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Sawyer Creek Watershed
Storm Water Management Plan
Public Information Meeting
September 15 & 17, 2009
5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Room 404 / 406, City Hall
Campbell Creek Watershed Storm Water Management Plan
Purpose of Meeting
The purpose of tonight’s meeting is to provide you with information about the proposed storm water
management plan for the Sawyer Creek Watershed, and how this plan interacts with and is related to the
plan for the Campbell Creek Watershed. The Sawyer Creek Watershed has its headwaters
approximately three and a half miles southwest of the intersection of 20th Avenue and Claireville Road.
The water within the watershed generally runs in a northeasterly direction towards the Fox River.
Sawyer Creek enters the Fox River just downstream of the Oshkosh Avenue Bridge. The Sawyer Creek
Watershed is shown in golden color on the Watershed Maps on display. The Campbell Creek
Watershed is shown in blue on the Watershed Maps on display. The areas shown in green on the
watershed maps drain to both Campbell Creek and Sawyer Creek depending on the storm sewer system
capacity.
There will be a formal presentation beginning at 6:00 p.m. The remainder of the meeting will be
conducted in an “open house” format. You are invited to inspect the display boards and review the
information included with this handout. Please feel free to ask questions or share your comments with
any of the City staff present.
There is a public input form attached to this handout for your use as well. We appreciate your input and
ask that you take a few moments to complete the form and deposit it in one of the two boxes provided,
or mail it to the Department of Public Works. A Public Input box is located in the in the hallway outside
of the room.
The full Common Council presentation is available online at:
http://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us/Public_Works/Storm_Water_Utility.htm
Proposal Information
The City of Oshkosh frequently experiences flooding during rain events. Some of these flooding
incidents are severe, as were the June, 2008, June, 2004 and June, 1993 flood events. Other events are
not as severe, as were experienced in 1996, 1999 (twice), and 2000. The main cause of the flooding
during storm events is the inability of the storm sewer system to effectively convey the runoff.
As development takes place, pervious surfaces (grass and fields for example) are replaced with
impervious surfaces (roofs and driveways for example). The higher percentage of impervious surfaces
present in a watershed, the greater the amount of runoff generated. From the beginning of development
in the City of Oshkosh until 1990, there was no ordinance in place to control the effect of storm water
runoff from development. In addition to the increased amount of runoff generated, design requirements
have changed dramatically over the past two decades. Previously, storm sewer systems were designed
to convey only very small rainfall events, and the larger events were left to flood streets. Current design
standards require storm sewers to convey larger storm events before flooding takes place on streets. The
combination of lower design standards, increased impervious area within the watershed, and a lack of
storm water management regulations prior to 1990 have caused the piping systems that were installed
prior to the 1990’s to be incapable of conveying the amount of runoff that is now generated.
The proposed storm water management plan for the Sawyer Creek Watershed includes a wet detention
basin to be constructed near James Road and State Highway 91, a wet detention basin near the
intersection of South Oakwood Road and Badger Avenue, creek channel improvements between US
Highway 41 and Sawyer Street, and the construction of a combination wet and dry detention basin
system within the Westhaven Golf Course.
The James Road detention basin will provide peak flow control within Sawyer Creek prior to the Creek
entering the City of Oshkosh. The Oakwood Road detention basin will provide peak flow control, and
water quality improvements from areas within the Southwest Industrial Park. The creek channel
improvements will provide an improved ability for Sawyer Creek to convey runoff through the lower
reaches of the watershed. The modifications to the Westhaven Golf Course will provide peak flow
control and water quality improvements for runoff generated within the City of Oshkosh.
The proposed storm water management plan for the Campbell Creek Watershed includes a dual use dry
detention basin / athletic fields at Tipler Middle School, a wet detention basin at the National Guard
Armory and a combination wet and dry detention basin system within the Westhaven Golf Course. The
Tipler Dry Detention Basin provides peak flow control from the northern branch of Campbell Creek.
The Armory Detention Basin and the Westhaven Golf Course modifications provide peak flow control
from the southern branches of the creek. The Westhaven Golf Course modifications also provide water
quality treatment for runoff generated within the City of Oshkosh.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has been mandated by the Federal
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to administer the requirements of the Clean Water Act (CWA)
in the State of Wisconsin. The DNR has issued permit coverage to all municipalities with a population
greater than 10,000. One part of this permit requires the municipalities to reduce the amount of
pollution in the storm water being discharges to Waters of the State. The DNR has chosen Total
Suspended Solids (TSS) as the pollutant of interest. TSS pollution is sediment, or dirt, that is carried in
storm water runoff. The permit requires the municipalities to reduce that amount of TSS being
discharged by 40%. For the City of Oshkosh, this means that we need to remove 677 tons/year of
sediment from our storm water. Current practices (street sweeping and existing wet detention ponds for
example) remove 354 tons/year. This means that in order to comply with the permit requirement, we
must remove an addition 323 tons of sediment per year. The storm water management option that
includes the golf course modifications to the Westhaven Golf Course will remove approximately 81 tons
of sediment per year.
Public Comments
We encourage you to talk with the staff members that are present tonight and ask any questions you may
have. We also encourage you to complete the Public Input form attached to this handout and drop it in
the boxes provided, or return to the Department of Public Works by October 2, 2009.
For more information, please contact:
City of Oshkosh
Department of Public Works
215 Church Avenue
P.O. Box 1130
Oshkosh, WI 54903-1130
Phone: (920) 236-5065
Fax: (920) 236-5068
Email:
David Patek, P.E., Director of Public Works: dpatek@ci.oshkosh.wi.us
Steve Gohde, P.E., Assistant Director of Public Works: sgohde@ci.oshkosh.wi.us
James Rabe, P.E., Civil Engineer II: jrabe@ci.oshkosh.wi.us
Sawyer Creek Storm Water Management Plan
Public Information Meeting Comments/Questions
Use back of page if more space is required.
Name:
Address:
Phone:
Email:
Send to:
City of Oshkosh - Department of Public Works
215 Church Avenue
P.O. Box 1130
Oshkosh, WI 54903-1130
Attn: James Rabe
Phone: (920) 236-5065
Fax: (920) 236-5068