2025 Seminar Agenda

Welcome and Opening Remarks

John Butler, President
SESWA

Danielle Hopkins, Executive Director
SESWA

Session 1: Putting Roads on a Diet: A Green Infrastructure Improvement Project
Many municipalities have issues with the extent of impervious area within their urban footprint.  One solution is implementation of green infrastructure to reduce impervious area and provide stormwater retention and treatment. This session will provide an overview of a stormwater park and transportation improvement project on a 0.5-mile-long collector road in Casselberry, FL.  The project implemented a “road diet” solution that narrowed Casselton Drive while increasing the open space and promoting pedestrian accessibility.  Green Infrastructure Best Management Practices including bioretention swales, raingardens and a modular wetland system reduced flooding and provided water quality treatment.  The session will discuss project challenges such as utility conflicts along with benefits derived from this type of urban retrofit.

Ross Ellis, PE,  CPESC, Engineer
Geosyntec Consultants

Session 2: Getting an Education on Nutrient Management: Green Infrastructure Initiatives to Meet Regulatory Requirements
Located in both the Neuse and Cape Fear watersheds, Durham County, NC is subject to the Falls and Jordan Lake Nutrient Management Strategies. While addressing the requirements of these Strategies, the County adopted a set of guiding principles for its Stormwater Program.  The County principals include Compliance, Efficiency, Resiliency, and Environmental Justice. The County completed a Nutrient Management Study to identify and prioritize projects to meet both the Nutrient Management Strategies and the County’s guiding principles. This session focuses on the design, implementation, and funding of the two highest ranked projects from the study including a bioretention area that will also serve as an outdoor classroom for a local middle school and a stream restoration project, and a stormwater control measure.

Ryan Eaves, PE, CFM, CPESC, Division Manager - Stormwater & Erosion Control Division
Durham County, NC

Session 3: Green Sinks - An Important Tool for Stormwater Management and Flood Mitigation
Floodplains allow flood waters to spread out, which reduces the volume and power hurtling down streams and rivers, but if floodplains are occupied with development or other infrastructure, we are faced with the unending conflict of flooding. If floodwater cannot spread out over a floodplain; then, let it go deep. This session reveals how one community in Kentucky, used Green Sinks as a nature-based solution to mitigate flooding, reduce erosion, and capture non-point source pollution stormwater runoff.

Brian Storz, PhD, NPS Stormwater Coordinator / Licking River Basin Coordinator
Kentucky Division of Water, KY

Session 4: Transforming an Underutilized Property to a Community Amenity
As part of the Falls Lake Nutrient Management Strategy, the City of Durham, NC is transforming an underutilized property in its city center into a 7-acre constructed stream and stormwater wetland complex. The constructed wetland and restored stream channels will provide water quality treatment and flood control benefits for 585 acres of runoff from a highly urbanized watershed in downtown Durham, NC. The park will also become a community amenity, featuring a 0.5-mile walking trail, pollinator gardens, and public art installations. The session will cover unique considerations the multi-disciplinary team faced over the project’s 10-year history, including topics such as project funding, planning for the beneficial reuse of excavated soils, designing efficient trash capture at project inlets, and performing an incremental hazard analysis to obtain exempt status by the the State’s Dam Safety Program.

Vicki Garlington, PG, Senior Geologist
Geosyntec Consultants

Afternoon Break

1:45 PM - 2:30 PM
0.75 PDH

Session 5: Congratulations, You've Built Green Stormwater Infrastructure! Now Who Will Maintain It?The Watershed Improvement Program has targeted public properties for green stormwater infrastructure to increase the visibility and accessibility. Gwinnett County, GA’s Department of Water Resources managed the construction, with a partner organization responsible for long-term care. For each project, as-builts and operation and maintenance manuals are provided. Despite this, maintenance is still a challenge. The challenges include overwhelmed facility staff; finding specialized landscapers for green infrastructure; and contracting hurdles. This session will discuss ways to address maintenance, such as training; the development of desirable/non-desirable plant ID tools; workdays with Master Gardeners; and engaging students.

Cindy Nguyen, Scientist I
Gwinnett County, GA

Session 6: Incorporating Stormwater Green Infrastructure into Existing Landscapes
Maryland municipalities are continually seeking optimal sites for stormwater best management practices (BMPs) to treat untreated impervious areas and meet Chesapeake Bay TMDL Restoration goals. This session will highlight the implementation of green infrastructure at Elk Neck State Park in Cecil County, MD. The project included the design and construction of three micro-bioretention and four bioretention facilities within the North East Beach parking area. Existing infrastructure was leveraged by converting sump inlets to riser structures and utilizing the existing storm drain system where possible. In other areas, curbs were added to direct runoff into BMPs strategically located downstream. This collaborative effort involved Cecil County, MD, the Maryland Park Service, and the state’s Department of Natural Resources, who provided partial grant funding. The project successfully delivered stormwater management and water quality improvements in a highly visible public park while achieving restoration credits toward TMDL goals.

Brittany Ayers, PE, Project Engineer
RK&K

Stephanie Bazan, PE, Engineer II, Water Resources
RK&K

Wrap Up and Adjourn

Danielle Hopkins, Executive Director
SESWA