Explanation
The purpose of this legislation is to authorize the Director of Public Utilities to enter into a contract with Watershed Organic Lawn Care for the Green Infrastructure Inspection and Maintenance Project. The City of Columbus is committed to investing in green infrastructure. As part of this commitment, the City has built a number of bio-retention basins in the right-of-way and/or on City owned property.
Bio-retention basins are engineered, shallow depressions that treat stormwater runoff using pollutant removal mechanisms that function in natural ecosystems: settling, filtration, absorption, microbial breakdown and nutrient assimilation. Surface runoff is directed into the bio-retention area where it temporarily ponds before infiltrating through mulch and a soil media planted with vegetation. The infiltrated water percolates into soils and, if necessary, enters a perforated underdrain that discharges into a water body or storm drain system.
The City is currently responsible for the maintenance of 6 sites with 98 basins located in or around the Riversouth area of downtown, W. Broad St. at Starling called Group A. There are 28 sites with 51 basins/wetlands and 19 swales located at Griggs, O’Shaughnessy, Hoover Reservoirs, Idlewild Drive, American Addition, Crawford Farms, Watershed Roadway Improvements Part 2 at Hoover Reservoir and Watershed Roadway Improvements Part 3 at Griggs Reservoir, Smokey Row Booster Station Drainage Project, Dublin Road Water Plant Treatment Capacity No. 3 and Dublin Road Water Plant Treatment Capacity Increase, called Group B. Each site may have multiple basins, swales, or other types of green infrastructures. Additional sites may be added in the future. All facilities are located in Franklin, Fairfield, and Delaware Counties, as shown on Attachments A and B which indicate the location of those basin sites. The primary requirements are to inspect the green infrastructure components and repair or replace the...
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