Urban Floodplain Planning
7th Ave. Creek Green Corridor Plan
Team: HRGreen and Inter-Fluve Inc.
St. Charles, IL | 2015
In 2008, 7th Avenue Creek experienced significant flooding causing large-scale property damage and street flooding in downtown residential neighborhoods. As a result, FEMA remapped the floodplain and the City of St. Charles initiated a plan to reduce flooding in the urban watershed. LVBrown Studios collaborated with HRGreen and Inter-Fluve Inc. to develop illustrative plans and design solutions for re-naturalizing the channel where possible and creating a vibrant park space in the neighborhood corridor.
Master plan diagrams and illustrative cross-sections communicated the project intent to a diverse set of stakeholders including impacted residents and City officials. Master Plan documents helped secure 1.2 million dollars in Illinois EPA Section 319 grant funds to design and construct the channel improvements and floodplain park. Project goals include attenuating storm flows and improving water quality and quality-of-life benefits for the community.
Project News
The City completed development of a Master Plan in 2017, which outlines a construction project for the 7th Avenue Creek watershed that will not only remove all of the structures from the floodplain, but will also provide naturalized greenway areas along the creek, increasing water quality and restoring the creek to a natural state. In addition to the master plan, the City developed a Watershed Plan for 7th Avenue Creek (in conjunction with State Street Creek). This plan addresses stakeholder concerns within the watershed and provides recommendations of ways that water quality can be improved.
Following completion of the Master Plan and watershed plan, the City applied for grant funding from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a Section 319 grant. Section 319 grants specifically fund water quality improvements…..click here for full article.
Click image to expand and scroll through concept plans and cross-sectional illustrations.