Model Redo: How Public Feedback Impacted the Flood Reduction Solutions

Public feedback has the potential to make or break a project. This is especially true for the City of Madison, Wisconsin (City). The City has a unique demographic with a major university, the State Capital, and several tech companies located within its boundaries. As such, public feedback can take many forms and be very persuasive. The City's general approach to public outreach is to provide frequent updates on projects through project webpages and hold public meetings at various points during the project. This approach was used for the City's Watershed Study Program, with a few additions. The City added focus group meetings, which were smaller meetings in individual neighborhoods, and they added a public review and comment period of the draft final report for each watershed study. The Spring Harbor Watershed Study an example of a successful process, where the public feedback was taken seriously, influenced the analysis for the project, and ultimately led to a set of flood reduction solutions that was supported by the community. Spring Harbor Watershed is a 2,300-acre watershed of mostly urban land use. The drainage system is a mix of storm sewers, box culverts, and open channels. The computer model was constructed in XP-SWMM 1D/2D software with the underground portions being evaluated in 1D and the overflow and open channels evaluated in 2D. The purpose of the computer modeling is to understand the causes of flooding and evaluate conceptual solutions to reduce flood risk. The initial proposed solutions included a mix of detention, open channel modifications, and storm sewer and box culvert reconstruction. The Spring Harbor Watershed Study, upon completion, received significant public comments. Many of the comments included concerns about the proposed flood reduction solutions. For example, this part of the City has areas with mature trees. Those same areas are also dedicated stormwater management areas. Where a solution would result in the removal of trees, the solution was not supported by the residents. Due to the significant feedback, the City chose to review the proposed conditions modeling to understand if modifications could be made to alleviate public concerns. After an extensive review, the City chose to update the proposed conditions modeling and create two solution scenarios. The first solution scenario was essentially the originally proposed solution, with a few modifications that incorporated information not available during the original modeling. This solution scenario meets as many of the City's flood targets as possible, even if the solutions were not well-liked by the public. The purpose of this solution is to understand the level of cost and effort to achieve the highest level of flood risk reduction. It also provides a basis of comparison against the more publicly favorable solution scenario. The second solution scenario incorporated only those solutions that were publicly acceptable. This solution scenario avoided areas with significant tree impacts and areas where a solution would change the viewshed for the residents. One consequence of the second solution scenario is that more of the City's flood targets could not be met, resulting in a lower level of service. This second scenario illustrates the trade-offs of public acceptability versus flood risk reduction. This presentation will describe the feedback received during the public review and comment period and the methodology and approach to create the two solution scenarios. It will also describe the public feedback received following the last public information meeting where the two solution scenarios were presented. Through valuable public input, the City was able to create a set of solutions that would both reduce flood risk and was supported by the residents of Spring Harbor Watershed. Public input was not just a check the box exercise. The public's input shaped the analysis and helped with overall acceptance of the path forward. This process helped build trust with the City, made the community feel heard, and will help facilitate project implementation.