Concrete Homes Green Infrastructure Project
McCormick Taylor worked alongside the Baltimore County Department of Public Works (BC DPW) and Meadville Land Services to develop, design, and construct Green Infrastructure to reduce nuisance flooding in the Concrete Homes community in southeast Baltimore County.
The Challenge
The Concrete Homes Green Infrastructure (GI) Project was identified as a result of Baltimore County’s Storm Drain Asset Management (SDAM) protocols. The SDAM protocol developed by McCormick Taylor is a methodology for evaluating existing storm drain systems that outfall into Waters of the US. Six watersheds reflecting the diversity of location, terrain, and development throughout the County were analyzed. With the six watershed assessments completed, the County chose to develop a GI pilot program, beginning with a planning task and a design-build project in the Concrete Homes community in Dundalk, MD. The goal of the GI program was to use cost effective measures to capture and retain as much runoff as possible to alleviate frequent flooding within the community and gain MS4 credit. This pilot project was intended to serve as the guide for future GI planning and construction tasks in the County.
How We Helped
McCormick Taylor’s design team coordinated with Meadville Land Services to develop designs that minimized impacts on the community and existing utilities while maximizing runoff storage to elevations that allow connection to adjacent storm drains and controlled release of non-infiltrated runoff. Our team led plan development, utility impact coordination, modeling of projected improvements, and technical direction of field changes during the construction phase including as-built certification. Our experts provided direct construction oversight as well as coordination between the County and other companies on the project. They also provided details on the subsurface components of the facilities to develop certified as-built plans after the completion of construction. During construction, McCormick Taylor representatives were on site 3–5 days per week and otherwise on call to respond to required field modifications.
The Results
In under a year, the project was planned, designed, and constructed, successfully improving drainage conditions within the Concrete Homes watershed by mitigating frequent flooding through runoff capture. This task served as the pilot project to guide future GI planning and construction tasks.
