New stormwater infrastructure installed to help control ponding and flooding in Albuquerque

Yahoo

19 hours ago

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – New green stormwater infrastructure was recently installed at Jefferson St. and Central Ave. with a goal to capture and reuse stormwater. This was a project designed by the City of Albuquerque, led by SIG-NAL, and funded by Ciudad. Not only do these structures help prevent ponding and flooding in major streets, but they also water plants from within to cut back on city irrigation. This project was completed the last week of July and has been through one big storm so far.
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'At this location during storms, there's a lot of ponding that happens on the streets,' SIG-NAL Resilient Cities Program Manager Shelby Stimson said. 'So in green stormwater infrastructure projects, stormwater can be used to support streetside landscapes, trees, and native plants. So this site has curb cuts where the stormwater is able to enter the site through a series of swales and basins so the stormwater can spread out and sink down into the soil and support these trees.'
SIG-NAL managed the project. Program manager Shelby Stimson said there was a storm the weekend after this was installed, and it functioned as anticipated. 'We have the curb cuts into a sediment trap that allows the sediment and debris to drop out and slows the water down,' Stimson said. 'The water spills over into the basins and swales. When the feature is full of water, there's an overflow here so the water can continue down.'
During the construction, they removed the rock and sculpted the landscape to slow the water down and sink it lower. They added mulch, hand-placed the cobbles, swales, and basins to keep everything in place. Lastly, they added native plants and replaced a dying tree. 'You can see the basins and swales and where the water is going to enter and where it'll sink into the soil,' Stimson said.
Stimson also mentioned that by saving water in any way we can, we're conserving what we currently have. 'In a desert city like Albuquerque, we don't have a lot of water to spare,' Stimson said. 'So if we want to grow our urban canopy, create vibrant walkable shaded neighborhoods and business districts, stormwater can help us grow those trees and still conserve our drinking water.'
The Cuidad Soil and Water Conservation District funded the project. They received a grant from the New Mexico Forestry Division. They then extended that grant to SIG-NAL, which had a goal to improve stormwater using green spaces and urban landscaping.
'We did a survey to see where all the water would flow, and then how to create,' Ciudad Soil & Water Conservation District Manager Joshua O'Halloran said. 'In one area, we had to do an Eddie basin, and then the other is a pass through, where the water will infiltrate through. But if it gets too high, it'll pass through and continue through the bump out.'
This was a pilot project. There are already two more in the planning stages. One in the McDuffie Twin Parks neighborhood on Morningside Avenue. The other is in the Nob Hill neighborhood on Silver Street. 'They're going to be bigger, significantly bigger,' Albuquerque City Sustainability Officer Ann Simon said. 'This one was a very small, two small features.'
The new Morningside Avenue project is scheduled to be constructed and finished by the end of the year. The other one on Silver Street should be done next fall. Bernalillo County has a multitude of different stormwater projects, which can be viewed here.
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