Blueprint Columbus: An Integrated Plan for

Community Success

Ohio EPA Sustainability ConferenceOctober 3, 2017

PROBLEM: SANITARY SEWER OVERFLOWS (SSOs) • Sanitary sewers much smaller and not designed to

carry rain• Nonetheless, rain can infiltrate thru cracks, leaks,

illicit connections, foundation drains of older homes, etc.

• Original plan was to build overflow tunnels for SSOs which are a fraction of the total volume compared to CSOs– Allow problem (infiltration) to continue– SSO tunnels do little for water quality as they do

not improve stormwater– SSO tunnels do not create local jobs or much

investment in local economy

CONSENT ORDERS

Columbus is under two state consent orders:• 2002 SSO (Sanitary Sewer Overflow) Order

– Requires Columbus to address SSOs by providing adequate system capacity for base and peak flows

– Original plan submitted in 2005– Original plan included two 14-mile long deep

sewer tunnels– “Blueprint Alternative” submitted and approved by

Ohio EPA in 2015• 2004 CSO (Combined Sewer Overflow) Order

– Plan submitted in 2005– OARs tunnel completed July 2017– CSO volumes have reduced dramatically

SOLUTION: BLUEPRINT COLUMBUS

• Instead of building more infrastructure, invest in fixing our infrastructure– Invest in sanitary system, public and private to

keep rainwater out– Focus on residential areas

• Columbus’ rivers are more impacted by stormwater than by SSOs

• Creates opportunity to improve stormwater discharges– Route water away from houses to streets– Treat with green infrastructure before

discharging• Improve rivers, neighborhoods, local economy

THE BLUEPRINT APPROACH

GOAL: Keep rain water out of sanitary sewers

Lateral Lining RoofwaterRedirection

Sump Pumps

Image of Downer’s Grove, IL neighborhood flooding after I/I work

THE BLUEPRINT APPROACH

GOAL: Improve stormwater discharges

Green Infrastructure

TYPES OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE

A COUPLE IMPACT STATS…

Blueprint includes $959 M in renewed infrastructure

Goes towards Lateral Lining

$453 million benefit to

Homeowners

Even though Blueprint is still in the early stages, our documented maintenance data shows:

64% reduction in Water-in-Basements 60% reduction in street flooding

72% reduction in Upflows

Implementation Considerations

DETERMINE YOUR SCOPE

PLAN FOR YOUR FUNDING

1. Start having conversations w/OEPA as early as possible(Planning and Concept Development stage)– The Project Coordination Unit of the Office of Financial Assistance is

the best initial point of contact.– Note: The nomination process occurs annually in August for the

following year’s funding cycle. (In other words we nominated projects this past August for loan awards in 2018).

2. Visit OEPA’s Office of Financial Assistance’s website for info/forms/contacts and webinars for viewing

3. Sign up for OEPA’s Division of Environmental and Financial Assistance’s e-mail notifications to receive notification and instructional information about the programs directly.

IN OUR EXPERIENCE…

• Green Infrastructure bids are coming in close to engineer’s estimates

• Sump pumps have been close to the original planning-level costs ($6500/home)

• Downspout redirection and lateral lining pilot project had to be re-bid– Original estimate 30% higher

• Build in contingency funds in case there are necessary changes in the field.

Design Engineers

Department of Public Service

Public/Private Utilities

Department of Public Safety

Rec & Parks Communication Team City Arborists Workforce

Development

Community Stakeholders Local Academia

Land Redevelopment

OfficeCity Council

GATHER THE RELEVANT PLAYERS

START TALKING TO YOUR COMMUNITY!

Blueprint Hotline (614) 645-1253

Columbus.gov/blueprintblueprint@columbus.gov

@BlueprintCbus

Active CanvassingResident Site Visits

Public MeetingsNeighborhood Newspaper articles

Direct MailingsDirect Email/Text Message

Notifications to ResidentsSocial Media Monitoring

Neighborhood Events Community Presentations

Community Leader Involvement

THE VALUE OF A PUBLIC OUTREACH TEAM

1. Reduce burden on PM’s/design engineers and construction crews

2. Improve efficiency by providing one communication avenue for residents

3. Counter misconceptions & garner community support

4. Cultivate a sense of ownership in the community

• Construction, Installation, Excavation, Inspection

• Support Positions – Office clerks, community relations staff, project managers, etc.

• Products & Materials • Maintenance and Monitoring

START PREPARING YOUR WORKFORCE

Blueprint creates 4.5x more jobs than the traditional “gray” solution.

Significant benefit to local small businesses

“The advantage of Blueprint over a 30-year period is an additional $2.3 billion in regional output, $900 million in earnings, and 700 additional jobs.”

GI WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT: PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP

Sponsor/Owner PrimeProgram Development

Recruitment Training

Economic Impact Analysis

Community Outreach

TrainingRecruitment

LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO CREATE COMMUNITY AMENITIES Vacant Lot Repurposing

Sidewalks/traffic improvements

Public Art Spaces

Community Gardens

Outdoor classrooms/Demonstration Parks

Southside Settlement House Project (Before & After)

Lessons Learned

GI Ranked by Popularity1. Regional Rain Gardens2. Pervious Paving3. ROW Rain Gardens4. “Bump-Outs”

Top Concerns

• Maintenance• Mosquitos• Property Values

1. WE’LL SAVE YOU SOME TIME…

2. OUTREACH IS NEEDED AT EACH PHASE OF THE DESIGN PROCESS.

PROJECT MILESTONE IMPLICATIONS

Mainline Cleaning/Lining “I don’t know what they are doing, but now all my utilities are messed up because of this work.”

Initial Surveying “Why are these people taking photos of my house?”

30% Design “Hey, my neighborhood could really use a sidewalk!”

60% Design “Can you shrink the size of this rain garden so there is spaceto put in a walkway to my house?”

90% Design “When will construction start and what is that going to look like?”

Implementation “Hey, I’m dealing with a lot of construction issues!”

3. BE FLEXIBLE IN YOUR DESIGNBe prepared to make ongoing process improvements and design changes to cultivate community acceptance and buy-in.

4. LEVERAGE OTHER COMMUNITIES’ EXPERIENCES!

• Contact other communities EARLY!

• This is just a taste of the lessons learned – but there are many more!

QUESTIONS?

Learn more at: Columbus.gov/Blueprint

Leslie Westerfelt Blueprint Communicationslrwesterfelt@columbus.gov

(614) 645-5970