Challenge

Sunfish Lake, a large open water wetland, is located in the city of Ramsey. The City acquired land adjacent to the west side of the lake for park and recreational purposes. The City’s master plan for parks and trails identified this area for a future park and trail corridor. Thatcher Engineering teamed with Brauer and Associates, Ltd. to provide a plan to the city that included a passive park area, gazebo, paved parking lot and access to the lake via a boardwalk and dock. Thatcher Engineering’s task for the project was designing a stormwater management plan to control increased runoff associated with additional impervious areas as well as a drinking water system for the park.

Solution:

Thatcher Engineering prepared a stormwater management plan that best fit the natural attributes of the park. The site’s sandy soils are conducive for infiltrating additional stormwater runoff. Therefore, Thatcher Engineering designed a bio-infiltration basin adjacent to the new parking lot. The basin has the capacity to treat and infiltrate the water volume draining from all new impervious surfaces. In addition, we designed a sump catch basin located prior to where the parking lot runoff reaches the bio-infiltration basin to minimize clogging of the void spaces in the soil.

A water service line was designed to serve a drinking water fountain within the park as well as a future irrigation system. The service line was designed for shallow installation to minimize cost. Therefore, a blowout system was included to remove the water in the fall to minimize potential damage from frozen pipes during the winter season.