The City of Dalton, located in the mountains of North Georgia, is known as the “Carpet Capital” of the world. In 2020, the city’s public works department took on the task of addressing its stormwater problems. This presentation showcases how Dalton tackled historical flooding and drainage issues using modeling, non-traditional risk mitigation approaches, and innovative contracting methods. By identifying potential solutions, unintended consequences, and employing unconventional techniques, the city successfully identified a path forward in a challenging area. The Walnut North is a particularly troublesome area of the city, and Public Works sought to address flooding affecting homes, infrastructure, and stream banks. Public Works evaluated the basin using historical knowledge, modeling, and innovative approaches to reduce both on- and off-right-of-way flooding. Mitigation measures focused on improving infrastructure along city streets. A new bypass system was constructed to redirect water away from homes, keeping drainage within the public right-of-way and enabling in-situ repair of off-right-of-way pipes. However, the modeling indicated that flow rates would increase, exacerbating downstream flooding and erosion. To counter this, upstream detention was constructed using regenerative stormwater conveyance (RSC) through a historic cemetery. Stream erosion was addressed through their first design-build contract to expedite solutions, ensure stakeholder buy-in, and reduce costs.
At the conclusion of this session participants will be better able to:
• Evaluate drainage and flooding mitigation approaches on a basin-wide scale.
• Identify opportunities for non-typical mitigation techniques in challenging areas.
• Understand the design-build approach, and its benefits towards stormwater capital improvements.
Contributor/Source
Andrew Parker
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Mastery of basic concepts associated with an area has been obtained. Focuses on understanding nuances, advanced concepts, and intricacies with implementation within knowledge area. Strong understanding of how the concept impacts other factors or areas of operations.
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