The Howard Storage Basin (CSO Rack 22) project, a key part of the City of Akron’s massive $1.4 billion Akron Waterways Renewed! initiative, won an ACEC Ohio Honor Award! GPD’s Tony Burgoyne was joined by the City of Akron’s Rob Solomon to accept the award on March 12 at ACEC’s 2020 Engineering Excellence Awards Luncheon.
“Thank you to ACEC for hosting another wonderful event that brings together so many industry leaders and showcases engineering projects that demonstrate a high degree of uniqueness, ingenuity and added value. We are fortunate to work with clients, like the City of Akron, who encourage creativity and embrace our commitment to the environment. Along with our construction partners, we are proud to be recognized by ACEC Ohio for our work that not only provides environmental benefits for the City and their rate payers, but for three other ecological restoration projects across the state as well.” – Tony Burgoyne, PE
Pictured left to right: Chris Scheks (GPD), Tony Burgoyne (GPD), Rob Solomon (City of Akron), Jesse Rufener (GPD), Kevin Grathwol (GPD), Steve Mullaney (GPD)
About the Project
Rack 22 is one of 34 permitted Combined Sewer Overflows (CSO) within the City of Akron (City) collection system with approximately 415 acres of tributary area. On parallel paths, GPD developed construction plans for both a partial sewer separation project as well as the Howard Storage Basin (HSB) project to allow the City the opportunity to construct the most cost effective solution while meeting the required completion date. The storage basin was the most cost effective option to eliminate system overflows. The design was developed from a maintenance first approach while fitting within a sensitive site in downtown Akron along the east bank of the Little Cuyahoga River. Design efforts employed many of GPD’s in-house services and local minority partners to develop system diversion, floatables screening, flow restriction, automated washdown facilities, operations building, instrumentation monitoring and controls, floodplain determination, wetland and environmental assessment and delineations, and river bank stabilization. Since its completion, the constructed basin has been successful in mitigating CSOs and providing environmental benefits to the once oxygen deprived Cuyahoga River system that today has reached attainment for the majority of the waterway.
Additional Awards
The Howard Storage Basin is a part of larger CSO Rack 22 project for the City of Akron. In November 2017, the CSO Rack 22 project received the 2017 U.S. EPA Performance and Innovation in the SRF Creating Environmental Success (PISCES) Award for fast tracking design and supporting an accelerated construction schedule, along with blending the basin into the landscape to lessen its distraction from the surrounding natural environment. The PISCES Award provides national recognition to projects of all sizes that demonstrate exceptional improvements in water quality, public health, sustainability, and innovation. The Howard Storage Basin was one of just 28 projects to win this prestigious award in 2017, and was one of five to receive the Exceptional Project category!