Showcasing the details behind one of the largest water treatment facilities in Washington State, a presentation at the American Public Works Association (APWA) WA 2025 Fall Conference on the Monroe Avenue Infiltration Facility included insights from two Otak engineers responsible for its design. Led by representatives from the City of Renton (project client), the presentation gave an in-depth look at the project’s background, the alternatives considered, and how it ultimately will enhance water quality and flood mitigation for the surrounding community.
Project leaders Russ Gaston and Joe Brascher were on-hand for a Q&A that followed to give firsthand accounts of what went into the design and environmental science that made the project possible. This session was open to the sold-out gathering of attendees for the annual APWA WA event. The group forms a large, dynamic, and engaged community of professionals dedicated to advancing improvement goals at the local level. In addition to opportunities like this to share innovative infrastructure examples with peers, the occasion also aims to foster professional growth and facilitate meaningful connections that promote excellence in the industry. Learn more about this example of green stormwater infrastructure that was presented below.
Over the previous few decades, the community of Renton, Washington experienced multiple historic flooding events, causing damage to property and infrastructure. These consequences also extended to the Cedar River and broader water quality in the area. Temporary solutions with drainage easements and overflow pipes were implemented over the years but a new approach was needed for managing stormwater runoff for the 260-acre subbasin. As a result, the city made plans for additional stormwater infrastructure to address the issue that would become the Monroe Avenue Infiltration Facility.
With an emphasis on water quality targets, long-term performance, as well as construction and maintenance cost, several alternatives were considered leading up to this project. Using hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, estimated peak flows were incorporated across all the designs to account for everything up to a 100-year storm event.
The selected alternative delivered a final design that balances cost efficiency and low maintenance with maximum water quality and a smaller facility footprint. The 14-acre site where the facility exists was originally a permitted sand and gravel pit from 1962 to 1982 and had since been used as a reclamation site. After extensive work with land rights, funding, and material availability, a storm tech chamber infiltration facility and water quality treatment vault would be the main components of what now exists at the location.
With a connection to existing stormwater infrastructure, the Monroe Avenue Infiltration facility includes a flow splitter along with primary and secondary isolator rows to address normal and high flow situations. A pretreatment removes debris and a bioscape unit within the treatment vault enhances water quality and lowers water temperature as it makes its way back into the water system. Designed with longevity and maintenance in mind, easy access to features for upkeep include a hammerhead access road to allow vactor truck turnarounds. Altogether the final product was constructed four months ahead of schedule.
A speaker from the City of Renton at the APWA WA 2025 Conference.
A speaker from the City of Renton at the APWA WA 2025 Conference.
Visualization of underground features of the Monroe Avenue Infiltration Facility.
Visualization of the Monroe Avenue Infiltration Facility and its bioscape feature.
Amy Murdick presents at the 2025 CASFM event in Steamboat Springs, Colorado
As part of a continuous effort to collaborate with industry peers and advance the water resources field, two of our team leaders recently presented at separate conferences focused on stormwater planning and management.
Taking place in Oregon and Colorado, the events covered the nuances found in each region while also representing the geographic reach of our work. Together they shed light on best practices that not only improve local environments but also the impact of work on communities through features like green stormwater infrastructure.
Below is an overview of the events, with a look at the organizations that made them possible and the topics our experts shared.
Achieving Retention without Requiring it: An Alternative to Oregon’s Numeric Stormwater Retention Requirement
With the stated goal of advancing the science and profession of engineering to “enhance the welfare of humanity,” the Environmental Water Resources Group (EWRG) hosted the Sustainable Stormwater Symposium in Portland, Oregon. The group is a subsidiary of the American Society of Engineers, and this bi-annual gathering is their flagship event.
“Using a consistent set of standards, we wanted to show how a team of stormwater engineers, scientists, and policy experts can creatively and practically address regulatory mandates for clients.”
– Trista Kobluskie, Stormwater Group Leader
In tandem with Clackamas Water Environment Services (WES), our group leader of water and natural resources, Trista Kobluskie, presented at this year’s symposium. The joint presentation highlighted different paths to positive environmental outcomes. The two presented a study that compared pre-development retention over a large area to the effects of WES’s approach, which discharges runoff through green infrastructure while targeting natural or pre-development hydrology.
A modeling exercise and policy analysis demonstrated to those in attendance how WES’s stormwater standards lead to positive results, even though they don’t necessarily align with the preferred Numeric Stormwater Retention Requirement approach by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Much of the discussion focused on how to demonstrate that infiltration is often achieved even when it is not required by emphasizing green infrastructure as a preferred strategy in design requirements.
Colorado Association of Stormwater and Floodplain Managers (CASFM) Annual Conference: Steamboat Springs, Colorado
What to Expect with the Unexpected: Benefits and Challenges to Implementing Adaptive Management
Comprised of professionals involved in floodplain and stormwater management, water quality, flood hazard mitigation, and flood preparedness, the Colorado Association of Stormwater and Floodplain Managers (CASFM) has a primary mission of reducing “the loss of human life and property from flood and storm damage.” With more than 1,000 members, the organization recently held their biannual meeting in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
Among the topics covered at this year’s event was the growing practice of adaptive management, or the continued monitoring of a project site after completion to better understand its true impact over time. Along with our Colorado stormwater lead Amy Murdick, the panel included representatives from The Town of Parker, Naranjo Civil Constructors, The Mile High Flood District, and ERO Resources Corporation.
The group’s discussion covered the process of adaptive management which aims to provide a structured approach to decision-making that’s informed by science. They also dived into the benefits and challenges of the growing practice, emphasizing its place in better managing uncertainty, increasing resilience, and improving overall project outcomes.
As urban environments and their infrastructure expand, so do the amount of impervious surface they create. Where rainwater would otherwise naturally find its way into the soil, those surfaces make it so that it is now prevented and diverted by hardened and water-resistant surfaces such as roadways, parking lots, and rooftops. Stormwater planning addresses this issue.
Traditionally, “gray infrastructure” like sewer systems is designed with a single purpose: move water from one place to another as quickly as possible. Over time this approach has led to increasing issues with flooding, erosion, and pollution to local waterways. In response, green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) has risen in popularity to better manage stormwater by utilizing the natural functions of soil and plants.
By blending nature-based solutions into infrastructure, communities get multiple benefits. Green stormwater infrastructure not only improves the immediate management of runoff but also the long-term resilience of their design.
What is Green Stormwater Infrastructure?
Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) refers to systems that utilize the inherent qualities of nature-based solutions to improve the management and treatment runoff. Unlike gray infrastructure that consists of only man-made materials such as concrete or steel and is engineered solely to move water, GSI incorporates features that better slow, retain, and filter stormwater through natural processes.
Often involving planting vegetation, reconnecting natural water systems, or using permeable materials, green stormwater infrastructure is designed to replicate the natural hydrological processes by enabling infiltration below ground and evapotranspiration above. This approach treats rainwater as the resource it is rather than as waste while improving flooding, water quality, and a variety of other community benefits that come with a greener environment.
Benefits of Green Infrastructure and Nature-Based Solutions
The advantages of green stormwater infrastructure extend across environmental, social, and economic factors. Aside from obvious benefits to community flooding and natural habitat, this approach is also often more cost effective.
Adding green features, sometimes through the comprehensive planning process, to urban environments also can have wide-ranging positive effects on both quality of life as well as property values for a community where present. In fact, research has shown that properties near green stormwater features can increase in value by around 11%, reflecting the demand for communities that integrate green spaces into daily life.
Below is a quick overview of some of the primary benefits of green stormwater infrastructure for a community.
Flood Control and Water Quality
One of the most pressing challenges in stormwater management is flooding. Gray infrastructure often only shifts the problem from one place to another, channeling water away until systems overflow. By contrast, green infrastructure captures rainfall close to where it falls or diverts it to an area designed to naturally hold and absorb. The natural process of infiltration helps remove pollutants while slowly releasing runoff into groundwater. This reduces the burden on sewers, minimizes the risk of downstream flooding, and prevents the high percentage of pollution caused by untreated runoff entering rivers and lakes.
Air Quality and Heat Mitigation
Urban areas with large amounts of pavement experience the “urban heat island effect,” where temperatures rise due to absorbed and reflected heat. Higher temperatures also worsen air quality by increasing smog levels, posing risks to human health. It’s no secret that vegetation naturally converts CO2 into oxygen, which has a direct impact on improving air quality and reducing greenhouse gases. Drawing on these inherent characteristics, green infrastructure features help counter the urban heat island effect by reducing the amount of reflected heat by shading surfaces, filtering pollutants, and cooling the air through evapotranspiration.
Improved Natural Habitat
Even small green features can have a large impact on natural habitat. Projects that restore streams, reconnect wetlands, or replace outdated culverts not only manage stormwater more effectively but also improve fish passage (along with that of other aquatic organisms) and natural habitat for a variety of species. At the same time small additions of vegetation and tree cover provide homes for birds, insects, and small mammals. Together, these systems contribute to biodiversity and improve the resilience of communities.
Resource and Energy Savings
Green infrastructure also saves resources and lowers energy costs. For instance, green roofs insulate buildings, reducing heating and cooling expenses by up to 12%, while also lasting twice as long (20 versus 40 years on average) as conventional roofs. Permeable pavements help water reach soil and infiltrate. Altogether, these systems reduce embodied carbon footprints, extend infrastructure lifespans, and minimize long-term maintenance burdens.
Green Infrastructure Examples
Green infrastructure takes many forms that are tailored to the site and community needs. Below are some common examples of nature-based solutions in action:
Rain gardens are shallow depressions planted with vegetation designed to capture runoff from nearby impervious surfaces. They filter pollutants, recharge groundwater, and provide habitat for wildlife such as birds and pollinators.
In an urban environment, rooftops are one of the most prevalent impervious surfaces. A green roof transforms that surface of a building into a living landscape. By covering rooftops with soil and vegetation, green roofs capture rainfall, reduce heat, and extend roof lifespans. They also insulate buildings, lowering energy demands.
Unlike traditional asphalt or concrete, porous pavement allows stormwater to seep through the surface into the soil below. This reduces runoff volumes, lessens strain on stormwater systems, and reduces quantities of pollutants that reach the stormwater system.
Many historical wetlands and floodplains have been cut off by development over time. Restoring these natural features allows them to serve their natural purpose during heavy rains, pooling and filtering water while slowly releasing it back into the water table.
Bioswales (or biofiltration swales) are shallow, vegetated channels that collect runoff along roadways or developments. When planted with native plants, swales not only filter stormwater but also enhance the character of streetscapes and support biodiversity.
A Complete Approach to Green Infrastructure
As communities continue to grow and climate conditions become more unpredictable, stormwater management is an increasingly critical challenge. Green stormwater infrastructure offers a proven, cost-effective way to address flooding, improve water quality, and create healthier, more resilient communities. Implementation of this approach is a multidisciplinary process that draws on the expertise of planning, landscape architecture, water resources engineering, and environmental sciences to maximize its value.
By harnessing natural processes, these systems move beyond the limitations of gray infrastructure, blending engineering with ecology to deliver wide-ranging benefits. From improved air quality and habitat creation to reduced energy costs and enhanced property values, GSI demonstrates how infrastructure can serve people, nature, and the economy at once.
A reconnected historical floodplain, designed to alleviate costly issues for a community that’s prone to flooding, was officially introduced to the public at the Springwater Wetlands grand opening. Members of the community gathered alongside local leaders for a celebration of the project’s completion, along with a birdwatching walk through the area that now serves as a public open space and a restored natural habitat for a variety of native species.
Discussions at the event focused on the project’s goals to both reduce insurance costs for the community and better connect its members with nature, while also improving urban wildlife habitat. The project’s proximity along the Springwater Corridor Trail makes it easily accessible to the public, encouraging greater community engagement. The restoration for this portion of the Johnson Creek Watershed follows earlier work at the adjacent Foster Floodplain Natural Area. Together, both projects add to continued improvements for the City of Portland’s green stormwater infrastructure.
About the Springwater Wetlands Restoration
Working closely with the City of Portland and Bureau of Environmental Services (BES), work on the Springwater Wetlands reconnects and restores the Johnson Creek floodplain to address persistent flooding with green stormwater infrastructure. The project relied on extensive hydraulic modeling to properly map the area in planning for 10-to-100-year flood events and to return the floodplain to its more natural state. A multiuse trail through the new natural habitat complements the existing trail network and opens it up further for public use and wildlife viewing.
A gathering of the community and media at the grand opening of Springwater Wetlands
Information about the restored Springwater Wetlands on display during its grand opening event
Part of the restored Springwater Wetlands and stormwater retention area
People gathered at the restored Springwater Wetlands during its grand opening event
There are more than 250,000 rivers stretching over 3 million miles across the United States. These streams lead to countless more waterways that form an interconnected system of essential natural resources for communities, agriculture, and wildlife.
The decades of development that has allowed for the growth of towns and cities is now better understood for its unintended impacts on these natural systems, the people that rely on them, and the aquatic species that call them home.
Every year, millions of fish—many threatened or endangered—migrate between the ocean and the waterways that make up their native habitat. For many other fish species in inland states, this remarkable journey takes place wholly within freshwater systems. Altogether, these migrations—often triggered by seasonal changes—occur as fish seek out optimal conditions for spawning, feeding, or overwintering. It is a vital process to maintain healthy aquatic ecosystems and it’s a process that’s often challenged by infrastructure and habitat fragmentation.
Structures such as dams, culverts, and levees have long been recognized as barriers to fish passage. And while good progress has been made in removing this infrastructure where possible, waterway restoration has continued to evolve over the past few decades. Encompassing a broader approach, today’s restoration tactics better account for the full complexities of watersheds as well as the resilience of important infrastructure they’re connected to.
In this blog, we’ll discuss how a more holistic approach is being taken to restore waterways to their more natural state, protecting both habitat and human access to this vital resource.
What is Waterway Restoration?
Waterway restoration is the practice of returning natural systems to a condition more in-line with their natural state, creating and improving access to healthy water resources for communities and aquatic species alike. While true restoration is sometimes not possible in an urban setting, there can still be enhancements that restore at least a portion of the lost function.
Restoration work typically involves evaluation of geomorphic, hydrologic, hydraulic, and ecologic function as projects are planned and designed. Hydraulic modeling and hydrologic analysis calculate correct depth and velocity conditions, which can be used to better design systems that, for instance, target specific fish species.
Taken a step further, restoration design seeks to replicate how a stream might have naturally evolved in the absence of development. Stream simulation supports this aim by assessing natural geomorphic processes while also considering what’s currently impacting channel evolution and how it might change in the future.
Common Waterway Restoration Features
In support of communities, aquatic species, and healthier floodplains as a whole, there are a number of common features in waterway restoration design aimed at different goals.
Regrading to raise the streambed, to lower the floodplain, or remove of infrastructure such as a tide gate, culvert, or levee allows a river to access its natural floodplain. This improves habitat availability and complexity, and floodwater storage.
Planting native vegetation along streambanks helps to stabilize soil, filters runoff, and provides shade and habitat for aquatic and terrestrial species, and wetlands absorb floodwaters, filter pollutants, and serve as critical breeding grounds for fish and amphibians.
Restoring natural channel form and processes (e.g., meandering/multi-threaded channel and pool, riffle, boulder/log step features) to improve flow dynamics, sediment transport, and habitat diversity.
Using woody material in stream restoration projects provides habitat where various types of fish—as well as insects they feed on—can live and thrive. Logs (with and without rootwads attached) and tree limbs are anchored along the banks to reduce erosion, add aquatic organism habitat (cover, resting areas), and support floodplain function. As the wood decays it also adds important nutrients to the water.
Removing obsolete dams or retrofitting them with more resilient, fish-friendly designs restores connectivity, improves ecosystem health, and supports our community that relies upon this infrastructure.
Using living plant materials in combination with natural and synthetic support structures, mimicking natural processes where erosion is most severe and bank stabilization is needed. This can include the use of riprap slope protection that is modified to incorporate elements of the other restoration techniques such as, inclusion of large woody materials or soil to support plantings.
Fish Barriers, Encroachment, and Water Quality
Over time, as restoration work has become more prevalent, along with the data to study and even adaptively manage its impacts, the field has continued to evolve. Restoration efforts today look beyond the removal of barriers alone to consider all factors that contribute to healthy systems, often requiring a more holistic approach that evaluates the entire watershed.
In addition to removing physical barriers, waterway restoration work now also accounts for encroachment on waterways from sedimentation and pollution as a part of overall water quality. This is an important step in understanding impacts to adjacent habitat and community infrastructure. Russ Gaston, Senior Vice President, Water & Natural Resources, has decades experience studying and improving fish passages, working in both the public and private sector. He explains, “for years, restoration projects focused mainly on removing physical barriers or helping fish pass through or around barriers. What we have seen though, is streams that had polluted water flowing into them did not achieve positive results after physical barriers were removed. Rather, they saw little to no improvement at all.”
For instance, even after over 20 years of work in the French Creek watershed of Snohomish County removing fish barriers, restoration of spawning salmon to the upper watershed remained impeded because the water-quality-barrier in the watershed had not been improved.
Since then, the team has worked with the county and farmers in the watershed to explore new options to both improve water quality and restore stream buffers in the agricultural lands. “We commonly focus on stormwater runoff and work to create a stable channel to keep bank erosion to natural rates, which are primary sources of pollutants in a stream. We also use the Benthic Index of Biotic Integrity (B-IBII) to project the health of the stream before and after the restoration is completed,” says Russ.
This more comprehensive approach to waterway restoration is a collaborative, multidisciplinary effort involving cities, counties, agencies, tribal consultation, and property owners to fully assess common goals. Consideration for regional stormwater management, water rights, connectivity of wetlands, and aquatic habitat are all incorporated into a design for lasting solutions.
A Multidisciplinary Approach to Resilience
To fully understand what is happening within a waterway and what barriers—physical or otherwise—are having the greatest impact, the entire watershed needs to be considered. This requires the expertise and perspective of a multi-disciplinary approach that ideally includes structural and civil engineers, geomorphologists, biologists, wetland ecologists, and landscape architects. Russ, who has witnessed changes in the industry firsthand, points out that it’s not just multiple disciplines weighing in on a project, it’s diverse perspectives working together. “What I thought was an integrated team years ago, is nothing compared to what we do today.”
Working closely together, integrated teams have a greater understanding of all aspects of a restoration project and how it will deliver greater resilience in current and future conditions. From leading the next generation of work in the Pacific Northwest to preparing watersheds for wildfire in the Mountain West, Otak has been at the forefront of this shift to a more holistic approach to improving fish passages. These multidisciplinary efforts not only aim for multi-species preservation but also work closely with various jurisdictions—cities, counties, the state— to maximize cost benefit for whole communities.
Positioning a community for long-term success is a planning effort that requires vision into the past, present, and future. Development around community goals often takes shape in the comprehensive planning process, but today this ever-evolving discipline faces increasingly complex challenges.
From the air to water and soil, the impacts of climate change are putting environmental factors at the forefront of long-range planning with the overarching need to create community resilience. As science and extreme weather events continue to paint a clearer picture of the specific hazards facing communities across different geographies, accounting for these variables becomes an increasingly essential element of the comprehensive planning process. In fact, for many planners today it’s not only essential, but mandatory. A growing number of states now have legislation in place – as well as significant sources of funding – that requires the inclusion of measures to address climate change in long-range plans.
In this piece, we’ll discuss how the comprehensive planning process is evolving to emphasize interconnected systems of resilience. From climate co-benefits centered on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, to improving socio-economic standing of residents, these emerging efforts are becoming a vital component to the future well-being of our communities.
Comprehensive planning is the process of creating documentation that guides decision-making around a variety of topics (i.e. land use, transportation, parks, housing, environment, employment etc.) for the direction of communities years into the future.
Communities often sharpen the focus of their overall vision through subarea plans aimed at covering specific parts of a city. These mini-comprehensive plans focus on the unique goals of a particular district, neighborhood, corridor, or other more targeted area of the broader community.
The Comprehensive Planning Co-Benefits Landscape
While impacts vary from one region to another, the fact of the matter is, no community is unaffected by climate. From flooding in coastal areas to extreme weather events on the mainland, growing trends with the environment have confirmed the importance of limiting human contribution to those changes while also making communities more resilient against their effects. It’s through this lens of resilience planning that co-benefits between different interconnected systems are found to maximize social, economic, and environmental factors collectively.
Resilience Planning Terminology
Types of Community Assets
Reference: Washington Department of Commerce
At the heart of resilience planning is the recognition of community assets – both tangible and intangible – and how they relate to potential hazards. The co-benefits of this process often are found in goals such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions or restoring watersheds, all to benefit the common needs of humans and habitats alike.
Environmental Systems of Resilience
At this point, any approach toward sustainability and resilience in development relies on an understanding of the connection between systems in the built environment and natural environment. Efforts to mitigate impact or restore natural systems are planned to include co-benefits to communities, including through green stormwater infrastructure.
Implementation projects that result from the comprehensive planning process can go a long way toward ensuring better preserved natural systems lead to more resilient communities.
Mitigating Impacts to Water, Air, and Soil
Many of the most vital elements found in nature are equally vital to our communities. From direct impacts like mitigating floods and wildfires to passive ones such as water and air quality, the co-benefits of resilience connect our communities to their broader ecosystems to reduce risk and enhance public health.
In many areas of the United States, one of the most pressing hazards is wildfire. Considering physical loss to impacts on insurability and other economic effects, their toll on a community can be swift, widespread, and long lasting. What’s more is these events can cause a domino effect of natural disasters.
The scorched land and destroyed vegetation left behind by a wildfire will often lead to erosion of soil and increased runoff from stormwater. Excess water and sediment can have extreme impacts on water quality, transportation infrastructure (culverts, bridges etc.), and other community assets for years after a fire has been put out.
While strides have been made in fighting wildfires, the best approach remains in resilience planning designed to limit their impact before they start in the first place. Methods like identifying watersheds that are at risk and encouraging their preservation and restoration puts communities in a better position to avoid the variety of ways wildfire leads to loss.
Flooding and Sedimentation
Similar to the relationship between wildfires and watersheds, the role of healthy vegetation can play a large role in a community’s water quality and flooding. As a stormwater measure, native planting can have the added utility of accounting for added impervious surfaces, providing natural bioretention.
By limiting erosion through healthy root systems, native plantings are an essential element of any shoreline. In other types of environments, preserving soil also reduces the potential for debris flow or rock/mud slides that can cause a high amount of damage to property and loss of life.
Healthy habitats that include native plantings are also commonly used in planning efforts for parks and community spaces. Native plants are healthy food sources for local wildlife and because they’re adapted to the surrounding climate, they often require less water and maintenance, conserving an area’s resources efficiently. They also add to the culture, education, and development of public spaces by encouraging a community to learn about and embrace the natural heritage of their region
Housing, Transportation, and Energy Systems of Resilience
Just as environmental factors impact community infrastructure, the reverse is also true. It’s no secret that transportation contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and that development can negatively impact ecosystems. It’s also important to recognize that disparities in impacted communities exist and planning around environmental justice is an opportunity to increase social justice.
When looking at issues individually, it can be difficult to find satisfying solutions, but when problems are viewed wholistically through the lens of resilience, the ability to influence positive outcomes becomes clearer.
Green House Gas (GHG) Emissions Reduction
A primary factor in resilience planning is the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The focus on reducing vehicle miles driven and setting reduction targets is central to much of the regulation in Oregon and Washington state.
Planning that emphasizes transit-oriented development and active transportation not only works to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but also can lead to more vibrant, healthier communities. A comprehensive plan can also include a look at industrial processes or emissions that come from city operations in order to lower an area’s carbon footprint.
Housing Density and Affordability
Across the country, many urban areas face challenges associated with affordable housing. With obvious economic implications, the ability to increase not only the supply but the density of housing is an effort to improve community resilience as well as upward mobility.
Within the comprehensive planning process, updates that allow for higher density housing or more flexible housing types can be made to the city code. Middle housing, or the in-between housing of detached single family and large multifamily complexes, is one avenue for flexible housing that maintains the character of a neighborhood. Ultimately, the goal for planners is to give people affordable housing options for the different stages of life that exist in any given community for the benefit of all.
Continuity in Operations and Utilities
In many areas of the country, communities are now familiar with “flex events” or “rolling blackouts” aimed at reducing energy consumption when there is high demand being met by strained energy infrastructure. As shifts in climate produce more frequent extreme temperatures–both hot and cold–planning efforts should consider how to make this process more efficient for communities while also considering improvements to energy grids that are more adaptable to these changing conditions.
Creating Stronger Communities through the Comprehensive Planning Process
In the context of comprehensive planning, resilience planning adds an additional layer of foresight focused on the interconnected systems of community, climate, and the natural environment. To truly prepare communities for a wide range of possible outcomes, resilience planning requires planners and stakeholders to not only consider current conditions and future growth, but also to anticipate and plan for a range of possible scenarios exacerbated by climate change and environmental degradation.
To encourage – and in some cases, mandate – this proactive approach, states such as Washington, Colorado, and Oregon have incorporated new planning requirements for local governments to address climate through comprehensive plans. At the same time, it has also opened the door to related grant funding and technical assistance for community leaders to implement impactful initiatives by injecting resilience into each step of the comprehensive planning process.
Understanding Risks and Opportunities Through Meaningful Community Engagement
Community engagement and collaboration is an essential component of any planning process and takes on added importance when preparing for climate change and impacts to vulnerable communities. The process should bring in all voices of a community, particularly underserved ones and those that are most vulnerable to shocks and stressors. By involving a variety of groups, including tribal consultation, a more complete view of relevant factors is brought to the table while building consensus around goals.
An existing conditions analysis, including collecting data, understanding a wide range of community experiences, and identifying resources and assets available to mitigate impacts is a vital part of engaging the community toward a meaningful direction. A variety of engagement opportunities, from a booth at a popular event to interactive virtual open houses can provide a forum for gathering this information and beginning the public engagement process.
As planners work with elected officials and planning commissions to begin applying direction to specific projects and policy, findings from community engagement continue to help confirm and refine goals. Communication of community priorities gathered through public engagement is vital to creating this roadmap for future success.
An outdoor community engagement event in Vancouver, WA.
Plans for Austin Park Playground displayed for the community.
A planning session with community stakeholders in Vancouver, WA.
Meeting with community leadership in developing plans in Vancouver, WA.
Assessing Current Conditions, Hazards, and Community Assets
Mapping existing conditions (zoning, environmental conditions, population, traffic, property market, job market etc.) and community assets can reveal connections between individual factors, as well as larger systems in the area.
Examining these assets includes not only physical infrastructure but also social capital, cultural resources, and natural ecosystems. This includes identifying hazards (also known as shocks and stressors), such as hurricanes or wildfires, as well as chronic stressors like sea-level rise or economic inequality.
Shocks: Generally short-duration, rapid-onset or acute events that cause a disruption to normal life. (i.e. hurricane, wildfire, earthquake, flood etc.)
Stressors: Chronic, slow-onset or longer-term conditions that weaken a community over time and can impact community functions and well-being. (i.e. affordable housing, loss of habitat, air quality etc.)
“Futures” as a Plural in Outlining Desired Conditions
The comprehensive planning process often answers, “where do you want to be in 20 years, and how do you get there?” To develop strategies to adapt and thrive in the face of uncertainty involves envisioning future scenarios and understanding potential outcomes in more vivid detail than might be illustrated by a simple trendline or series of “high, medium, and low” projections.
Because future conditions are largely based on assumptions with certain metrics, there are a couple different ways to approach scenario development. Often, planning process participants are asked to choose between a variety of predetermined options for projects. An alternative to this approach involves preparing for several different pathways for development in order to respond to how future conditions evolve in reality, rather than a single expected outcome. This adaptable approach is especially important for resilience planning when considering factors such as how water levels might rise or where certain economic indicators will trend.
Whether it’s through innovative land use planning, investment in green infrastructure, or promoting sustainable transportation options, creating a roadmap for a more resilient future requires consideration of a range of interconnected community systems. Through the planning process, these systems and are aligned with a breadth of possible outcomes to design flexible, adaptive policies that are resilient to changing conditions.
Environmental Systems: Preserving ecosystems and natural resources to benefit community health.
Community and Social Systems: Supporting strong group structures and equitable government and social services.
Infrastructure Systems: Planning the built environment alongside natural systems to improve community functions.
Economic Systems: Improving access to opportunity and financial security.
Housing Systems: Developing access to shelter and strong surrounding community.
Developing Policy and Mapping Outcomes
Eventually, turning a planning vision into reality requires action. Implementing a comprehensive plan and co-benefits involves a mix of policy changes, infrastructure investments, and continued community engagement efforts.
At this stage, plans need to be double checked against state mandates, such as Washington’s Growth Management Act, while also translating overarching regulation to local jurisdictions. Those outcomes can then be adopted in the form of law by city councils or county commissions and funding options that will turn those plans into a reality can be explored.
Example State Legislation
Growth Management Act (Washington)
The resilience sub-element must include goals and polices to improve climate preparedness, response, and recovery efforts. This is mandatory for all counties and cities fully planning under the GMA and encouraged for others. As part of this, the greenhouse gas emissions sub-element requires goals and policies to reduce emissions and vehicle miles traveled.
Climate-Friendly and Equitable Communities (Oregon)
Intended to incentivize the adoption of transformational practices, programs, and policies that support sustainable development patterns and affordable housing into the future. This program will help communities align policies and regulations to focus on resilience around primarily housing and transportation.
Fortunately, there is growing support and funding available for resilience projects, with grants and other resources becoming increasingly accessible to communities committed to building a more resilient future. By aligning with state mandates and leveraging available resources, communities can turn their resilience plans into actionable projects that make a tangible difference in people’s lives.
Putting it All Together: A Multidisciplinary Planning Approach
In an era of unprecedented challenges, resilience planning offers a path forward for communities seeking to build a more sustainable, equitable, and adaptive future. Collaborative by nature, this effort benefits from the expertise of a number of practices focused on building improved communities.
By integrating resilience principles into the comprehensive planning process, communities can better prepare for and respond to the complex threats of the 21st century, ensuring a safer, more prosperous future for generations to come.
A common thread within the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry exists in creating lasting impact. While this theme naturally applies to work that aims to improve lives in communities from one generation to the next, it’s also about preparing the next generation of professionals to continue that work.
At the University of Colorado, Boulder, the CVEN 4899 Senior Design course takes a different approach to building future AEC professionals by giving students a real-world example project to put their knowledge into practice. The project is part of Otak’s work on South Boulder Creek and several leaders from the multidisciplinary expertise involved participated in the classroom and in the field. Their hope was to lend their perspective as mentors to advancing an educational system where a focus on technical knowledge often doesn’t include the value of practical experience.
Understanding how complex projects go from concept to completion involves familiarity with nuanced aspects of decision making in each phase, including stakeholder engagement, technical design, constructability, budgeting, and interdisciplinary coordination. This course helps balance the gap between hard and soft skills in the complete design and construction process, equipping students with a well-rounded start toward successful careers in the industry.
In this blog, we’ll dive into the details of this unique capstone project and the information presented to guide it across four distinct elements. Read on or skip ahead:
The Project – A Stream, Two Structures, and the Solutions of Multidisciplinary Work
In the backyard of CU Boulder’s campus is a nine-mile stretch of South Boulder Creek that extends from Eldorado Canyon to its confluence with Boulder Creek. It represents one of several stream sites identified for improvement by Boulder Flycasters (a local chapter of Trout Unlimited) after multiple studies in the area. The subsequent Stream Management Plan recommended the modification or replacement of multiple structures while the City of Boulder Open Space & Mountain Parks Department aimed to improve the functionality of all water crossings across their trail network in the area.
The collective goals of a hypothetical client, The South Boulder Creek Alliance, took shape in a request for proposal (RFP) that combines two projects near the South Mesa Trailhead. One focuses on modifying or replacing the Davidson Diversion structure, and the second on the pedestrian access bridge crossing South Boulder Creek as part of the Mesa Trail.
Through this course, students were asked to develop hypothetical proposals for this real-world project. In developing their designs for each element, they were challenged to balance stakeholder needs, reduce costs through innovative materials and construction methods, and minimize impacts to the environment and public—both during construction and in the long term. Several presentations from industry professionals would guide them along the way, all with a focus on sustainability and resiliency considerations.
Assessing Water Resources and Environmental Conditions
Understanding water resources is an essential component to civil engineering, which of course is accentuated when a stream is involved. It’s a concept very familiar to Tracy Emmanuel, a geomorphologist and team lead for environmental as well as water and natural resources work at Otak, who—alongside colleagues Chris Romeyn and Maddie McNamee—brought expertise to this course in the classroom and the field. While Chris and Maddie led a tutorial on hydraulic modeling, Tracy guided students through her team’s approach to water-related aspects of projects with an emphasis on the types of questions they ask in the project process to uncover the right design solutions—rather than simply providing the answers.
Using this information, students examined the project area’s floodplain and how the flow of the stream impacts the design in a number of key ways:
Determining watershed hydrology and waterway flows as they relate to water rights, fish passage, and with consideration of an expansion project of the upstream Gross Reservoir Dam
Examining a floodplain assessment of impacts to 100-year and 500-year floodplain boundaries in relation to those published by FEMA and local agencies
Completing hydraulic analysis to determine placement and impact of both the diversion structure and potential bridge crossing.
Determining scour from a 500-year storm event and channel erosion protection for the structures
These areas not only enhanced the students’ understanding of water resources engineering but also underlined the importance of designing for the long-term ecological health of the area and maximizing its value to the surrounding community.
Making Context-Sensitive Structural Design Decisions
Structural design is about more than just crunching numbers—it’s about understanding how context, constraints, and client priorities shape a project. David Graff, a structural engineer at Otak, provided students a window into better understanding the how that surrounding context impacts the structural design process, while remaining rooted in real-world conditions.
David emphasized that before even beginning detailed calculations, engineers must make critical decisions about structure type, channel impact, materials, constructability, and aesthetic expectations. He also highlighted the importance of asking the right questions—What problems is the client trying to solve? What’s the budget? Are there successful precedent projects to draw from?
To demonstrate this process, he shared the structure alignment selection process behind the 19th Street Pedestrian Bridge, which exists right on CU Boulder’s campus. He used the project as an example familiar to these students, illustrating how thoughtful engineering, paired with client engagement and project constraint understanding, leads to a successful and unique design solution.
These insights aimed to aid the students as they worked through the structural and geotechnical aspects of the project:
Describing existing site conditions, including subsurface conditions and soil profiles
Determining if any elements of existing structures can be reused in the final condition
Evaluating the pros and cons of different structural materials and systems for the pedestrian bridge design
Considering preventative maintenance for the structures and those associated future costs
The opportunity to navigate working with multiple disciplines and stakeholders gave students a fuller understanding of the structural design process and the high-level decisions that come with it.
Building High-Performing Teams with Balanced Skills
Technical expertise is essential, but the ability to work well with others and communicate effectively is also critical to a project’s success. Henry Alaman, Otak’s Colorado Regional Director and a member of the owner’s representative team, shared with students the importance of balancing technical skills with the soft skills that aren’t always covered in traditional engineering coursework.
Henry spoke about how interpersonal skills influence both the pursuit of projects and their ultimate success. From team collaboration to community engagement, the ability to build relationships and gain buy-in from stakeholders can be an essential piece of the project process.
To reinforce the importance of collaboration, and communication, Henry led an interactive team-building exercise that encouraged students to break down barriers and avoid the siloed thinking that can hinder progress in interdisciplinary teams.
Considering Constructability and Managing a Project to Completion
The best design in the world won’t matter if it can’t be built efficiently. That was central theme from Patrick Pease, a leader in Otak’s construction management group, who presented the practical realities of turning design concepts into built environments.
Patrick walked students through the various steps in the construction process—from initial planning to regular coordination with owners, municipalities, and contractors. He stressed the construction phase being where most major cost fluctuations occur, making coordination crucial to maximizing project value. Proactive communication is one key to avoiding these issues by resolving disputes quickly, maintaining schedules, and keeping projects on budget. To drive this point, Patrick shared two real-world examples that showed opposing results. One—CO7 and SH119—was executed efficiently due to strong stakeholder coordination and planning. The other experienced delays and cost overruns due to poor coordination and lack of clarity between parties.
With the aim of ensuring their designs could be completed, the students’ proposals included various aspects of project constructability:
Creating a list of stakeholders, including their role and involvement, who need to be involved during active construction
Providing strategies for avoiding public interruptions as well as any needed closures or detours to the trail system
Mitigating risk and impact to the environment, including fish spawning in the area
Creating a detailed cost estimate along with a design and construction schedule with phasing plans
A close look at the construction phase helped students understand how critical it is to build strong working relationships early and sustain them throughout a project’s lifecycle.
Bridging the Gap Between Classroom and Career
By simulating a true design-build environment, the CVEN 4899 Senior Design course gives students invaluable experience beyond textbooks. Otak is honored to support these future AEC professionals with a first-hand look at the full project process from a multidisciplinary environment.
As a firm committed to the professional development of our people and the improvement of our communities, we see investing in the next generation not just as mentorship but central to our mission.
A cornerstone of any growing community is its connectivity. Roadway engineering provides more than just conduits for cars; it forms the framework for mobility in a community that leverages a variety of modes of transportation.
A well-designed transportation network featuring different types of roadways can have widespread impact on economic development and individual wellness. This includes improvements that ensure all areas—especially underserved populations—have access to jobs, essential services, and amenities as well as healthier lifestyles through reductions in emissions and the promotion of active transportation. In this blog we discuss how roadway designs exist at the intersection of planning and transportation engineering to support the growth of healthier, more sustainable communities.
Roadway engineering is the planning, design, and construction of transportation infrastructure that enhances existing roadways or establishes new connections within a community. The practice integrates technical expertise, urban planning, and environmental considerations to develop safe, efficient, and accessible transportation systems that serve both current and future needs.
The design process starts with an assessment of existing conditions, including topographic mapping, survey and GIS, to understand site constraints. From there, engineers develop roadway layouts that meet design and safety standards. The final design incorporates permitting requirements, cost considerations, and agency coordination to ensure a smooth transition from planning through construction. The end result is a completed roadway that enhances connection across a community.
Stormwater Infrastructure and Low Impact Development
An extremely common aspect of roadway engineering involves the inclusion of stormwater infrastructure considerations. While accounting for increased impervious surfaces and polluted runoff, stormwater features reduce flooding and improve water quality for a community.
With new development comes the potential for negative environmental impact, but proper analysis of natural resources can mitigate adverse effects. Existing culverts are notoriously inefficient and are also among the most common barriers to fish passage. Today, culverts are being replaced to protect aquatic habitat, reduce flooding, and preserve water rights for property owners.
An important piece of roadway engineering is consideration of how it facilitates more than just cars. Multimodal design gives communities options for how they get from point A to point B, all while reducing carbon emissions and promoting physical health through active transportation. Emphasizing pedestrian mobility features like pedestrian bridges, protected bike lanes, cross walks, and traffic stripping reduces traffic conflicts for all.
Safety is the top priority of any roadway project. With updated traffic signals and signage, drivers are more aware, creating a safer environment for themselves and pedestrians. As the design of a roadway considers number of lanes and width, control of speed can also be effectively managed.
A healthy transportation network is a diverse transportation network. As roadway projects increase in size, so do opportunities to incorporate multimodal features. This can include accommodating mass transit with new stations, specialized lanes, or connection to adjacent trail systems. All ultimately contribute to traffic calming, creating a more connected community.
From small neighborhood streets to large arterials, each roadway type must be designed with the specific needs of the community in mind. A critical aspect of any design is engaging with the public to ensure buy-in and minimize disruption. The larger the initiative, the more essential public outreach becomes, and each project presents its own unique impacts to the connectivity of the communities it serves.
Types of Roadways and Their Impact on Communities
Different types of roadways serve unique, though connected, purposes in a transportation network. Their design often begins with comprehensive planning efforts which help identify the transportation needs of a community. Potential projects can then be developed with the focus of serving both community and client goals.
Neighborhood Streets
Neighborhood streets are designed with a primary focus on safety and accessibility, often placing an emphasis on pedestrians, cyclists, and access to public transit. The more limited scope of neighborhood street projects makes cost-effective construction strategies vital to fit within local budgets.
With this localized focus on enhancing connectivity and accessibility, neighborhood streets also typically include ADA-compliant sidewalks and crosswalks while speed bumps or curb extensions are among traffic calming measures. This roadway type requires extra attention to minimizing impact on adjacent properties while maximizing the benefits to those who call the neighborhood home, including the public assets that often exist in the area.
Tualatin, OR Adds Safe Routes to School
Among some of the most important improvements that can be made to neighborhood streets are those that create a safer environment for children that play and travel in the area. For many parents at Tualatin Elementary, it was clear that updates to the neighborhood streets could make a real difference for the kids walking and biking to and from school.
As part of Safe Routes to School (SRTS) programs, which provides grants for these types of improvements, work on 95th and Avery made a variety of upgrades to enhance pedestrian safety, particularly for the kids of Tualatin Elementary.
Multiple intersections were improved with high visibility striping in crosswalks, rectangular rapid-flashing beacons (RRFB), and other features to create safer pedestrian crossings and reduce conflicts with vehicles. Deficient sidewalks and gaps were replaced to further enhance the pedestrian experience.
Mid-Size Collectors and Corridors
Mid-size collectors and corridors serve as vital connections between neighborhoods and larger roadways. This roadway type supports moderate traffic volumes and often incorporates improvements that enhance transportation operations and facilitate flow between developing areas.
Corridors generally aim to improve access to commercial areas, parks, and transit hubs in response to increasing traffic demand. As part of planning efforts, these improvements are sometimes made in anticipation of future development. The larger scope often involves coordination with utility companies and various agencies, as they can have a substantial impact on not only the community but the surrounding environment.
Silverdale, WA Sees Reduced Congestion and an Enhanced Waterfront
The community of Silverdale had long looked to improve on poor waterfront access. Where the Clear Creek Estuary crosses under Bucklin Hill Road and meets Dyes Inlet, high traffic was common which was especially problematic considering its semi-rural setting. Altogether, the area represented a missed opportunity to create an appealing place for recreation, community connections, and growth for local businesses.
Improvements to Bucklin Hill Road and Bridge changed that. Two additional travel lanes eliminated congestion while new bike lanes and facilities were added where there had been none. Widened sidewalks and new trail connections added to new active transportation opportunities for the community. Extensive public outreach, including the “Scout Your Route” campaign to keep the public informed of closures, minimized disruption while reducing construction duration. These improvements had a direct, broad impact on all community members, including residents at senior living facilities in the area that now benefit from greater accessibility to their local businesses.
Large Arterials and Highways
Large arterials and highways are critical for regional mobility, commerce, and overarching economic development. Linking rural and urban areas, these roadways provide communities of all sizes access to important resources like employment and healthcare in metropolitan centers, while supporting the social and cultural networks between different areas. The scale of large highway upgrades can lead to wider improvements to transit-oriented development that diversify modes of transportation and maximize project value.
These roadways often present unique engineering challenges and draw from multiple funding sources, requiring close coordination with agencies to ensure regulatory compliance. As long-term, high-visibility projects, managing timelines and minimizing construction impacts is essential to minimizing disruptions that, at this scale, can be especially costly. This includes effectively communicating project updates with the surrounding community through informational websites, local representatives, and other channels to provide clarity and achieve buy-in.
Salem, OR Supports Rapid Growth and Underserved Areas
In a historically underserved area of Salem, Oregon, where 36% of parcels are underutilized, the McGilchrist Complete Street Project is designed to enhance business development, job creation, and multimodal transportation options for members of the community. It’s part of a 20-year vision for economic growth as well as transportation safety and environmental sustainability.
Considering the large and lasting impact of this work on the community, it was imperative to include them. Extensive stakeholder engagement went above and beyond, working directly with property owners, businesses, and local agencies to ensure the project addressed real community needs. These efforts led to the incorporation of refinements such as the protected cycle track and intersection realignments.
Based on feedback from public outreach, 74% of the corridor features protected bike lanes and new sidewalks. The design aims to significantly improve pedestrian accessibility while minimizing pedestrian-vehicle conflicts, resulting in fewer severe crashes and lives lost. The inclusion of $15 million of stormwater infrastructure upgrades also means this work plays a critical role in not only reducing future flooding for the community but improving habitat for fish.
Making the Complete Connection
Roadways are essential to creating vibrant, connected, and equitable communities. Because of their widespread impact, roadway projects of any size involve a diverse set of considerations to ensure that impact is comprehensive and long lasting. Through thoughtful planning, collaboration, and public engagement, Otak’s multidisciplinary teams take a cohesive approach to designing more connected communities that address current and future needs.
With the mission of advancing the science around urban ecosystems, the 23rd Annual Urban Ecology and Conservation Symposium took place featuring a presentation detailing work on the Springwater Wetlands Restoration project. Project lead, Rose Horton, presented alongside the client, Portland Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) and the City of Portland, to discuss the variety of ways improvements to this watershed are designed to improve the local habitat and surrounding community.
“At a really well attended conference, it was great to be part of all the wildlife research and knowledge that was shared… it’s important to show how restoring wetlands also protects people with solutions like naturally improving flood storage.”
– Rose Horton, PE|Team Leader, WNR
What is the Urban Ecology and Conservation Symposium?
The event is hosted by the Urban Ecosystem Research Consortium (UERC) of Portland/Vancouver and was held at Portland State University. Made up of members from educational institutions, state agencies, local governments, and non-profits, the UERC offers professionals opportunities to gather and share knowledge about urban ecology. Several speakers across a range of organizations gave presentations to share knowledge and ecological data with a focus on building communities in the region.
Insights from the Springwater Wetlands Restoration
Among the presentations given on ‘Restoration and Monitoring’ at the 2025 UERC was a unique, 70-acre urban wetland enhancement project that aimed to address decades of attempts to reduce flooding in the Portland area. Johnson Creek is one of the few free-flowing streams in Portland and has a long history of nuisance and catastrophic flooding. The restoration of the Springwater Wetlands focused on reducing that flooding while also enhancing habitat and improving community amenities for the city.
Co-presenting with client representatives, Rose detailed how this restoration work removed non-native fill and improved flood storage to protect neighborhoods from Johnson Creek and advance the city’s goals. This work also added more connections to the Johnson Creek trail system, including educational signs and site features made from WPA rock that connect the area’s history with its natural environment.
The Otak project team and client at the 2025 ACEC WA Engineering Excellence Awards Banquet.
This year’s American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Washington Awards Banquet celebrated a variety of projects from the region that improve communities through innovative engineering solutions. We’re proud to share that Otak’s NE 40th Stormwater Trunk Extension and Water Quality Facility project was honored with a Silver Award for Successful Fulfillment of Client/Owner Needs, highlighting the exceptional work and the dedication of our stormwater planning and environmental teams to collaborate closely with our client partners.
In further developing the City of Redmond’s stormwater infrastructure, this project stood out for a design that ensures water quality for people and natural habitat alike, while encouraging investment in the redevelopment of the area.
About Phase 1: Street Stormwater Trunk Extension
Redmond’s proactive approach to stormwater management included extension of a stormwater trunkline to a new direct outfall into Lake Sammamish to accommodate future redevelopment without the need for large on-site flow control facilities. This allows for higher density in a growing urban area around the new Redmond Technology Light Rail Station.
At the upstream end of the trunkline basin, the NE 40th Street Water Quality Facility was established to treat highly polluted runoff from 19 acres of a high-traffic roadway area. The new retrofit treatment site includes a unique leaf-shaped biofiltration facility that is viewable by pedestrians and transit center users at a gateway node within the city.
Congratulations to our team, client, and project partners for their hard work and dedication! We look forward to continuing our mission of delivering innovative and sustainable built solutions.
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