North Branch Park River Classical Magnet School Town Hall Meeting

North Central Conservation District

Community Meeting

North Branch Park River Green Infrastructure Design & Watershed Plan Update

Classical Magnet School

June 10, 2024

Presentation Overview

• Welcome & Introductions

• Project Background

• Project Goals and Scope

• Green Infrastructure Concept Development

• Project Schedule – What’s Next?

• Questions and Discussion

• Design Stations

Thanks to Classical Magnet School, Asylum Hill Neighborhood Association & West End Civic Association!

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, PE, Design Engineer

− Andrew Bohne, RLA, Landscape & Ecological Design

• Meri with Park Watershed

− Mary Rickel Pelletier, Project Coordinator

• Trust for Public Land

− Brian Martin, Community Organizer

− Cally Guasti-O’Donoghue, Community Engagement

North Central Conservation District

Project Partners

Funding Source

Long Island Sound Futures Fund

Project Advisory Committee

Matt Hart* CRCOG

Caitlin Palmer* CRCOG

Denise Savageau CT Conservation Districts

Alicea Charamut Rivers Alliance of CT

David Mann Bloomfield Conservation Comm.

David MacDonald Asylum Hill Neighborhood Assoc.

President West End Civic Association

Marion Griffin Hartford NEXT

Evelyn Green Resident Blue Hills

Bongi Magubane Resident West End

Janice Castle City of Hartford, Community

Randal Davis* City of Hartford, Planning

Owen Deutsch* City of Hartford, Planning

Nick Casparino* City of Hartford, DPW

Frank Dellaripa* City of Hartford, DPW

Mike McGarry Hartford Flood Commission

Greg Sommer Town of West Hartford

Duane Martin Town of West Hartford

Yaw Darko CT Land Conservation Council

Amy Patterson CT Land Conservation Council

Grady Brockway 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

Purpose of Today’s Meeting

1. Summarize the project background, goals, and scope

2. Share green infrastructure design concepts

3. We want your feedback!

− What does the community value and want as outcomes for the North Branch Park River and its watershed?

− What current priorities (desires/aspirations) might shape the vision for the future of the North Branch Park River watershed and its communities?

− Feedback on design concepts. Which design concepts would the community like to see implemented?

Project Background

2024 Update of the 2010 North Branch Park River Watershed Management Plan

North Branch Park River Watershed

Watershed Context

North Branch Park River Watershed

Watershed Overview

48,000 WATERSHED POPULATION

HOW MUCH OF THE WATERSHED DOES EACH MUNICIPALITY COMPRISE?

WHAT PERCENTAGE OF EACH MUNICIPALITY IS WITHIN THE NBPR WATERSHED?

North Branch Park River Watershed

Streams and Subwatersheds

28.6 SQUARE MILES

TOTAL WATERSHED AREA

14 SUBWATERSHEDS

4 MAJOR TRIBUTARIES

5.4 MILES NORTH BRANCH MAINSTEM (ABOVE GROUND)

0.5 MILES NORTH BRANCH MAINSTEM (BURIED)

North Branch Park River Watershed

Water Quality – Impaired Urban River

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

• Elevated Fecal Indicator Bacteria

− Stormwater runoff

− Combined sewer overflows

• Channelization, erosion & sediment deposition

Challenging Conditions: North Branch Park River

North Branch Park River Watershed Stream Assessment Findings

• Broad variability in stream conditions

• Healthy riparian corridor improves in-stream conditions (Goodwins Wild)

North Branch Park River Watershed

Other Issues

• Chronic flooding

• River disconnected from the community

• Development of floodplain and riparian zone

• 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 vs parking lots

Precedent for North Branch Park River Revival

Frederick Law Olmsted Park Designs

• 1857 Central Park

778 acres

New York City

• 1880 Emerald Necklace

1,100 acres

Boston

• 1871 recommendation letter to Charles Pond North Branch, Hartford

Central Park Emerald Necklace

North Branch

Example of Restoring Ecosystem Functionality

Muddy River – Emerald Necklace, Boston

During construction

Muddy River 1892

Muddy River 1920 as the Emerald Necklace

Muddy

River Restoration

• Targeted dredging of choke points (flooding)

• Bank stabilization and plantings

• Habitat improvements

• Historic landscape rehabilitation

• Stream daylighting

• Stormwater improvements & GSI

• Tree stewardship

2010 Watershed Management Plan

• CTDEEP Funded Planning Project

• 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

Ongoing NBPR Efforts

• MDC

− North Branch Park River Drainage Study & Sewer Separation Design (Granby Street and Blue Hills)

− New North Branch Interceptor Replacement along lower NBPR

• City of Hartford

− Granby Street Green Infrastructure Demonstration Project (with EPA)

• Capital Region Council of Governments

− Regional Stormwater Authority Feasibility Assessment (CT DEEP Grant)

− Natural Hazard Mitigation & Climate Adaptation Plan

− Climate Pollution Reduction Plan

• CTDEEP

− Creating new Office of Planning & Resilience (October 2024)

− Climate Resilience Fund Grant Program

Project Goals and Scope

Project Goal #1

Update 2010 Watershed Plan

• Focused update of 2010 plan

• Updated watershed conditions

• Green infrastructure designs focused in lower watershed

• Watershed-wide policy & nonstructural recommendations

• Consideration of climate resilience

• Roadmap for next 10+ years

Watershed Management Plan Update

Plan Vision, Goals, and Objectives

• Community input from residents, municipalities, businesses, etc.

− Water quality and related issues that should be addressed in the watershed plan update and desires/aspirations for the NBPR and its watershed

• Watershed survey

− https://forms.gle/f27qzM5q9UnWW8YN9

Watershed Management Plan Update

Plan Vision, Goals, and Objectives

1. What are the problems?

What are the most important issues that should be addressed in the 2024 North Branch Park River Watershed Management Plan Update?

2. What is the big picture vision?

What are outcomes you would most like to see in the 2024 Plan Update?

3. How can you or your organization support this process?

Provide information about your neighborhood/property, host an event, send us photos, share the survey with your network, etc.

Watershed Management Plan Update

Watershed Stewardship

1. Implementation Coordinator ?

What organization is responsible for implementation of the North Branch Park River Watershed Management Plan?

2. Nonprofit Stewardship ?

Park Watershed, a 501c3 established in 2012 for the entire 78 sq-mile Park River regional watershed, is an all-volunteer organization that depends upon partnerships.

3. What are the funding options?

Could watershed-specific stormwater utilities support green infrastructure? How would funds be distributed?

4. Other organizational support?

What are the roles of other nonprofit organizations and governmental agencies, and property owners?

Project Goal #2

Advance Green Infrastructure Implementation

• Develop designs for impactful green infrastructure projects

• Build on 2010 concepts and other ongoing/planned projects

• Reduce pollutant loads and runoff volumes

− 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 Infrastructure Concept Development

Green Infrastructure Design Process

Project Selection and Concept Phases

1. Data Gathering & Review

• Compile GIS mapping

• Inventory public and institutional properties

• Identify existing GI

• Identify planned capital improvements

2. Project Screening & Selection

• Desktop screening

• Property owner interviews

• Field inventories (20 to 40 sites)

• Green infrastructure concepts (up to 15)

• Technical Memo

3. Preliminary Design

• 5 projects

• Preliminary layout

• Opinion of cost

• Technical Memo

3. Permit Level Design

• 3 projects

• Field survey

• Test pits & infiltration testing

• Wetland delineation

• Level of detail to support local/state permitting

North Branch Park River

Infrastructure Design Goals

Design Strategies

Green

Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI)

• Public/institutional properties

• Within municipal right-of-way

• At existing outfalls

• Site, neighborhood, landscape scale

Infiltration basins

Bioretention systems

Bioretention Planters

Parking Lot Bioretention

Bioretention & Walking Trails Rain Gardens

Roadside Bioswales Green Streets

Other Designed & Natural Green Infrastructure Design Strategies

• Riparian & floodplain restoration

• Urban tree canopy

• Urban rewilding

• Land conservation

Urban Tree Canopy

Small Urban Forests & Urban Rewilding

Riparian & Floodplain Restoration Floodplain Park

Land Conservation – Goodwin’s Wild

Design Concept Development

Green Infrastructure Screening

• Public & institutional properties, 98 potential parcels identified

• Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI)

− 0.5 acre or more of impervious area

− All soil types considered

• Riparian Corridor Green Infrastructure

− Parcels within 300-foot riparian corridor

Design Concept Development

Green Infrastructure Field Work

• Field inventories in December 2023

Design Concept Development

Floodplain and Riparian Corridor

WOODED FLOODPLAIN AND RIPARIAN AREA WOODED FLOODPLAIN AND RIPARIAN AREA

PARKING LOTS IN FLOODPLAIN LOTS IN FLOODPLAIN

FEMA 100-YEAR FLOODPLAIN

FEMA 500-YEAR FLOODPLAIN

Design Concept Development

Floodplain and Riparian Corridor

PARKING LOTS IN FLOODPLAIN LOTS IN FLOODPLAIN

WOODED FLOODPLAIN AND RIPARIAN AREA

WOODED FLOODPLAIN AND RIPARIAN AREA

STEEP WOODED SLOPES

Design Concept Development

Floodplain and Riparian Corridor

• Riparian & Floodplain Restoration

− Flood prone parking lots and development

− Wetland/meadow creation

• Land Conservation

− Riparian corridor, floodplain & wooded steep slopes

− Formal permanent protection

• Challenges

− Loss of parking, future development

− Need property owner cooperation

− Incentives to reduce impervious cover

LAND CONSERVATION OF FLOODPLAIN, RIPARIAN CORRIDOR, AND WOODED STEEP SLOPES

FLOODPLAIN

RIPARIAN/FLOODPLAIN

RESTORATION OF EXISTING PARKING LOTS

Design Concept Development

Impervious Surfaces & Polluted Runoff

• Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI)

− Retrofit parking lots, roads (green streets), schoolyards

− Treat new separated storm drain discharges

− Subsurface stormwater storage and infiltration systems

• Challenges

− Need property owner cooperation

− Combined sewers

− Subsurface and soil conditions

− Incentives to reduce impervious cover

Design Concept Development

Improved Ecological and Recreational Connectivity

• Paths and Trails

− Walking paths within restored riparian/floodplain areas

− Connections to schools, institutions, and landscapes

− Connections to future Hartline MultiUse Trail

• River & Stream Crossings

− Potential replacement

− Flooding, erosion, water quality, recreational and wildlife passage

EVALUATE RIVER CROSSING FOR REPLACEMENT

TRAIL CONNECTIONS

WALKING PATHS IN RESTORATION AREAS

FOCUS AREA CONCEPTS

FARMINGTON AVENUE TO ASYLUM AVENUE

WALKING TRAILS / LOOP

FLOODPLAIN RESTORATION WITHIN EXISTING PARKING LOTS

SUBSURFACE STORMWATER STORAGE

GREEN STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE (TYP)

GREEN STREETS WITH SHADE TREES AND GSI (TYP)

LAND CONSERVATION

POLLINATOR GARDEN

CSO N-10

CSO N-9

FOCUS AREA CONCEPTS

ASYLUM AVENUE TO HOMESTEAD AVENUE

SUBSURFACE

STORMWATER STORAGE

FLOODPLAIN RESTORATION WITHIN EXISTING PARKING LOTS

WOODSIDE CIRCLE GOODWIN CIRCLE

WALKING TRAILS / LOOP

POLLINATOR GARDEN

LAND CONSERVATION

CONNECTICUT MUSEUM OF CULTURE AND HISTORY

EVALUATE EXISTING STREAM CROSSING (TYP)

CSO N-10

CLASSICAL MAGNET SCHOOL

CONNECTICUT COMMUNITY COLLEGES

CSO N-9

• Design Stations (after this presentation)

• Download full set from Project Website

https://issuu.com/fando1/docs/nbpr_green_infrastructure_concept_design Project Website:

Concept Design Packet:

Project

Schedule – What’s Next?

Next Steps

• Green Infrastructure Design Development

− Select five (5) concepts for preliminary design

• Benefits to water quality

• Demonstration value & scalability

• Other benefits (resilience, habitat, community amenity, etc.)

• Community and property owner feedback and support are critical!

− Complete preliminary designs

− Take three (3) preliminary designs to permit-level designs

• Complete Watershed Plan Update

Next Steps

• Ongoing Stakeholder Engagement

− Community Walkshops & Meetings

− Additional Town Hall style meeting (preliminary designs)

− Advisory Committee & Project Partner Meetings

North Central Conservation District

Questions and Discussion

Contacts: Joanna Shapiro jshapiro@conservect.org

Erik Mas, PE erik.mas@fando.com

Akta Patel, PE akta.patel@fando.com

Andrew Bohne, RLA andrew.bohne@fando.com

Mary Rickel Pelletier maryp@parkwatershed.org

Brian Martin Brian.Martin@tpl.org

Cally Guasti-O’Donoghue cally.guasti@tpl.org