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Globeville Landing Stream & Outfall Design

Denver, CO

Client: Denver Urban Drainage & Flood Control District (UDFCD) | Denver Public Works | Denver Parks & Recreation

Project Partners: Merrick & Company | The Architerra Group

10

Acre Park

1.5

Acre Open Channel


Project Summary:

Great Ecology served as the ecological consultant to Merrick & Company on the design and restoration of the Montclair Creek stormwater outfall as part of the ongoing Globeville Landing Park redesign. The Creek lost most of its ecological function due to decades of impacts from urbanization and has mostly served as a stormwater conveyance system, including channelization and being forced underground in pipes. Funded through the Platte to Park Hill stormwater retrofitting project, the redesign daylights Montclair Creek near its confluence with the South Platte River (just south of the Denver Coliseum) and restores the ecological function of the Creek within Globeville Landing Park.
Part of the project site lies within the Vasquez Boulevard and I-70 Superfund Site, as well as other contaminated areas along the South Platte River. These environmental constraints required the newly created open channel to be contained within an impermeable barrier system to prevent hydrologic connection with the contaminated substrate and groundwater.
Completed in 2019, the Globeville Landing Park redesign and Montclair Creek restoration created a new, functioning stream channel, added additional park space, and restored part of the South Platte River floodplain, providing residents and visitors with a valuable natural resource within the Denver Metropolitan area.

Old Stream, New Ecological Function

Great Ecology supported the channel design, including construction details and specifications for channel substrate, growth media, and plant community composition. The revegetation approach within the channel included an innovative strategy that modified soil chemistry to minimize the establishment of invasive weeds and encourage native species growth.
The design was ultimately based on the ecological functionality of native streams and rivers while integrating the needs of the local community and NWC.



Design & Oversight Through an Ecological Lens

Great Ecology provided ecological and design expertise, as well as construction oversight, on the creation of the stream open channel, park integration, and floodplain connectivity. Oversight plays a crucial role in restoration projects by ensuring the ecological goals of the project are met.