On February 3, 2017, the Route 32 Green Infrastructure Improvements Project was honored by the APWA Capital Branch as the 2016 Project of the Year in the Environmental (Less than $1 Million) Category, along with seven other projects at their Annual Awards Luncheon in Albany, NY. Weston & Sampson was recognized for its role in the project.
The City of Watervliet hired Weston & Sampson to design a Green Infrastructure project along Route 32, a heavily traveled and used corridor in the City with a mix of business and residential properties. A three block section of the corridor was chosen, centered on a small green triangle (park). Weston & Sampson evaluated soil borings and infiltration testing that lead to a design that could maximize stormwater infiltration in the highly permeable soils. By keeping the rainfall runoff on-site, instead of conveying it to the existing combined sewer, three benefits were achieved:
- Reduction of stormwater runoff flows that would otherwise contribute to a combined sewer overflow event,
- Increased rainfall filtering and groundwater recharge (more closely mimicking the natural hydrologic cycle),
- Improved aesthetics by planting perennials, shrubs, and trees as part of the green infrastructure practices (they remove nutrients and contaminants in the runoff).