On December 14, Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority’s Board of Directors approved three critical funding for several neighborhood-based sewer and stormwater infrastructure improvement projects.

The projects embody the mission set out in the Authority’s 2030 Green Stormwater Infrastructure Plan to build flood-prepared, safe, and healthy neighborhoods. In addition to unanimous support from the PWSA Board, Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto endorses these investments.

The three projects include--

-- Ivyglen and Odette Streets Sewer Reconstruction and Separation: On June 23, 2018, PWSA was informed of a landslide in the Overbrook neighborhood. The landslide caused a manhole to collapse and severely damaged 550 feet of 8-inch sanitary sewer line on Odette and Ivyglen Streets between Lodge and Mullooly Streets.

PWSA responded by establishing temporary sewer service for the impacted homes. The Authority also completed an expedited design for the sewer reconstruction project, which will separate the previously combined flow of sanitary sewage and stormwater.

The board authorized PWSA to move forward with the approximately $1.2 million construction phase of the project, which is expected to begin in January 2019 and be completed by June 2019.

PWSA is coordinating closely with the impacted residents and has benefited from assistance provided by District 4 Councilman Anthony Coghill.

-- St. John’s Stormwater Management Project: The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority, the Brighton Heights Citizens Federation, Allegheny Land Trust, and the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh are collaborating on the design and redevelopment of the former St. John’s Health and Hospital Center site located at 3325 and 3339 McClure Avenue in Brighton Heights.

The property is a large, vacant site with potential for stormwater management as well as greenspace.

The Board approved an additional $50,000 in capital funding to complete the preliminary design for green stormwater infrastructure at the site. PWSA had already committed $75,000 to the project.

The design will evaluate cost-effective opportunities for managing stormwater runoff from six acres of impervious surface surrounding drainage area on the St. John’s site. This process will identify which stormwater management practices are best suited to slow the flow of stormwater into the combined stormwater system.

-- Panther Hollow Lake Flood Mitigation: The Board approved entering into a grant agreement with 3 Rivers Wet Weather, Inc. to complete the Panther Hollow Lake Flood Mitigation Project.

In 2018, PWSA implemented smart green technology called OptiNimbus to monitor Panther Hollow Lake. OptiNimbus is a continuous monitoring and adaptive control service that will help address water quality and combined sewer overflow impacts in the Panther Hollow Watershed.

Total budget for the project is approximately $103,000.

Recent flow monitoring data shows that the Panther Hollow Lake contributes an estimated 30 million gallons of wet weather flow per year. OptiNimbus will allow PWSA to interactively monitor and manage the water level in the lake.

The system will also give PWSA the ability to lower the water level in the lake prior to anticipated rain events, decreasing peak discharge and reducing downstream overflows and flooding events.

By monitoring and managing the water level in the lake, our initial estimates show that it may be possible to increase wet weather storage by approximately 1.5 million gallons.

Using this technology will also better inform the broader Four Mile Run Stormwater Improvement Project that is currently underway. 

Visit the Authority’s 2030 Green Infrastructure Plan for more information on green stormwater projects.

(Photo: New stormwater project at Centre and Herron streets in Pittsburgh.)

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[Posted: Dec. 17, 2018]

12/24/2018