The document provides an overview of the Spring Lake Park project in Omaha, Nebraska, which utilized green infrastructure to manage stormwater as part of the city's Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) program. It discusses: 1) The challenges facing Omaha in meeting Clean Water Act requirements while balancing regulatory compliance, affordability, and community acceptance. 2) How the project at Spring Lake Park evolved from an initial gray infrastructure plan of installing storm pipes, to a final design utilizing 20 green infrastructure elements like bioswales and wetlands. 3) The benefits of the green infrastructure approach, which saved $5 million compared to the initial gray plan.

1. SPRING LAKE PARK:
A Case Study for Green Infrastructure & LID

2. Jim Theiler
James.Theiler@cityofomaha.org
City of Omaha
Environmental Services Manager
Omaha CSO Program & Spring Lake Park
An example of what is possible…

3. Challenges Facing Omaha
 Meet the increasing
requirements of the Federal
Clean Water Act
 Balancing the following
needs:
 Regulatory compliance
 Economic affordability
 Community acceptance
Economic
Affordability
Community
Acceptance
Regulatory
Compliance
CSO
Solutions

4. CSO is not a sewer separation program,
it is not the City’s sewer overhaul program
*When Omaha is ‘done’ separating the sewers as a part of CSO, it
will have separated less than 20% of is combined sewer system*

5. CSO is a Public Health Program that
must meet federal law that requires
us to reduce the amount of human
sewage and disease causing
bacteria that enter the rivers and
streams.

6. Evolution of the CSO Program
 2009 - Original CSO LTCP submitted to NDEQ
 2014 - Revised CSO LTCP submitted
 Both LTCPs generally rely on ‘gray infrastructure’
 Need to manage 8 billion gallons of CSO annually
 Assumed there was little “green” in the original LTCP…

7. Evolution of the CSO Program
 Green Infrastructure was part of the program from
the start... may not have called it “green”
 Use water as a resource instead of a waste product
 Each capital project explores GI opportunities
 Committed to working with private entities & all City
Departments, including Parks Department
 Parks in Omaha provide a unique opportunity for GI,
projects so far include:

8. CSO GI in Omaha Parks
A great collaboration…
 Elmwood Park - 2012
 Spring Lake Park - 2016
 Adams Park - 2016
 Field Club Trail, Vinton-2016
 Albright Park (Gilmore) -
Construction
 Fontanelle Park – Just started
 Hanscom Park – 90% design
 Hitchcock Park –95% design
 Others being explored
Non-park GI
 Country Club - 2013
 SOIA Lift Station – 2014
 24th Street - 2015

9. Elmwood Park
29 acres of Aksarben neighborhood routed
through park w/7 weirs, bioswale & bioretention

10. Adams Park Wetlands
Large scale GI taking on 277 acres of urban
runoff with 77 acre-feet of detention volue

11. Fontanelle Park
Construction started March 2017; utilizing
former golf course & existing lagoon

12. Hanscom Park
Oldest Omaha park; improving existing pond
& embracing water through the park

13. Welcome to
Spring Lake Park!

14. Initial Grey Solution vs Final GI Plan
 Storm pipe through park
vs 20 GI elements
 Multiple benefits w/GI

15. Overview of Spring Lake Park

16. Overview of Spring Lake Park
2 phases to the project
JohnFKennedyExpy

17. Funding
 Saved approx. $5 million by utilizing GI
 Grants from Nebraska Environmental Trust & Nebraska
Game and Parks commission totaled $1.3 million
 Overall, the project cost the City $10.4 million dollars,
with funding paid for from the Sewer Revenue Fund

18. Why this project…
 This was not the City’s idea, this was the neighborhood’s
idea.
 My boss at the time, Marty Grate, said that the City
needed a ‘signature project’ that helped give back to
the community something tangible, to help them see
what they are paying for
 The Public Works Department asked permission from the
Parks Department to use Spring Lake as that project.

19. Janet Bonet
South Omaha Resident
Spring Lake Park Team
A Little History and
Residents Perspective

20. Spring Lake
Park Team
President Janet Bonet
Vice President Jason Rose
Secretary John Bonet
Treasurer Callyann Casteel
Board Members
James Bonet
Jean Incontro
Gary Hansum

21. Keeping Nature in the City

22. Spring Lake Neighborhood
Spring Lake
School
Henry Doorly Zoo
Rosenblatt
Stadium
Spring Lake
Golf Course
South High School
Suicide Hill /
Baseball Field
County Treasurer
Office
Current Swimming
Pool
Old Ball field
1930’s Rubble
Fill
Small Dam

23. Tree Frog aka Cricket Frog

25. Dragonfly Swarm August 2010

26. Sunflower and Honey Bee

27. Deer

28. Blue Grosbeak
Chipping Sparrow

29. Motivation for a community
to take action

30. The Spark
1994 Dedication of new playground

31. 1960’s Landfill Site part of the park
The playground,
parking, and
picnic shelter
(1994) are in the
background.
The “dead spot”,
noticed in 1995,
is in the
foreground.
150 ppm salt

32. Somebody
should
do
something

33. Heritage

35.  1994 – SLPT BLOSSOMS DRIVES EFFORT TO “PUT
THE LAKE BACK IN SPRING LAKE PARK”
 1995 – FEDERAL MANDATE SEWER SEPARATION
 1999 – SLPT & KSU COMMUNITY VISIONING
 2000 – COMPLIANCE ENFORCEMENT NOTICE
 2001 – SLPT CONCEPT PRESENTED TO MAYOR
 2002 – OMAHA GEARS UP FOR CSO
PROGRAM
 2005 – SLPT AMONG COMMUNITY
STAKEHOLDERS ON CSO STEERING COMMITTEE
Moving toward doing something

36. Why do it? It has been said:
 It’ll never happen, City does not care about
South O
 It’s just a dump anyway, just fill it in
 I’ll be dead before those trees make shade
 I’m leaving the neighborhood why should I care
 The city doesn’t care about our parks why
should I
 The kids today will just mess it up so why try
 It’ll cost too much
 Nobody will appreciate all that work
 Who the heck cares
 Who is going to take care of it when it’s done

37. Positive Partnerships
 Broader-than-usual
 Out-of-the-box
 Creative
 Project-specific
 Mutually beneficial
 Truly collaborative
 Uniquely innovative
 Community inclusive
In order to be poised to
seize the opportunities
presented by changes in
the broader trends:
 Community needs/wants
 Government
mandates/budgets
 NGO funding shifts
 Social/environmental
conditions
 Engineering & design
innovations
 Funding sources

38.  Keep Omaha Beautiful
 Douglas County Health Dept
 Nebraska Dept Environmental Quality
 Papio Missouri Natural Resources District
 City Depts. – Parks, Planning, Public Works
 Jacobson Helgoth Consultants / Tetra
Tech
 Nebraska Wildlife Federation
 Audubon Society & Sierra Club
 Groundwater Guardian Program
 Society for Ecological Restoration
 Nebraska Statewide Arboretum
 Joslyn Institute for Sustainable
Communities
 EPA TOSC / Kansas State Univ
 UNL Water Resources Program
 KSU Urban Design in School of
Architecture
 National Parks Service
 Center for Health, Environment & Justice
Advisory Team & Expert Resources

39. The Other Kind of Experts
 Neighbors –
residents and
businesses
 History Sources
 Youth / Schools
 Community
Groups
 Potential Park
Visitors
39
SLNA Visioning Session with KSU Team

40. Inclusive
40

41. The condition of
our parks says
a lot about our
city, its
government,
and its people.

42. Environmental Health Reflects and
Impacts Community Health

44. Small seep area NW of pond,
south of F Street --- 1999

46. SLPT’s Plan October 2001
at The Mayor’s Office

48. 2014 - looking north from 14th & J 48

49. Summer 2015, 14th & J St. No outlet

50. Old Dam - South of F Street - 2000 with
KSU Urban Design Class
.

51. Spring below
Swimming Pool
road in 2000
Is now
underwater
feeding the Lake

52. Of Miracles and Mandates:
Maximizing Opportunities for Partnership Building
By Janet Bonet
Neighborhood Activist
South Omaha, Nebraska
NUSA
Houston, TX
May 22, 2015
EPA – Region 7
Technical Outreach
Services to Communities at
Kansas State University

53. CSO!

54. CSO’s
Community
Liaison
Another rare bird

55. Keep Partners and Public Informed and
Involved

56. Spring 2016 Public Tour

57. Big Muddy Workshop 2015 Renderings of
Lake Concept

58. Summer 2016

60. Annual Neighborhood Clean-up 2015

61. 2016 Annual Park Spring Clean Up
The year of
Garbage,
Goats
&
Guns

63. Thank you!

64. Pat Slaven, PLA, ASLA
City of Omaha
Park Planner
Omaha Parks and the CSO Program
Project Role:
Department Liaison
between the Parks Department
and everyone else

65. Return the “lake” to Spring Lake Park
Park Goals: Respect History of the Park

66. Attract more and a greater
diversity of wildlife
Park Goals: Wildlife Habitat

67. Provide more and varied
recreation opportunities in the Park
Park Goals: Recreation

68. Don’t increase maintenance for park
maintenance and golf course staff
Park Goals: Low Maintenance

69. Making sure we’re all swimming
in the same direction
Parks and the Project Team
Park Planner Responsibilities on CSO Projects:
 Make sure everyone understands Parks Department goals for the project
 Attend regular meetings with Public Works, consultants, project
management team
 Attend onsite meetings to discuss issues and solutions
 Review and comment on progress plans in terms of park goals
 Enforce Parks Dept. tree mitigation requirements
 Coordinate with other park entities, i.e. golf course staff, park
maintenance staff, etc. and communicate their concerns to the project
team

70. Park Tree Mitigation – Individual Trees

71. (#sq ft canopy/500) x 2
Mitigation – Continuous Canopy
with Understory

72.  Will create maintenance nightmare, wet areas
 Will create places to lose balls, slowing down play
 Will interfere with play in general
Golf Courses and Green Infrastructure

73.  G.I. Team met onsite Bob and golf course staff
 Discussed concerns
 Developed design to address concerns
Golf Courses and Green Infrastructure

74.  Parks to mow, pick up trash
 Public Works to hire or contract out for special
crews to maintain green infrastructure components
Park Maintenance

75. Educational Signage
 Describes history of the spring lake, the CSO project lake
reconstruction and the benefits of putting the lake back
into Spring Lake Park.
 Bilingual text makes sign accessible to all citizens

76. Speakers discuss the key design
components of the project

77. Emily M. Holtzclaw, PE
CH2M
Senior Project Manager
Permits and Compliance

78. Permitting
 USACE 404 NW 27
 Solid Waste Removal
 Lead in Soils
 Low Hazard Dam
 408 Levee Permit
 Dewatering
 PCSWMP
 NPDES CSW/Grading

79. Compliance Highlights
 Regulatory Coordination
 Early (Jurisdiction)
 Consistent
 Onsite Mitigation
 Minimize Impacts
 Maintaining Seeps
 Design Tweaks
 Annual Monitoring
 Breach Zone
 2017 NW permits

80. Hydrology & Hydraulic Design
Rocky J Keehn, PE
SEH
Senior Water Resources Engineer
Project Role:
Lead Water Resources Engineer
for Consultant Team

81. The Modeling Challenge
Required to Design for:
 Green Infrastructure,
 10-year,
 100-year,
 Dam Break – PMP and
 natural seepage flows

82. Water Quality -Cascading Planes
Lots of models
use this concept.
Aids in showing
Note: areas broken into direct
impervious and indirect (includes
pervious). For indirect pervious CN
was from 74 in urban yard areas and
61 in undisturbed areas
HydroCAD

83. Water Quality – First Flush Systems
HydroCAD
Inlet
1st Flush
Large
Flows
1st Flush Pond
Emergency Outlet Natural Downstream Pond
Primary Outlet

84. Water Quality – Manhole Spillway
HydroCAD
Inlet
1st Flush
Large
Flows
1st Flush Pond
Emergency Outlet Natural
Spillway
Primary Outlet Infiltration
Pond
Downstream,
no pipes

85. New Conveyance Channel
HydroCAD
100yr – cross entire valley
10yr – about 20
feet wide
Vegetated
About 1 foot
incised

86. Detention to protect channel
#5 Primary
outlet to
channel #4 -Gate Control to
adjust flows from
pond
HydroCAD
#2 - Location Primary
Overflow -Armored
#3 - Location
Emergency Overflow –
Access Road
#1 Pond
outlet to Gate
Control MH
Detention Pond

87. Constructed Wetland – final protection
Multiple depths…various vegetation
Stop Logs Control water elevation which
allow “tweaking” to make sure vegetation
as planned is established
Stop Logs
HydroCAD
7 area contribution to wetland

88. Extend Dry Basin
Outlet
Spring Flow
Lake Drawdown pipe
MH with gate
Lake control
structure, main
overflow
 Emergency “F” Street dam overflow.
Lake Outlet
Complex Outlet Under “F” Street
Extend Dry Basin
Overflow
Dam Design Floods all way up north valley, 100
year all under water including wetland, 10-year
trail just under water

89. Final Hydraulic Structures
South Side “F” Street
North Side “F” Street

90. Value of modeling…something not
working…design or construction
related?
Emergency overflow,
showing signs of flow
and erosion
Primary overflow
Cone Structure
Emergency overflow
designed for 10-year.
Primary: 1070.71,
Emergency 1071.50,
10-year 1071.24.
Road OK
Emergency overlow
working too often.
Check.
As-built Prim: 1071.24,
10-year now 1071.58
Overtops road!
Model explains what
might be the
problem...shows a
very sensitive design.

91. Treatment Train..
SAFL Baffle in
residential
neighborhood
First Flush
Diversion Manhole
Extended Dry
Detention
Basin
Dry Detention
Facility
Meandering
Channel with
Boulder Drops
Constructed
Wetland
Flat
Sloped
Channel
Spring
Lake
Combined
Pipe now
Storm Pipe
Missouri
River

92. Conveyance Train
Dry Detention
Pond and
gated outlet
pipe
Meandering
Channel with
Boulder
Drops
Constructed
Wetland and
outlet pipe
under trail to
Lake
Energy
Dissipation
Structure to
“Natural”
Channel
Spring
Lake and
pipe
under “F”
Street
Low flow
culvert and
“Texas
Crossing”
to wetland
Roof/impervious
surface near
houses
Though the
yards
Down the
Street
Storm pipes
through the
park

93. Replace pipes (grey) with surface
flow (green) to reduce project cost
Dry Detention
Pond and
gated outlet
pipe
Meandering
Channel with
Boulder
Drops
Constructed
Wetland and
outlet pipe
under trail to
Lake
Energy
Dissipation
Structure to
“Natural”
Channel
Spring
Lake and
pipe
under “F”
Street
Low flow
culvert and
“Texas
Crossing”
to wetland
Green infrastructure reduced cost by $5 million

94. Questions . . .
Or time for a break!