Beaver Creek CSO Abatement and Flood Mitigation Program
Beaver Creek District, the largest sewershed within the City of Albany’s combined collection system, discharges over 530 million gallons of combined sewer overflows (CSOs) annually to the Hudson River. Furthermore, the City of Albany experiences flash flooding within several flood zones, along with system surcharging issues throughout the sewershed, causing flood damage to public and private properties and creating potential health hazards. The Albany Water Board advanced the project in partnership with CHA and OptiRTC, Inc. (Opti) to address the project’s unique challenges within the urban CSO environment.
The Albany Water Board has embraced a progressive approach that merges innovative technology with traditional grey strategies and green infrastructure practices. At the heart of the solution is a smart infrastructure network that uses a continuous monitoring and adaptive control (CMAC) platform to proactively predict and manage wet weather flows—creating smart infrastructure and building operational intelligence.
The project’s flow management practices will serve to re-establish natural floodplain storage (which previously existed along Beaver Creek) to address challenges within the urban CSO environment to abate street flooding, sewage backups into building basements, and sanitary sewer surface discharges to improve the City’s infrastructure and support the sustainability of important City neighborhoods.
By reducing bacteria levels and reducing CSOs, this project supports sustainability initiatives set forth in the Hudson River Estuary Action Plan to support improved public access and recreation uses, as well as the goals and objectives defined within the approved Albany Pool CSO Long Term Control Plan to further reduce CSO discharges to receiving waters in the Capital District. Furthermore, improvements to the water quality of the Hudson River support revitalization efforts to “re-connect communities to the river,” as well as important regional economic investment/development efforts along the Hudson River corridor.
The infrastructure improvements addressed by this project will improve quality of life and community health for those residents, helping to relieve barriers to development and economic opportunity. The project also addresses the CREDC Strategic Plan overarching goals to: “Build a Superhighway” (invest in 21st century infrastructure), “Bring Cities to Life” (including waterfront revitalization), and “Showcase Our Beauty” (including protection and promotion of the region’s natural assets).
Awards:
- 2019 ACEC New York Engineering Excellence Awards – Platinum Award (Water and Storm Water Category)
- 2019 IDC Smart Cities North America Awards (Smart Water Category)
- 2018 APWA New York Capital Branch – Project of the Year Award ($5 to $25 Million Category)
Project Services:
- Full Design Services
- Adaptation and Integration of the CMAC Platform
- Definition of the Decision Logic Matrix
- Construction Administration and Support