EarthViews: Empowering Stream and Drainageway Assessment

Rapid Baseline Stream Assessments

EarthViews partnered with Enginuity Engineering Solutions, LLC to complete project goals which included:

1. Scan with 360 imagery, map and evaluate the existing conditions along 68 miles of streams, drainageways, and river systems

2. Scan with 360 imagery, inventory and inspect all in-line infrastructure and local detention basins.

3. Create a geodatabase capturing all data collected in the field for City use and management.

4. Evaluate and recommend maintenance and capital improvements system-wide.

5. Prioritize and cost capital improvement projects and regular stream maintenance.

Field Methods

To create a locationally aware virtual database of drainageway conditions EarthViews supplied Enginuity with a turnkey image and location data collection system. This image mapping system was synchronized with basin and infrastructure condition information collected by technicians in concert with the image scan of the drainageway.

Project Results

Leveraging the collected data on hazards, infrastructure quality, and overall stream health allowed for a more comprehensive examination of the ecosystems in which the valuable metrics can be determined by different users.

These tours allow for a diverse working group to acquire a foundational understanding of each stream’s current condition, problems, and overall health. Now you don’t have to solely rely on consultant’s judgment to prioritize reaches. You can wander the stream and see its overall health yourself!

Mapping Survey Results

67 miles of drainageway rapid assessments including imagery and evaluations for:

• 191 Stream Visual Health Assessments • 105 Storm Control Facilities • 275 Grade Control Structures • 441 Drainage Outfalls • 290 Erosion Hazards • 276 Stream Crossings

• Development of $32 million of recommended maintenance and capital improvements

• Prioritization of 95 individual reaches for CIP and maintenance projects based on existing conditions

• Recommendations, Prioritization, and Costing for 49 “Nuisance Flooding” Issues throughout the City

Infrastructure

In total, this effort recommended over $10 million of improvements for all tributary reaches with in the City of Westminster and over $22 million for improvements along Big Dry Creek to mitigate existing erosional hazards, damaged infrastructure, and flooding issues with the City of Westminster. 

Flooding Analysis

In addition to these recommendations, Westminster also provided a list of 49 “nuisance flooding” issues to be evaluated. These flooding issues are small-scale but high-frequency, often impacting property owners, leading to complaints to City Officials.

Conclusions

Rapid Baseline Assessment Data Collection:

Born out of the scale of the data collection effort and the desire to create a geodatabase template that could be used by City staff, the rapid baseline assessment criteria has allowed for a consistent data collection effort that quickly captures the many different aspects and relationships combining to define a stream systems health and function.

Quantitative published criteria were used from the NRCS (Stream Visual Assessment Protocol (SVAP)), FHWA (Culvert Assessment and DecisionMaking Procedure), and Rosgen (Applied River Morphology) in the hopes of creating a comparable dataset, not just within this study, but for wider community now and into the future. EarthViews Imagery doesn’t require an engineer to successfully communicate the issues or overall health of a stream system. With EarthViews 360 image scans, its possible for the community and a diverse working group to quickly understand the problems and potential outcomes for these drainageway systems and the flood infrastructure within our communities. With virtual presentation available to the public online, everyone can see the data and conditions.