Photo by Erin Nelson.
The intersection of Virginia Drive and College Avenue near Edgewood Elementary on June 3.
The city of Homewood is currently working to create a stormwater master plan that city leaders hope will improve stormwater management for all residents.
City Engineer Cale Smith said the creation of the plan began in December when the public input period began. During this time, the city hosted public input meetings and received roughly 100 comments, he said.
After receiving public input, Smith said the city is mapping and grading its inventory of infrastructure.
Eventually, the city’s consultant will work to find the highest priority areas to see if it matches professional hydraulic models, created to show where the city has major stormwater infrastructure needs, he said. Those models are taken from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Smith said.
The idea is to create not only a booklet of information but also an action list of priorities and problem areas, Smith said, with all of the information going toward capital improvements included in the master plan.
The city is aware and working on some problem areas, such as where Huntington Road meets Mayfair Drive, Smith said. The 48-inch pipe on Mayfair cannot handle the water coming from the culvert on Huntington, creating adverse effects, he said.
Kimley-Horn is serving as the city’s consultants on the project and will take all of the information that is gathered to create the capital improvement plan. Smith said the goal is to have the plan together by early winter, though a list of projects should be available for budget discussions this summer.
