Formulating and Scoping a Comprehensive Multi-Jurisdictional Countywide Stormwater Management Program

In 2004, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (District) was given authority for stormwater management in Cook County, Illinois. The District began its stormwater management program by undertaking several key stormwater management planning activities, including conducting an institutional assessment, creating a new organizational structure, preparing a stormwater management plan, establishing a community participation framework, initiating detailed watershed planning and developing a comprehensive watershed management ordinance. Faced with the challenge of initiating major, concurrent watershed planning efforts, the District undertook a number of steps and activities to define an appropriate scope and level of effort for six major detailed watershed plans (DWPs) beginning with the Little Calumet River (LCR) watershed. This pre-planning effort produced a two-phased DWP approach that first defined the planning efforts and then developed the plans. The first phase quantified the available data, screened flooding problems, defined methodologies to resolve complex hydrologic and hydraulic (H&H) issues, formulated an appropriate alternative analysis approach, and established a framework for stakeholder participation in the watersheds. The second phase includes the H&H model development, alternative analysis and recommendations. This paper summarizes some of the key steps taken by the District to develop an appropriate scope and level of effort to prepare its DWPs and to meet the objectives defined under its stormwater management authority.