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The Community Benefits
In addressing the CSO problem, the City also has the opportunity to provide other benefits – improvements to streets, landscaping, parks as well as utility improvements are all possible benefits. Incorporating green solutions is also part of the city’s plan. • Addressing “Sewer Back-up” Problems –
In conjunction with the evaluation of the system for CSO controls,
the sewer system will be evaluated for prevention of sewer back-ups
into homes and businesses. • Potential for Community Benefits – Depending on the alternatives selected for improvements to the sewer system, opportunities for improvements to streets, landscaping, parks, and other utilities (water, gas, electrical, etc.) may be considered for inclusion during construction. • Community Redevelopment – Where redevelopment is planned, coordination with sewer system improvements can provide opportunities for economies of scale and other efficiencies in construction of both projects.
What are "Green Solutions"?
If you’re someone who is wondering what everyone is talking about when they use the term “Green Solutions,” we’ve provided you a series of questions and answers that you should find helpful. Green Solutions is really a new approach to stormwater management that can be cost-effective, sustainable, and environmentally friendly. The approach involves the use of natural systems, or engineered systems in a manner that mimics natural landscapes. The purpose is to capture, cleanse and reduce stormwater runoff using plants, soils and microbes. They are not meant to address flooding concerns. Examples are detention or retention ponds, wetlands. Other possible green solutions, primarily found on private property are rain gardens, porous pavements, and green roofs.
The major direct benefit of the implementation Green Solutions is a reduction of pollutants entering our streams, reduction in downstream flows, and improved aesthetics. Specifically: Reduction in Pollutant Loadings: Green Solutions enhance the ability to protect surface and ground water quality and preserve the physical integrity of receiving streams. Several studies have been conducted to analyze the effectiveness of various green practices based on hydrology and pollutant removal capabilities. Generally, these practices are good for both pollutant removal and runoff volume reduction. Results from studies indicate that removal efficiencies were quite good for sediment, metals, nutrients, oil and grease, and some practices have potential to remove bacteria from runoff. However, it should be noted that removal data is limited and variable. Using a Green Solutions approach in smaller drainage areas can potentially make it easier to identify and treat water quality problems at the source on a smaller scale, thus reducing the total pollutant loadings in stormwater runoff in a watershed. These practices enhance the watershed approach by going beyond reducing chemical contamination of water to find creative ways to enhance the overall health of a watershed. Reduction in Downstream Flows: Green Solutions can help preserve and restore the hydrologic functions of watersheds. These practices are stormwater management approaches that manage smaller rainfall events at the source using a variety of structural and nonstructural controls. The main goal of green practices is to mimic a site’s predevelopment hydrology by using design techniques that infiltrate, filter, store, evaporate, and detain runoff close to its source. This in turn reduces the downstream flows which reduces erosion of the stream channel.
Improved Aesthetics: Green Solutions are often more aesthetically pleasing than traditional, structural storm-water conveyance systems if implemented with planning and forethought. These controls can be integrated into multifunctional landscape features where runoff can be managed and controlled at the source. Native plants such as shrubs, grass, herbs, wildflowers, and other plants can be used, creating an aesthetically pleasing landscape. Green Solutions can also provide a number of other environmental benefits. For example, it can reduce reliance on traditional stormwater flood control structures that are expensive to build, operate and maintain. In addition, Green Solutions can also protect drinking water supplies, mitigate the impact of urban heat islands, reduce energy demands, and protect highly valued natural habitats, forests, and agricultural lands. Many of the technologies that are considered Green Solutions are not new and may be used in Omaha to control stormwater runoff quality after an evaluation of what works best for our local environment. For the CSO program, Green Solutions that result in the retention or detention of stormwater can have a positive effect on the program. Stormwater that can be retained or detained until the sewer system can handle the flows, may result in smaller overflows or a lesser number in some areas. However, it is important to remember that Green Solutions are designed to address the average size storm, not the large ones that define the sizing of the CSO Controls. Generally, Green Solutions should be viewed as an enhancement to CSO controls as opposed to an alternative.
What are some "Green Solutions" that I
could do at my home?
Rain Gardens Rain Barrels Disconnection of Roof Drains and Impervious Areas Is it more expensive to choose "Green Solutions"? It depends. Purchase of a rain barrel can be under $100 with the cost of the construction of a large detention basin and its maintenance can total millions of dollars. There are various factors influence the “cost” of Green Solutions. These are the cost of construction, the operation and maintenance, of the structure, whether the property is ownership, and the replacement of the structure. Still, a recent study by the USEPA concluded that Green Solutions in new, low-impact developments can in many cases be done less expensively than with conventional engineered drainage systems. Usually, the major cost of construction can be the purchase of the land. Concerning the CSO program, the City is currently looking at incorporation of possible Green Solutions in its LTCP in addition to the structural controls, i.e. tunnels. The tight clay soils and the intense thunderstorms that frequently occur in the Omaha area make it challenging to design cost effective Green Solution that provide overflow control equivalent to structural or Gray Solutions. In a few cases Green Solutions may allow for downsizing of structural CSO controls, but in most cases they will provide reductions in pollutant concentrations and other community benefits without significantly reducing overflow volumes.
Where are Green Solutions being incorporated into the City's CSO program? The City is currently under a process to evaluate and determine possible locations for regional Green Solutions within the combined sewer area, those that could be built on City owned land. New sites are currently under evaluation. As part of the City's efforts, its team of basin consultants will review City owned properties where Green Solutions can be implemented. The evaluation from the consultants is due later this year. However, it should be noted that the City has been implementing Green Solutions for several years. The following Table lists the location and type of the currently in place Green Solutions. Existing City Stormwater Structural Controls in the Combined Sewer Area
The effect of these Green Solutions has already been factored into the CSO controls.
What has the City been doing to incorporate Green Solutions into all their public works plans? The City, as a member of the Papillion Creek Watershed Partnership, a consortium representing nine communities, two counties, and a natural resource district, developed six polices that addressed water quality and water quantity management issues. The policies were adopted to establish the new Stormwater Element of the City's Master Plan in the summer of 2006. The policies cover stormwater management financing, peak flow reduction, pollution control, landscape preservation, restoration and conservation, erosion and sediment control, and flood plain management. The first four policies either directly or indirectly promote Green Solutions. The first and second policies, stormwater management financing and peak flow reduction, provide a regional approach and a dedicated and sustainable funding mechanism to construct capital projects that provides for improved water quality and peak flow reduction through the development of a Watershed Drainage Plan. A Conceptual Drainage Plan was developed shortly after the policies were drafted and the plan identified regional detention and retention sites. However, given the increasing level of interest in sustainable measures, the evolving plan is currently being refined to include Green Solutions for stormwater management and promote additional concept for "smart growth." Smart growth enables communities to pursue open space protection and development objectives through the clustering of development activity away from sensitive natural areas. The third policy, pollution control, promotes Green Solutions to achieve water quality goals. Protecting surface and ground water from sedimentation, nutrient, and chemical contamination encourages the uses of best management practices (BMPs) to reduce pollution from contributing sources including, but not limited to, agricultural sources and combined sewer overflows. Green Solutions under this policy may include restricting fertilizer use, constructing water quality basins, and promoting no-till farming practices. The fourth policy, landscape preservation, restoration, and conservation, encourages the use of conservation design practices low impact development (LID) to preserve natural features, benefit water quality and minimize the runoff associated with development. This policy was recently strengthen by a new ordinance requiring LID techniques to be used in all new subdivisons and establishing BMP standards for both development and revelopment. From the onset of the City's sewer separation program, the City (where feasible) has been incorporating Green Solutions to manage water quantity and more recently water quality into these projects. Also, as the City constructs the various CSO controls outlined in their LTCP, it would include appropriate Green Solutions. In addition to the existing Green Solutions, the City has strived to incorporate Green Solutions into City projects. This has included:
What does sustainability mean to the CSO Control Program? Long-term perspective –
meet today’s needs as well as the needs of generations to
come. Responsive to community’s non-monetary
criteria – minimizing community disruption, opportunities
for community enhancements, compatibility with the community. 1) Community Acceptance and Social Progress The solutions in the center represent our ability to meet the needs today without compromising future generations. These considerations make our decisions sustainable.
Sustainability Vision Statement The City of Omaha CSO Control Program will apply
the principles of sustainability in a fiscally responsible manner
to add meaningful and lasting social, environmental, and economic
benefits to the implementation of the Long Term Control Plan and
serve as a model for the application of sustainability in the design,
construction and operation of infrastructure.
A critical aspect for determining the solutions regarding the combined sewer overflow in Omaha is community acceptance. Leading the public involvement process was the Community Basin Panel, made up of community leaders and appointed by the Mayor. Basin Advisory Panel members are representatives of neighborhoods,
businesses and organizations located in their geographic area. Together,
these teams developed eight non-monetary community criteria, which
were used in determining the best and most cost effective solutions.
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