Master Plan Development - City of Boca Raton

City of Boca Raton Stormwater Management Master PlanPart I – Task 3 ReportPart 1 – Task 3 ReportA. IntroductionThis Technical Memorandum Number 3 constitutes the final report and deliverable, completing theservices authorized for Mock•Roos to prepare a Stormwater Management Master Plan for the City ofBoca Raton (“City”).The previously completed Technical Memoranda Numbers 1 and 2 which document the Task 1 and Task2 services, are included here for completeness and reference, in Appendices A and B, respectively.Task 3 of the Scope of Services included conducting field observations of the areas identified by the Cityas more sigificant problem areas; identifying conceptual projects to address the problems; preparingconceptual cost estimates for construction of the conceptual projects; identifying the anticipated waterquality impacts of the proposed projects; meeting(s) with the Environmental, Finance, and MarineAdvisory Boards to review the conceptual projects; prioritizing the conceptual projects using a rankingmatrix; and preparing a Stormwater Management Master Plan.B. Problem AreasThe initial effort in identifying potential future stormwater system improvement projects was to review andmap the outstanding drainage complaints from residents of the City. To this, City staff added other knownflood-prone areas. Many of the resident complaints were evaluated in a drainage complaint studycompleted by Williams, Hatfield & Stoner (“WHS”) in 1998 and the observations documented in thatreport were considered during the review process for this effort. Neighborhoods where there were multiplecomplaints and areas identified by the City as recurrent or more widespread problem areas were identifiedas potential project areas. Fifteen project areas were initially identified. It was agreed with the City thateach area would undergo field observation to identify potential conceptual solutions to alleviate theproblem(s). Because of their isolated nature, the balance of the outstanding drainage complaints will beaddressed on a case-by-case basis, rather than as larger-scale projects that are being conceptualized here.C. Field ObservationsThe initial field observations were conducted in dry weather, which allowed the identification of obviousdrainage problems. Each of the identified problem areas was visited and documented with notes andphotographs. It was evident that many of the individual resident complaints were the result of inoperativeswale systems. The loss of swale function was observed in most cases to be the result of landscaping thathad been planted by adjacent homeowners, or simply sod, grass, and/or soil accumulation that resulted inthe swales being at a higher elevation than the adjacent driveways. These conditions cause the drives androads to flood before the elevated swales. Another common observation was of older systems consistingof dry wells, that is, inlets that have no outfall. Dry wells serve as holes for the storage of runoff until itseeps into the ground below them. Inlets with very small grates, possibly too small to accommodate theirdrainage area were also observed, as were other inlets in need of cleaning and/or maintenance. HighL:\boca\bocaswmp\A6016.03\rp02accm.docPage 1MOCK•ROOS