The Bridgeport News
Thursday, October 30, 2008
by Jeff Toquinto, News Editor
Efforts to control storm water at the Charles Pointe development received national recognition last week through a national publication. Storm Water Solutions, a trade publication that is a supplement to both Roads & Bridges and Water & Wastes Digest magazines, named the Charles Pointe project as an honorable mention recipient for 2008.
“It’s a national honor, and we’re greatly pleased with it,” said Jamie Corton, managing partner of Genesis Partners, the group responsible for the development of Charles Pointe. “This is a reward for our dedication to doing things right and for working with groups like the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Natural Resources and others to make sure it is right.”
The work on controlling storm water at the massive development along Interstate 79 was done through a master plan. Rob Stuart, the director of development for Genesis Partners, said the latest techniques were used when putting together the plan that he said meets or exceeds state and other agency guidelines for storm-water management.
“We tackled the entire Charles Pointe south area, all 1,360 acres, in one storm-water master plan,” Stuart said. “We designed for everything right up front … Jamie has repeatedly told us to do it right, or don’t do it at all. I think this shows we’re doing it right.”
The storm water facilities on site were designed by Kimley-Horn and Associates. Kimley-Horn is an engineering and land planning firm with dozens of offices nationwide. The firm has designated 18 storm water management basins in the master plan.
So far, Stuart said there are roughly a half dozen of those basins constructed. The design costs, said Stuart, are roughly $250,000 at this date.
“We’re constructing those facilities as they’re needed,” Stuart said. “We do them as we’re going into development areas.”
Stuart pointed to Genesis Partners creating storm water management that will meet detention needs for a 100-year flood event. He said current regulations do not require meeting that threshold, but Genesis Partners have designed for the possibility of the 100-year event.
“The big thing is that we’re looking at the entire development for storm water management instead of doing everything piece meal,” Stuart said. “There are a lot of factors we’ve looked at, including things like wetland mitigation and environmentally friendly measures as we move forward.”
Five projects were given “Top Storm Water Project” status. Six projects were included in the honorable mention category, including Charles Pointe.
“The storm water industry is more important than ever, and with this responsibility comes great innovation,” SWS Managing Editor Caitlin Cunningham said. “… This year’s winners, big and small, each overcame challenges in novel ways, raising the storm water standard.”