Page 17 - Jan-Feb 2021 Vol 38 No 6
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be beneficial in battling egregious and chronic sewer Urban Stormwater Design from page 15
system overflows, the public was not convinced that the
locations were appropriate. As the City began its first West Walnut Corridor Challenges
steps of purchasing property to install the above ground The streetscape aspect of the project is meant to link downtown and
infrastructure and equalization stations, it was met with
resistance from neighboring property owners. East Tennessee State University. The main stormwater problem in this
Better Methods of Explaining Project Benefits and Impacts corridor is that water becomes trapped in the corridor as Brush Creek
rises. Finding the most appropriate solution for this project had to
The City determined it needed to do a better job consider many challenges, including:
at explaining the project’s benefits and impacts on • A large and steep impervious drainage basin immediately adjacent
neighboring properties. Through the use of advanced-
drone photography; and scaled and live animation, they to the project
were able to build a case that live video and story boards • Little topographic relief over the whole project
couldn’t put together. • Undersized existing connections to the outlet creek, with restricting
Upon receiving buy-in from the community and its flap-controlled conveyance
elected officials, the project moved on to design and • Norfolk Southern mainline railroad tracks between the project and
construction phases. Drones on the construction sites
assisted with pre-construction site overview, mapping, the outlet creek
surveying, measuring, and documenting progress through • Shallow rock
aerial pictures and videos. • Few appropriate locations for the construction of new conveyance
Unfortunately, the majority of people will never pipes
even know what is underground or why something is • A desire to maximize as much developable real estate as possible
constructed above ground. It’s a tall task to communicate
how utilities work and the workings behind the scenes. Through in-depth modeling and workshops with the city and
Sometimes then, the most opportune time is exactly when stakeholders, a balance of storage and conveyance was developed
a property owner is the least understanding. to tackle the challenges, and is included in the overall West Walnut
Street project. Johnson City has identified additional property that
Jacobs Engineering has a full line of creative visual will become a public use space, while providing 12 acre-feet of storage
media solutions that can be a catalyst to help leaders capacity during large rain events.
gain momentum during strained public relations
situations, from wastewater to vertical construction, from The orange line is the approximate dividing line where water will be
underground construction to roads, and a host of other routed either to the west to be stored until the flap gate allows water
type projects. to exit into Brush Creek, or to the east where it will enter Brush Creek
through two new 42” stormwater lines.
Effects of Stormwater Improvements
During the initial public hearings early in the stormwater master
planning process, a community member said, “Tearing down historic
buildings just to create a big hole for water will do nothing to assist
in the revitalization of downtown.” The successes of the stormwater
planning and initial projects of the historic downtown community
have proven the opposite to be true.
Downtown community members and entrepreneurs have rallied
around the city’s investment. Restaurants, breweries, retail businesses,
and residences now dot the downtown landscape. Every building
in downtown is being renovated or has plans for renovations on
file. As Johnson City continues to plan and complete each project,
momentum also increases for the historic downtown community, the
University, and the greater Johnson City area. When the community,
its representatives, and its public service staff align their goals, they
are working together to build a stronger, happier, community.
View online at tnpublicworks.com 17
