Press release from the City of Asheville:
The City of Asheville is performing a stormwater drainage assessment city-wide in order to identify capital projects that might be needed within the next decade. A public information meeting will be held from 6-8 p.m. Jan. 28 at the National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center (NEMAC) in the Grove Arcade on Page Avenue. The meeting will provide the public an opportunity to learn more about Asheville’s stormwater system, the City’s ongoing assessment and next steps.
“Assessments like this are an important step in our efforts to plan for our aging infrastructure’s continued maintenance needs,” said Stormwater Division Manager McCray Coates. “This assessment will help the City proactively identify, prioritize and plan for the stormwater projects that we will need to work on in the next 10 years. The team is also evaluating watersheds within the City to prioritize our future study efforts.”
The assessment, which was started in spring 2015, includes an evaluation of the hydraulic capacity of the systems, identification of needed upgrades to systems, a prioritized list of the capital improvement projects and geographic information system (GIS) information where needed. Once this information is collected, staff will plan how and when to make necessary changes for both the short term (to help reduce localized flooding where possible) and the long term. Additionally, staff will be looking for opportunities to use green infrastructure, like rain gardens, which help to clean water while slowing the stormwater flow.
A draft two-year prioritization list is expected in late winter, followed by a draft 10 year priority list in the summer.
For more information, contact Stormwater Division Manager McCray Coates at 828-232-4567.
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