*Don't forget to join us for a social event at 5pm in the Main Building
TUESDAY 3:15 - 3:45 p.m.
Watershed Planning Room
Matt Garder
JEO Consulting Group
Matt Garder
The city of Gardner, founded in 1857, is struggling with aging storm sewer infrastructure. Nearly half of the existing storm sewer network is comprised of Corrugated Metal Pipe (CMP). 97% of the CMP is beyond its useful life or will be within the next 10 years. In an effort to address the aging infrastructure, Gardner is developing a stormwater master plan. Johnson County Stormwater Management Program System Management fund offers cost share opportunities for inspection and replacement, but when there is this much infrastructure that is at or near failing, it doesn’t help create a strategy to address the worst problems first.
This project’s focus is on development of a capital improvement plan to assist Gardner in getting “caught up” on replacement of stormwater pipes and structures. In addition to that, this work includes a feasibility study for regional detention, creating a framework for an Operations & Maintenance program, CRS eligibility review, and alternate funding reporting.
Civil Works Room
Sarah Simon
Allgeier, Martin & Assoc.
Karen Quackenbush
City of Lee's Summit Public Works Dept.
On July 4, 2019, an intense storm hit Lee’s Summit, causing flooding in the Vista del Verde subdivision. Local drainage pooled in the street out front, the creek rose from behind, and three homes experienced flooding. When residents reported problems, the City set work using their dedicated funding source.
The East Fork Little Blue watershed has multiple flooding hot spots, so Public Works decided to take a whole-watershed approach. They hired the hydrology and hydraulics experts at Allgeier Martin, who had previously worked in this creek and its watershed. The Vista del Verde subdivision, or Area 2, was one of four hot spots studied.
Flooding in Vista del Verde had two different, but connected, sources. The first was local drainage. There are six different storm drain systems within Area 2, all undersized. Bypassed flows end up in the sag in Country Lane, causing street and structure flooding. The second source is riverine flooding from the East Fork Little Blue River, located behind the homes, which floods at least one structure from the rear.
To reduce riverine flooding, a stream bench was constructed in the left overbank. The bench varies in width from 30 to 50 feet, stretching from house property lines to the west creek bank, and reduces yard and structure flooding for twelve homes.
For the local flooding source, field investigations and hydraulic analysis revealed that four of the six storm drain systems have more pipe capacity than inlet capacity. So, inlets were added and/or upgraded in these four systems to maximize usage of the existing exit pipes. Two of the systems also received upgrades to the exit pipes to increase capacity and replace damaged infrastructure. The increased capacity in these four systems allows water to exit the street sooner, reducing the amount of bypass flow that runs down to the sag in Country Lane. The storm drain improvements and the stream bench combine to meet the goal of providing at least one foot of freeboard for the three structures that reported flooding.
Throughout the project, there were many non-design-related challenges, including residents, construction access, and utilities. Initially, residents were happy to see the flooding addressed. However, the homes along the stream almost all had fences out in the common area (also in the FEMA floodplain). During the construction phase, residential fences were relocated to the property lines and residents complained about “losing my yard.” Also, the construction work included the excavation of 4,000 CY of soil for the bench, plus several large dump trucks just to haul off trees. Everything was hauled out through the tight space between the homes. Like many projects of this scope, utilities were still in the way at the start of construction. Thankfully, the contractor was able to shift their work around and maintain progress. Despite the many challenges, the project was successfully completed in May 2025. The residents not only have an updated public storm sewer system but also reduced flood risk and a fantastic usable space for recreation.
MS4/CSO Programs & Standards Room
Travis Rayfield
HDR
Travis Rayfield
Stormwater managers and MS4 planners face challenging tasks of assessing alternative designs for projects that meet stormwater management as well as societal objectives within a limited budget. The integration of stormwater parks into the range of alternatives addresses the pertinent stormwater management needs and can address multiple objectives that communities desire. Stormwater parks are defined as projects that address the runoff management needs in a manner that encourages public engagement. These projects can be linear facilities along waterways such as the San Antonio River Walk in Texas which from a stormwater management perspective is a runoff conveyance project. Stormwater parks could also be spatially dense such as the Historic Fourth Ward Park in Atlanta which from a stormwater management perspective is a detention facility to protect downstream infrastructure and reduce combined sewer overflows. Each of these well-known projects are far more than a stormwater management facility. They have a rich and vibrant public use that are woven into the cultural setting. Stormwater parks have the unique ability to simultaneously unite neighborhoods, spur economic redevelopment, address chronic flooding, and address MS4 requirements. Many are surprised that these projects are less costly than many of the grey infrastructure approaches like underground stormwater storage. Combining the lower initial costs with community revitalization, stormwater parks offer greater value to the community while providing proven successful path to integrate equity into infrastructure renewal decisions. This presentation discusses the important context and success factors that can lead to positive outcomes for a stormwater park project. First the important planning evaluation factors are discussed that include not only the physical setting, but also the socially relevant elements to consider. The second part of the presentation considers four stormwater park case studies and how these factors were considered, applied and led to successful projects. The planning evaluation for stormwater parks focuses on setting realistic goals across multiple objectives that consider stormwater management, economic and cultural factors. We draw on our extensive experience in HDR to discuss integrated management factors associated with key questions to evaluate opportunities relative to:
- a) Stormwater management design criteria
- b) Public engagement and stakeholder feedback
- c) Site characteristics
- d) Adaptive management opportunities for climate change
- e) Policy and management challenges
- f) Cultural and economic growth potential
- g) Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) tools to compare alternatives.
Ultimately, the presentation focuses on four case studies (San Antonio River Walk, San Antonio, TX; Historic 4th Ward, Atlanta, GA; Rodney Cook, Sr, Park, Atlanta, GA, and Liberty State Park, Jersey City, NJ) that discuss how each of these factors were addressed and why these projects are successful.
TUESDAY 3:45 - 4:15 p.m.
Watershed Planning Room
Andy Robertson
St. Mary's University of Minnesota, GeoSpatial Services
Jing Tao
KCMO Water Services Dept.
Effective stormwater management in urban environments necessitates a detailed understanding of natural hydrological features. This presentation will share a recent project by the City of Kansas City,MO (the City) to significantly enhance it geospatial data for wetlands and riparian areas within the City limits and its adjacent areas. The project is funded through the Environmental Protection Agency’s Wetland Program Development Grants and aligns with . The initiative addresses the critical need to update the original 1980s National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) data to current standards, alongside mapping riparian forest extent and developing a wetland restoration potential index. These updated and high-accuracy GIS layers are envisioned to inform and empower watershed development planners, better equip watershed practitioners and natural resource managers, and educate the public in understanding, conserving, and restoring vital wetlands and wetland-dependent species in the area.
The City is partnering with GeoSpatial Services (GSS), a project center within Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota in updating its NWI data. The project will adopt a multi-faceted methodology that is established by GSS through its over 20-year experience in developing and updating NWI for over 140 million acres of wetlands nationally. The methodology involves the development of a US EPA Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP), extensive fieldwork for mapping verification, updated NWI mapping, riparian forest mapping, and the creation of a wetland restoration potential index. All NWI data will adhere to Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Wetlands Mapping Standards.
A key innovative component of this project is the creation of a Wetland Restoration Potential Index. This will utilize fine-scale wetland data and a GIS-based model employing machine learning, specifically the Wetland Intrinsic Potential (WIP) Tool, to predict wetland locations. This method moves beyond outdated NWI data to identify areas with high wetland probability, including those currently mapped as farmed or partially drained wetlands, or areas where current NWI data might have omissions. By integrating newly mapped NWI data with the wetland probability surface, we hope to identify and prioritize areas for potential restoration that could significantly benefit stormwater management, water quality improvement, and overall ecosystem protection within the City. The resulting geospatial products will serve as invaluable tools for informed planning and decision-making in future stormwater management and ecosystem restoration efforts.
Civil Works Room
Lauren Moore
Black & Veatch
Andy Sauer
Black & Veatch
The Westport Branch Green Stormwater Infrastructure Project is a 319-funded water quality improvement project that is using 2D modeling approach to evaluate design alternatives. Field investigations to understand site conditions with innovative green infrastructure design and construction techniques were used to meet existing site constraints, reduce long-term maintenance, and improve water quality of the Westport Branch of the North Wilson’s Creek Watershed in Springfield, Missouri. The City identified three underutilized green spaces that could be used to improve water quality by capturing and treating the most frequent runoff. The team collaborated closely with the City during design workshops to select a preferred stormwater concept alternative. A 2D watershed model of the drainage areas was used to establish baseline existing conditions and simulate the performance of proposed improvement alternatives. The 2D model was instrumental in eliminating a costly channel realignment alternative where the model showed no improvement to the flood risk due to downstream constraints outside of the project area. Instead, the City moved forward with purchasing a property to eliminate the flood risk and to expand the green infrastructure for additional water quality and flood benefits. The green infrastructure designs at three different sites use an integrated design approach that optimizes the water quality treatment volume while working within site constraints.
MS4/CSO Programs & Standards Room
Scott Schulte
Vireo / KU Edwards Campus
Scott Schulte
The MId-America Regional Council (MARC), Kansas City Metropolitan Chapter of the American Public Works Association (APWA), and regional stormwater community of practice are updating the metropolitan area’s stormwater planning and design criteria. APWA’s vision is to promote “Resilient stormwater management uses a sustainable watershed management approach that manages risk, enhances value for all, and stewards natural resources.” Decades of regional and national research, modeling, and stream assessment data clearly show that fully vegetated stream buffers and drainage channels are highly cost-effective and achieve the goals of this vision. Updates to the region’s APWA Section 5600 stormwater design criteria, and its stream setback and floodplain ordinances, should incorporate the latest data, particularly from highly convincing studies conducted in this region. Doing so is necessary to fully protect life, property, and infrastructure from flooding, reduce stream degradation and erosion, protect aquatic life, and provide many community and natural benefits.
This concise presentation will
- 1) summarize and synthesize existing, regional research, plans, studies, and findings regarding stream buffer benefits;
- 2) review national literature over the past 20 years to document the extent to which other data support regional conclusions; and
- 3) describe corresponding updates to APWA 5600 stream setback criteria to optimize flood protection, stream stability, and water quality.
Other noted value-added benefits include utility corridors, recreational access, and habitat connectivity. The findings strongly support that to realize the full benefits, stream setbacks and vegetated open channel requirements should apply to all defined stream channels in watersheds, including headwaters streams, and should protect the full extent of the 1% probability (100-year return interval) floodplain or conveyance in all cases.
TUESDAY 4:15 - 4:45 p.m.
Watershed Planning Room
Daria Sakharova
GBA
Elango Thevar
NEER
The City of Raytown approved a $7.1 million bond in early 2024 to fund stormwater system improvements. Multiple projects had been previously identified through prior studies, and a key goal of this integrated planning project is to determine which of these projects can be completed within the budget and the 3-year timeline of the GO Bond.
To prioritize the numerous projects planned for construction in 2025 or later, our team developed an integrated 1D/2D hydrology and hydraulics stormwater model representing existing conditions. This model uses PC-SWMM software, leveraging the EPA’s open-source SWMM Engine. Integrated 1D/2D models are the new industry standard for analyzing both hard infrastructure (1D – pipes and structures) and surface areas (2D surface), allowing for detailed representations of complex hydraulic scenarios. The 2D models, in particular, are instrumental in assessing flooding impacts on buildings and streets, aligning with Raytown’s goal of risk-based project prioritization.
Using this model, the team analyzed the performance of inlets, manholes, pipes, culverts, bridges, and open channels. For synthetic rainfall events, we examined NOAA Atlas 14 median (50%) and 10% temporal distributions for region 3 across 1-, 5-, 10-, and 100-year recurrence intervals to evaluate the existing system’s stormwater service level.
Using the NOAA Atlas 14, 10-year, 6-hour, First Quartile, 50% temporal distribution as a benchmark for service levels, the model identified various hotspots where the project team could research and focus on why those areas were a concern.
The project team initially assessed projects identified in the 1996 master plan and the 2021 stormwater priority list, while also developing additional projects based on model results showing significant flooding. Multiple system-loading scenarios were run to confirm that the proposed improvements would enhance the region’s functionality without creating issues elsewhere in the system.
After identifying 15 potential projects, we applied a risk-based prioritization approach, ranking each on a 1-to-10 scale for a number of factors. Factors such as number of impacts, construction access, storm capacity, water quality, public perception, and maintenance reduction were considered, each with a different weight. The total weighted score was divided into conceptual cost estimates for each project area to arrive at a cost:value ratio. Based on this data-driven prioritization, the top six projects have been recommended for storm sewer improvements, with design and construction planned from 2025 through 2028.
Civil Works Room
Zach Jarchow
HNTB
Lucie Rogers
HNTB
This project case study discusses the Indian Creek – Lindenwood – Jamestown to Arrowhead project, designed by HNTB for the City of Olathe. This Johnson County SMP funded project alleviated the flooding of 5 homes, removed multiple stretches of Lindenwood Drive from the floodplain and provided streambank stabilization throughout the half mile project corridor. The project also replaced a significantly undersized box culvert at the only entrance to the adjacent Heritage Elementary school with a new span bridge. This crossing had flooded historically, and required improvements to maintain access to the school during storm events.
The presentation will discuss the project’s design philosophy, which from initial conceptual and Preliminary Engineering Study phases was intended to work with natural measures as much as possible and limit environmental impacts to the Indian Creek corridor. Overall this was accomplished with a set of improvements including stream overbank benching, work primarily above the ordinary high water mark, replacing a culvert with a span bridge, and naturalizing an eroding and failing grouted riprap tributary within the project with a restored vegetated channel. Overall, native vegetation was planted throughout the project along Indian Creek.
Streambank stabilization along Indian Creek within the project limits was performed, with a toolkit including LPSTP, slope protection, and extensive use of TRM. This streambank stabilization protected adjacent public and private infrastructure (fences, roadways) and also provides water quality improvement limiting the erosion that had been actively producing sediment washing into downstream flood control projects and further into the watershed.
This presentation will step thru the opportunities and constraints available at this project site, and discuss how stormwater improvements are possible even when considering environmental and hydrological constraints, and the benefits to the project, community, and watershed when planning a project from the initial conceptual stages to addresses these challenges in a modern, conscientious manner that is responsible for the project stakeholders, the project area, and the watershed.
MS4/CSO Programs & Standards Room
Jacob Marszalek
UMKC
ZhiQiang Chen
UMKC
Flooding along 103rd Street in Kansas City, Missouri (KCMO) in 2017 required emergency rescue of people from the roof of a commercial building adjacent to Indian Creek. Subsequently, KCMO purchased the property and demolished several buildings to prevent future liabilities. KCMO water services, KC Water, funded a physical model project to better understand the flood behavior of Indian Creek and future decision-making for flood control strategies. One project goal was to link observed flooding activities to the physical model through augmented reality (AR) to allow the public to view actual flooding and mitigation strategies on site. When flooding occurs, the public is not typically able to view the event in real time, making explanation of the extent and severity of the flooding difficult once the waters have receded. We developed a pilot AR program showing the water elevation, extent, and damage caused by the July 2017 flood overlaid at the actual site in real time. Rather than trying to explain through pictures and high water elevation markers, users can experience the flood at specific locations. We evaluated the efficacy of the AR program for flood risk education by conducting a pre-posttest randomized experiment comparing a group of 10 engineering undergraduates using the AR program to learn about flood risk to a group of 11 using an educational video. We compared the groups on a set of 12 questions about common misconceptions about flood risk using repeated measures factorial ANOVA. We found a significant interaction between pre-posttest and study group, indicating the groups differed in their learning on some questions. We also examined the most frequent misconceptions about flood risk identified by the frequency and type of incorrect response to the question, and the AR group corrected misconceptions about 100-year floods more frequently than the video group. We also administered open-ended questions to the participants and examined their responses using thematic analysis. In our presentation, we will discuss the results of the MANOVA and misconception analysis, and how the open-ended responses inform them. Finally, we will discuss what our findings imply for AR and flood risk education at Indian Creek and beyond.