Location: Anaheim, California
Cost: $3,316,218
Size: 37,000 square feet
Owner: City of Anaheim
Managers: Gary Solsona, Kevin Miako & Tim Flint
Designers: Cannon & GHD
Contractors: GJ Gentry General Engineering Inc. & Ghirardelli Associates
Manufacturers: Jensen Precast & Acker-Stone
The main issues driving the project were to alleviate flooding within the Modjeska Park boundaries and surrounding neighborhoods, which were caused by an undersized storm drain. Enhancing local water quality was also a goal of the project.
The project was designed to capture and infiltrate 182-acre feet per year (AFY) of storm water that flowed untreated into storm drain channeling, and to the Pacific Ocean.
The project is the first to be completed as part of the Citywide Drought Resiliency Program, which aims to identify, inventory and compare all potential detention/retention sites within Anaheim and construct projects that have the capacity to capture and infiltrate up to 1,800 AFY of water.
The city of Anaheim, Cannon, Ghirardelli Associates, GHD, Group Delta, C Below, GJ Gentry Engineering, Inc. and StormSensor collaborated on the project.
A challenge was discovered after geotechnical investigation and percolation tests showed more favorable soils between 35 and 40 feet below grade, which was 10 to 15 feet deeper than the proposed depth of the infiltration gallery. The team proposed a series of 66 drywells to act as wicks underneath the system to assist with infiltration.
“Modjeska Park has performed incredibly well since completion. It has been able to capture and infiltrate 100% of the storm events since it was placed into service in July of 2020,” said Bill Grigsby, Anaheim Public Works engineer. “It has yet to have a storm event large enough to bypass this facility. Maintenance has not been a problem, and the trash capture facility has simplified the maintenance effort. The public has made many positive comments to staff and the infiltration on the parking lot has been universally welcomed.”
The benefits of the project include better water quality, reduced flooding and increased local water supply.
*Editor's note: An earlier version of this article misspelled Acker-Stone. SWS regrets the error.
Katie Johns
Katie Johns, editor-in-chief of Stormwater Solutions, graduated from the University of Missouri in 2016 with a Bachelor of Journalism and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish. Johns joined the Stormwater Solutions team in September 2019. Johns also helps plan the annual StormCon conference and co-hosts the Talking Under Water podcast. Prior to entering the B2B industry, she worked as a newspaper reporter and editor in Sarasota, Florida, and a magazine assistant editor in the Chicago suburbs. She can be reached at [email protected].
