APWA Fox Valley Awards HR Green with Environmental Awards
Projects in Elgin and Carpentersville Honored
The Fox Valley Branch of the American Public Works Association (APWA) awarded HR Green, Inc. (HR Green) two 2018 Project of the Year Awards in the Environmental category.
For projects Less than $5 Million, the Village of Carpentersville’s “Carpenter Creek Stream Restoration” project was honored. The City of Elgin’s “Bluff City Combined Sewer Separation” project received the nod in the $5 – $25 Million category.
Village of Carpentersville
The Village of Carpentersville partnered with HR Green to study and remap the existing floodplain and investigate and determine solutions for stream erosion along Carpenter Creek. Pollutants were entering the water, there was severe stream bank erosion near city streets, and there were several properties within the existing floodplain.
HR Green developed an environmental design that improved water quality by relocating the channel, constructing a two-stage floodplain channel and low flow channel meandering. These best management practices were implemented to mimic natural channel behavior and prevent further erosion and channel migration due to erosive forces. The creek was restored using native vegetation to improve filtration of pollutants and provide bank stabilization via the deep rooted vegetation.
The project also received FEMA approval to revise the regulatory floodplain maps, eliminating more than 40 properties from the floodplain thus allowing property owners to no longer carry flood insurance.
City of Elgin
To eliminate monthly sewer overflows and improve impaired waterways downstream, the City of Elgin partnered with HR Green to develop a comprehensive combined sewer separation strategy to meet its Long Term Control Plan overflow objective for the Bluff City Basin.
Approximately 700 residential and commercial buildings are tributary to the current 223 acre combined sewer system in this basin. This required extensive utility and stakeholder coordination, including coordination with the Fox River Water Reclamation District, Union Pacific Railroad, Illinois Department of Transportation, Kane County Forest Preserve District, businesses and residences.
The new sewer separation strategy will be implemented in three phases and achieve near full separation of combined sewer flows. Additionally, the strategy incorporates green infrastructure recommendations within existing alleys to minimize runoff into the separate storm sewers.
Founded in 1913, HR Green has offices in Chicagoland and throughout the United States. HR Green provides engineering, technical, and management services to clients in the following markets: Transportation, Water, Governmental Services, Land Development, Environmental, and Construction.
