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Engineering + Ecology + Creativity

Turning Stormwater Challenges Into Community Benefi tsKansas City’s Green Solutions Pilot Project

May 2012

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Blending Sound Engineering with EcologyURS Green Solutions Kansas City has helped clients solve problems by integrating

engineering and ecology for decades and has real world, “dirt under the fi ngernails”

experience in both municipal and industrial applications. Projects have ranged from

bioengineering for streambank restoration to rain gardens for CSO control (below) to

industrial stormwater treatment wetlands.

Streambank restoration, bioengineering

Constructed wetland designed to remove nutrients

Thought Leaders

Engineering + Ecology + Creativity

Urban Raingarden For CSO Controls

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Kansas City’s Green Solutions Pilot ProjectThe Middle Blue River Green Solutions Pilot Project is using green infrastructure to

reduce CSOs while helping revitalize an urban neighborhood. The project is testing

the technical eff ectiveness, constructability, and cost-eff ectiveness of 150 BMPs

retrofi tted into a residential and commercial neighborhood. Construction includes

73 raingardens, 39 bioretention gardens, 36 curb extensions, a bioswale, tree planters,

below-grade storage systems, and over 5,000 feet of porous sidewalk.

Below-grade storage is hidden beneath a rain garden

Porous sidewalk soaks up stormwater and reduces winter icing

Turning Problems into Opportunities: Selecting the Right Solutions for Your Community

Engineering + Ecology + Creativity

Pilot Testing Green Infrastructure for CSO ControlsStormwater BMPs included in this project were designed to intercept stormwater

before it enters the combined sewer (photo at upper right), providing storage and

infi ltration which will reduce runoff to the sewer. BMPs such as porous sidewalk and

select bioretention gardens also include subsurface storage (a total of 370,000 gallons

throughout the project) which will be released back into the sewer at a controlled

rate.

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Kansas City’s Green Solutions Pilot ProjectOver 100 raingardens and bioretention gardens were included in the design

throughout the project area. Distributed detention more closely mimics natural

hydrology, promotes infi ltration, fi lters pollutants, and creates attractive streetscapes

in the process.

Bioretention

Raingarden

Raingardens and Bioretention

Engineering + Ecology + Creativity

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Kansas City’s Green Solutions Pilot ProjectWhen talking to residents at the neighborhood meetings and help during the

design phase, one common concern raised was speeding through neighborhood

streets. The curb extension design was created to integrate stormwater storage with

traffi c calming devices to address specifi c neighborhood needs. Many of the curb

extensions also contain below-grade storage systems for extra detention volume.

Curb extension inlet

Check dam

Curb Extensions

Engineering + Ecology + Creativity

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Kansas City’s Green Solutions Pilot ProjectOver 5,000 feet of porous pavement and pavers have been constructed. Porous

sidewalks and gutters are used in this project both to store and convey water.

Materials being tested include porous concrete, pervious pavers, porous street

gutters, and below-grade storage systems beneath the pavements.

Storage cubes under porous pavers

Porous gutter conveys stormwater

Porous Pavements

Engineering + Ecology + Creativity

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Stormwater Challenge: Combined Sewer Overfl owsKansas City’s Green Solutions Pilot Project is pilot testing multiple BMP types and

design variations to select the most reliable and cost-eff ective approaches for the

Midwest climate, landscape, and soils. The lessons-learned from this project will help

URS select the right approaches for future stormwater retrofi ts.

Plant locations and varieties are a key design detail

Field testing engineered soil for infi ltration rates

Improving BMP Design:Details Improve Performance

Engineering + Ecology + Creativity

Sweating the Details of Green Solutions Design to Improve Performance and Reduce MaintenanceSmall details can make the diff erence between success and failure in stormwater

management BMPs. Preventing erosion, managing sediment, promoting infi ltration

through proper bed preparation (photo at upper right), selecting the right plant for

the right place in a rain garden all improve performance, reduce maintenance, and

save headaches. URS Green Solutions Kansas City has built hundreds of BMPs, made a

few mistakes along the way, and improved designs each step of the way to help make

it easier for the next community to invest in green infrastructure.

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Kansas City’s Green Solutions Pilot ProjectURS Green Solutions, Kansas City is pushing the limits of the green approach to

stormwater management and charting new waters in green design to create a new

generation of cities with sustainable stormwater infrastructure.

Custom inlet and trash basket

Smartdrain underdrain in bioretention bed

Creative Solutions

Engineering + Ecology + Creativity

Address Local ChallengesProject designs were adapted to specifi c project challenges. The photos above

illustrate: A cascading raingarden on sloped streets; a low profi le bioretention

underdrain; a custom inlet to keep debris out of storage chambers, and porous street

gutters and sidewalks.

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Engineering + Ecology + Creativity

URS Corporation8300 College Boulevard, Suite 200Overland Park, Kansas 66210913.344.1000913.344.1011 (fax)