Acre Study
Director, Water Resources:
Tina Swiezy, PE
The Project
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) selected RK&K to prepare a stormwater management master planning, one of the first non-municipal entities in the state to develop its own NPDES stormwater program. This project demonstrated comprehensive advanced planning for stormwater quality and infrastructure management for the campus. The long-term infrastructure planning allowed the University to consider the capital program needs over a multi-decade horizon that included planning for routine infrastructure maintenance and issues of deferred maintenance. Through the combination of long- and short-term planning, UNC can manage its infrastructure to protect public safety and be fiscally responsible to the taxpayers of the State.
RK&K provided surveying, GIS, and engineering services for the 600-acre campus-wide study that completed an inventory of existing storm drainage systems; identified and prioritized capital improvement projects required throughout the system; and prepared a system maintenance program, watershed modeling, monitoring protocols, and regulatory program implementation and compliance. After an extensive review of the existing stormwater geo-database, it was evident new design was needed to accomplish the goals of the stormwater master plan. RK&K developed the new design of the database to provide maximum efficiency and effectiveness while meeting specific functional goals of the University. RK&K performed the conversion, which utilized several tools and utilities developed to speed the conversion, minimizing the University’s downtime.
This project included extensive fieldwork associated with inventory data collection, condition assessment of stormwater pipes greater than 12-inches in diameter via CCTV, BMP and infrastructure inspection. In addition, a GIS-enabled SWMM model was developed based on the GIS infrastructure inventory to evaluate the stormwater system capacity for over 400 acres of campus.
The field data collection process consisted of several distinct efforts, including:
- Stormwater geodatabase design
- Stormwater geodatabase documentation
- Development of GIS editing tools
- Stormwater geodatabase QA/QC
- Plan room research and database updates
- Stormwater inventory and condition assessment
- Mainline stormwater condition inspection
- Development of a stormwater CIP
- Surveying stormwater infrastructure
- CCTV of storm draining infrastructure
- Programmatic maintenance recommendations
- Fiscal planning recommendations
UNC’s Director of Energy Services, Ray DuBose, credited RK&K with having “played a vital role” in supporting their stormwater program. RK&K’s project management kept the project focused on its goals, within budget, and always clearly communicating. The RK&K team demonstrated their ability to respond to changing University needs, bringing their technical knowledge in evaluating the function of existing BMPs and storm drain pipes, hydraulic modeling, and repair and design repair and replacement projects. Providing low-cost design solutions to unexpected problems and sharing “lessons learned” on the project’s mapping and pipe evaluation processes, suggesting ways to significantly improve future projects exemplify the value of the RK&K team.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) selected RK&K to prepare a stormwater management master planning, one of the first non-municipal entities in the state to develop its own NPDES stormwater program. This project demonstrated comprehensive advanced planning for stormwater quality and infrastructure management for the campus. The long-term infrastructure planning allowed the University to consider the capital program needs over a multi-decade horizon that included planning for routine infrastructure maintenance and issues of deferred maintenance. Through the combination of long- and short-term planning, UNC can manage its infrastructure to protect public safety and be fiscally responsible to the taxpayers of the State.
RK&K provided surveying, GIS, and engineering services for the 600-acre campus-wide study that completed an inventory of existing storm drainage systems; identified and prioritized capital improvement projects required throughout the system; and prepared a system maintenance program, watershed modeling, monitoring protocols, and regulatory program implementation and compliance. After an extensive review of the existing stormwater geo-database, it was evident new design was needed to accomplish the goals of the stormwater master plan. RK&K developed the new design of the database to provide maximum efficiency and effectiveness while meeting specific functional goals of the University. RK&K performed the conversion, which utilized several tools and utilities developed to speed the conversion, minimizing the University’s downtime.
This project included extensive fieldwork associated with inventory data collection, condition assessment of stormwater pipes greater than 12-inches in diameter via CCTV, BMP and infrastructure inspection. In addition, a GIS-enabled SWMM model was developed based on the GIS infrastructure inventory to evaluate the stormwater system capacity for over 400 acres of campus.
The field data collection process consisted of several distinct efforts, including:
- Stormwater geodatabase design
- Stormwater geodatabase documentation
- Development of GIS editing tools
- Stormwater geodatabase QA/QC
- Plan room research and database updates
- Stormwater inventory and condition assessment
- Mainline stormwater condition inspection
- Development of a stormwater CIP
- Surveying stormwater infrastructure
- CCTV of storm draining infrastructure
- Programmatic maintenance recommendations
- Fiscal planning recommendations
UNC’s Director of Energy Services, Ray DuBose, credited RK&K with having “played a vital role” in supporting their stormwater program. RK&K’s project management kept the project focused on its goals, within budget, and always clearly communicating. The RK&K team demonstrated their ability to respond to changing University needs, bringing their technical knowledge in evaluating the function of existing BMPs and storm drain pipes, hydraulic modeling, and repair and design repair and replacement projects. Providing low-cost design solutions to unexpected problems and sharing “lessons learned” on the project’s mapping and pipe evaluation processes, suggesting ways to significantly improve future projects exemplify the value of the RK&K team.
Client
Market
- Education
