Blueprint Columbus — Communication, Design and Construction Lessons Learned

In 2002 and 2004 City of Columbus (Columbus) entered into Consent Decrees with Ohio EPA to address water-in-basement (WIB), sanitary sewer overflows (SSO) and combined sewer overflows (CSO) complaints. On December 1, 2015, Ohio EPA approved The Integrated Plan and 2015 Wet Weather Management Plan Update Report proposing Blueprint Columbus as a viable alternative to the remaining tunnel projects.Specifically, Columbus planned to address inflow and infiltration (I&I) problems at the source by redirecting rainwater from private properties to the streets and green infrastructure (GI). Since 2012, the City of Columbus has awarded 23 Blueprint Columbus projects to design professionals.The objective of this paper is to identify the challenges and pitfalls associated with designing and constructing GI as part of an integrated plan and to identify opportunities for improving the process. Experiences during the design and construction of GI including the interaction with the public, stakeholders and other government entities have led to significant changes to Columbus' approach. This paper will discuss lessons learned during the planning, design and construction process.