERCENTAGE OF EACH MUNICIPALITY IS WITHIN THE NBPR WATERSHED?

WATERSHED MANAGEMENT PLAN

SUBWATERSHED & MAJOR STREAMS

28.6 SQUARE MILES TOTAL WATERSHED AREA

14 MAPPED SUBWATERSHEDS

4 MAJOR TRIBUTARIES

5.4 MILES NORTH BRANCH MAINSTEM (ABOVE GROUND)

0.5 MILES NORTH BRANCH MAINSTEM (BURIED)

WATERSHED MANAGEMENT PLAN

LAND COVER

UConn CLEAR – NOAA High Resolution Land Cover for Connecticut (2016)

• 1 meter resolution

• 3 categories of land cover

WATERSHED MANAGEMENT PLAN

WATER QUALITY IMPAIRMENTS

North Branch Park River-02

• Recreation (E. coli)

• Habitat for Fish, Other Aquatic Life and Wildlife (Cause Unknown)

North Branch Park River-01 (Conduit)

• Recreation and Habitat for Fish, Other Aquatic Life and Wildlife (Physical Substrate Habitat Alterations)

WATERSHED MANAGEMENT PLAN

FLOOD PRONE AREAS

FFEMA Mapped Flood Zones

Riverine/Overbank Flooding

Regulatory Floodplain

Other Documented or Observed Flooding Locations

Drainage Related or Riverine Flooding

• Streets/Intersections

• Neighborhoods

• Buildings (Basement Flooding)

• Parcels (Sites & Parking Lots)

• Culverts/Stream Crossings

Looking to add information to this map to inform GI site selection and concept development

Consultant Team Update

Task 4 – Watershed Plan Update

• Watershed Based Plan

Format

− Modified approach based on feedback from CT DEEP and EPA

−

Web-based deliverable

• Project web app with interactive map (ArcGIS Experience Builder) (in progress)

• PDF format watershed management plan

− EPA Nine Elements

− Graphical format

Consultant Team Update

Task 5 –

Public Outreach & Community Engagement

Community Engagement Strategy

• Team Communications with Multiple Stakeholder groups

− Neighborhood Networks: NRZs and Farmers Market

− Faith Organizations, such as Immanuel Congregational Church

July 15th Walkshop

− Volunteer Service, Youth Employment, with Our Piece of the Pie

July 24th maintenance green infrastructure; August 21st bridge sidewalks and

July 25th Walkshop of Classical Magnet green infrastructure features

−

Institutional Property Managers

− K-12 Schools: Hartford Board of Education

−

Elected Officials and municipal staff

Consultant Team Update

Task 5 –

Public Outreach & Community Engagement

Community Engagement Strategy

• Distinct Team Tasks

− Fuss & O’Neill seeking site specific information

− Mary Pelletier (NCCD and Park Watershed) coordinate activities

− Brian Martin (Trust for Public Land)

• expand team understanding of community experiences

• Surveys and Questionnaires

• Other Strategies such as Walkshops and Meetings

Task 5 – Public Outreach & Community Engagement

Task 5 – Public Outreach & Community Engagement

July 15th Walkshop with Immanuel Congregational Church and Asylum Hill Neighborhood Association Green Committee, Park Watershed, NCCD, Trust for Public Land, and West End Civic Association

Consultant Team Update

Task 5 –

Public Outreach & Community Engagement

• Completed Public Outreach and Community Engagement Events

−

July 15th Walkshop with Immanuel Congregational Church and Asylum Hill Neighborhood Association Green Committee, and West End Civic Association

− Volunteer Service and Walkshop Asylum Hill Neighborhood Association Green Committee, Our Piece of the Pie Youth, City of Hartford and Ct Museum

−

August 22nd (Farmers Market) Park Watershed

Upcoming Public Outreach and Community Engagement Events

− West End Farmers Market: Clemens Green on Farmington Avenue

• September 19th Tuesday 4 – 6:30pm

• October 24th Tuesday 3 – 6pm

−

North Branch Cleanup: HIU 9-12noon Saturday, September 23rd

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

Challenging Conditions: North Branch Park River

Challenging Conditions: North Branch Park River

Restoring Ecosystem Functionality

Muddy River 1920

as the Emerald

Necklace

During construction

Muddy River 1892

Restoring Ecosystem Functionality

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

Vision for the North Branch Park River

Healthy Urban/Suburban Riparian Corridor

Precedent for North Branch Park River Revival

Frederick Law Olmsted Park Designs

• 1857 Central Park

778 acres

New York City

• 1871 recommendation

letter to Charles Pond

North Branch, Hartford

• 1880 Emerald Necklace

1,100 acres

Boston

Central Park

Emerald Necklace

North Branch

urban-suburban streams are easily overlooked within the state and regional watershed context

Precedent for North Branch Park River

Project Schedule

Upcoming Advisory Committee Meetings

• Meeting Schedule (Thursday, 2-3 PM)

− October 12th

• GI site screening

−

December 7th

• Field work results and GI project concepts

−

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

• Project designs and watershed management plan

Next Steps

GI Design Development

− Incorporate observed flooding and GSI locations from partners and stakeholders into GI screening and watershed mapping

− Finalize desktop GI screening for review by Project Partners

− Interface with MDC project (NBPR field work and modeling)

− Conduct field inventories of potential GI sites

Watershed Plan Update

−

Finalize updated watershed mapping

− Submit watershed maps for review by Project Partners

−

Finalize and roll out project web app

Stakeholder Engagement

−

Continue 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