12.01.2009

12 Months on Cole Creek

OMAHA - You can get a lot done in 12 months.

As the construction season winds down on Cole Creek, the project partners paused to take a look back at the past year’s activity - both on site and in the community. A stormwater demonstration pilot, The Cole Creek Project is the first to follow the City of Omaha’s Urban Design Element recommendation that calls for transforming the Papio Creek waterways into a citywide public park and recreation system.

Cole Creek begins south of Sorensen Parkway and flows into the Little Papillion Creek near the intersection of 78th and Cass streets. The project focuses on the upper portion of the creek from its headwaters south of Sorensen Parkway to Hartman Avenue. It seeks to stabilize the creek, improve its water quality and enhance the recreational use of neighboring Orchard Park. The goal of the project’s community outreach effort is to engage homeowners, neighborhood associations, business associations and students in understanding their role in the local water cycle and incorporating green solutions into their daily routines.

Fall-Winter 2008
- The project’s web site, www.colecreek.org, launches.
- Excavation of two bioretention gardens in Orchard Park begins. The gardens, examples of stormwater management best practices, will capture and cleanse stormwater runoff before it enters the creek.

February 2009
- The project launches its 2009 Mini-Grant Program. Open to neighborhood associations, schools, churches and civic groups within the Benson-Ames Alliance, the program will fund projects that address stormwater management or water conservation.

April 2009
- The project hosts an open house for the general public, including an overview of the construction phases and an information fair.

May 2009
- Planting of the two bioretention gardens in Orchard Park begins with a mix of grasses and wildflowers - Big Bluestem, Indian Grass and Butterfly Milkweed, to name a few.

July 2009
- The project awards mini-grants to the Clairmont Heights Neighborhood Association, Nathan Hale Middle School and the Metcalfe-Harrison Neighborhood Association.
- The process for removing dense vegetation from the creek’s banks begins. For each tree that is removed, three native trees will be planted. The goal is to create a diverse natural habitat that’s attractive to wildlife.
- Work on the stream channel realignment and stabilization begins.

August 2009
- A new neighborhood association forms in the Benson-Ames Alliance. The Cole Creek Neighborhood Association, made up of roughly 1,200 homes near the starting point of Cole Creek, is bound by Sorensen Parkway on the north, Camden Avenue on the south, 60th Street on the east and 72nd Street on the west.
- The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension Stormwater Work Group visits the project site in conjunction with its Green Infrastructure for Stormwater Management Tour.

September 2009
- Three interpretive signs outlining the project’s goals are installed at the project site.

October 2009
- A second low-flow crossing is created that connects the walkway around the north bioretention garden to the east side of Orchard Park.
- The project team tours the construction site to monitor progress to date. Three of the project’s indirect benefits include the following: nearly one acre of impervious surface is removed from the parking lot at Roncalli, the earthwork required to move the stream channel allowed for the creation of a practice field at the high school, and seven of the creek’s storm sewer outlets were reconstructed.

In the spring of 2010, the project’s third bioretention garden adjacent to the Orchard Park tennis courts will be planted, the remaining construction associated with the stream channel realignment and stabilization will be completed, and buffer strips along the stream banks will be planted to slow the flow of water over land before it reaches the creek.

The Cole Creek Project, a $1.6 million investment in the Benson-Ames Alliance, is a partnership of the City of Omaha Departments of Public Works and Parks, Recreation and Public Property; Roncalli Catholic High School; Douglas County; Omaha by Design; the Benson-Ames Alliance; Big Muddy Workshop; Hayes Environmental L.L.C.; Lamp, Rynearson & Associates; and Olsson Associates. It is funded by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality and the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District.