Avoiding the “Patch” - Protecting Exposed Assets in Streams and Rivers
Gabby Myers
Eric Kim
KCI Technologies, Inc.
Fulton, MD
Authors: Myers, G., Rang, J.
Howard County Utility Design Division (UDD) receives reports, either from internal sources or via neighboring communities, of exposed and at-risk water and/or sewer infrastructure within streams and rivers throughout the county. In order to plan and prioritize efforts to protect these exposures, the County partnered with KCI to assess and document the current conditions of the reported exposures. Together with the County, KCI developed an inspection methodology and classification system to prioritize repairs and/or relocations required for asset protection.
During each site visit, the team determined if stabilization efforts were necessary and if so, discussed conceptual ideas, project constraints, project access including easements and right-of-entry, and permitting requirements. Potential impacts necessary to perform construction were evaluated to determine whether the project would meet conditions of the Regional Letter of Authorization (RLOA). The RLOA was developed under this project to streamline the Joint MDE/USACE permit process by eliminating the need for an individual permit application per site.
Should the field inspection show evidence of asset damage, aging or the exposure created greater environmental concerns, such as damming of the stream, then more extensive designs such as pipe replacement or relocation would be considered. Pipe joints found within the stream would also be cause for concern, opening the asset to potential failure, thus becoming a focus for stabilization efforts. Using information gathered during the field investigation, a level of risk was assigned to each asset based on the current estimated rate of active stream degradation and the immediate impact to public welfare should the asset fail. Risk categories consist of an at-risk asset, a project candidate, or a monitoring candidate.
The presentation will walk through the methodology from the initial stages of assessment through construction completion using several project examples. Implemented emergency project examples will exhibit expedited emergency permitting, pipe replacement/relocation, and stream restoration utility protection techniques applied in limited work areas. Benefits of these stabilization projects are to improve public safety by stabilizing exposed at-risk utilities while also addressing channel degradation in a way that complements stable, natural stream geometry for the immediate drainage area.
About Gabby Myers
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About Eric Kim
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