"The Sustainable Practices and Innovative Solutions Employed at the Otter Park Basin will Minimize CSO Events and aid the Resurgence of Native Species.”
GREEN AMBASSADOR URBAN AGRICULTURE PROJECT
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Client / Owner Northeast Ohio Sewer District, Cleveland, OH Distributor Interface H2O Contractor DiGioia Suburban Excavating Engineer Human Nature Inc Architecture & Planning Project Scope
Project Dates Spring 2015 – Fall 2017 |
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Overview
The City of Cleveland, Ohio founded in 1796 by General Moses Cleveland is located at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River along Lake Erie. Cleveland arose as a prominent steel industry city and became a vital link between the Ohio River and Great Lakes. However, decades of industrialization have taken a toll on the city’s decaying sewer system causing increasing pollution concerns, frequent combined sewer overflow (CSO) flooding and chronic property abandonment. As a result, the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie have become affected with billions of gallons of pollution annually, directly impacting humans and wildlife who depend on these waters for drinking and habitation. In response to these chronic issues, the City of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District created Project Clean Lake, to reduce total raw sewage discharges from over 4 billion to nearly 500 million gallons annually over 25 years. The Project Clean Lake umbrella initiative involves numerous capital improvements including large scale wastewater storage tunnels, new separate stormwater sewers and the creation of the Green Ambassador Urban Agriculture Project. This project will repurpose 28 acres of abandoned property as bioretention basins to manage approximately 7 million gallons of stormwater runoff in connection with two NSBB™ BMP’s, reducing CSO volumes by 1.6 million gallons annually. Furthermore, this project utilizes outreach efforts at the Otter Park outdoor classroom to reduce community runoff pollution, particularly from illegal dumping, as well as institute agricultural efforts to not only improve the water quality in Lake Erie, but also to develop vacant property into new wildlife habitat and natural stormwater filtering systems, promoting a healthy local ecosystem for present and future generations. |
Development of the Otter Park bioretention basin in Cleveland, Ohio. This basin will include a bioswale rain garden full of native flora to attract pollinators to the agriculture zone as well as filter runoff of nutrients in connection with the NSBB™.
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Urban Agriculture Initiative Promotes Bioretention Basin
Initial planning for the Green Ambassador Urban Agriculture Project began in the spring of 2015. The project’s central goals, in conjunction with the Burten Bell Carr Community Development Corporation and Rid All Green Partnership, are to redevelop vacant lots into inclusive bioretention basins centered around urban agriculture. Therefore, engineering firm Human Nature Inc, focused on Otter Park as a central hub basin, complete with a bioswale rain garden filled with native flora, two NSBB™ units to filter out nutrients, trash and debris from area runoff, and an outdoor stormwater education classroom. Otter Park was selected as a bioretention and educational development center for its wide open nature, close proximity to the Rid All Green Partnership and accessibility to the new separate storm sewer network. |
Installation of Model 5-10 NSBB™ at Otter Park
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NSBB’s™ Secure Safe Stormwater for Lake Erie Ecosystem
The Nutrient Separating Baffle Box® or NSBB™ is a hydrodynamic separator treatment device that excels in both online sediment capture and nutrient separation without the typical headloss or scouring. Designed and manufactured by Suntree Technologies Inc®, the NSBB™ has lidded screens that will prevent nutrient leaching and static water from turning septic due to prolonged contact with trash or debris. The inclusion of SkimBoss® floating skimmers will further prevent stray debris from passing through the vaults during high flow events. The NSBB™ vaults at Otter Park will work in unison with the new bioswale rain garden to ensure runoff is free of pollutants before draining into the separate storm sewer. Personnel from DiGioia Suburban Excavating and Suntree Technologies were on site at Otter Park and along E 81st St on 10/7/15 to complete the NSBB™ installations. Both were completed successfully without any obstacles, effectively implementing a viable stormwater management system in conjunction with the Otter Park bioswale rain garden. The completion of this system was realized by the partnership of the Northeast Ohio Stormwater District, Suntree Technologies Inc®, Interface H20, Human Nature Inc, DiGioia Suburban Excavating and Lindsay Precast Concrete. The sustainable practices and innovative solutions set forth will assist in minimizing CSO events by contributing only filtered runoff to the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie, resulting in a resurgence of native species such as river otters. By developing Otter Park into a stormwater education center, residents can harness newfound knowledge into minimizing individual pollution, thwart chronic illegal dumping and develop a proactive community culture into improving and preserving the greater Lake Erie ecosystem for all to enjoy. |
Finished installation of the model 4-8 NSBB™ along East 81st Street, just west of Otter Park. The completion of this project will create a dynamic stormwater education and pollution prevention culture within the community, promoting an urban agriculture initiative.
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| Green Ambassador Agriculture Project Profile |
