THE PROJECT The Yacht Harbor Manor neighborhood in Riviera Beach, Florida, which was developed in the 1960s, had aging infrastructure, clogged sewers, and frequent flooding. City officials decided to address those issues with a sustainable solution for this intracoastal neighborhood. Erdman Anthony was selected to provide utility and highway design services for the project.
FEATURES/SOLUTIONS Features included: •Replacing old clay sewer pipes and old cast-iron water mains and force mains with PVC pipes suitable for the saline groundwater conditions. •The drainage outfalls, which were discharging directly into the intracoastal waterway, were upgraded with new pipes that include exfiltration trenches that now provide water quality for the first flush of runoff. •Full reconstruction of the entire pavement within the right-of-way was performed. •A full-roadway profile grade line design with cross sections at each driveway to confirm that the project would not result in drainage that flows from the right-of-way towards a home. •Installation of a valley gutter to improve surface drainage.
IMPACTS A construction dewatering plan was prepared due to the proximity of the saline body of water, and the permit for that was obtained from SFWMD. Our plan also called for protection of the downstream waterway through the use of turbidity barriers and routine testing throughout construction. The new pavement in this low-lying neighborhood is now concrete to better withstand inundation from a tropical storm or hurricane. The addition of exfiltration trenches now provides water-quality treatment and is a benefit to the ecology of the area.
Regarding the roadway and replacing the asphalt pavement with concrete have mitigated flooding in this low-lying neighborhood. The new exfiltration trenches also have reduced the amount of stormwater-runoff sediment entering the intracoastal waterway.