HRSD’s innovative design incorporates a 30,000 sq. ft skatepark on the top surface of a 5.2 million-gallon, partially buried storage tank. Aerial Photo courtesy of HRSD.
It’s not every day that a water resources project incorporates a skate park into its design, but for Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) innovative thinking is a standard operating principle. HRSD partnered with the City of Virginia Beach Parks and Recreation Department to complete the $31-million-dollar, Providence Road Offline Storage Facility and Woodstock Park Improvements Project. I had a recent opportunity to discuss the project with my engineering friend and colleague Laura Kirkwood, Project Manager at HRSD and learned the project recently won the 2002 National – Excellence Award in the Water/Wastewater Category from The Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA).
The Challenge
Since its early origins in 1925, HRSD has been the wastewater treatment authority serving the Hampton Roads Region in Southeastern Virginia. Throughout its history, HRSD has been an innovative leader in the wastewater treatment industry and strives to remain on the cutting edge of wastewater technology. More about HRSD’s history and awards can be found here. In recent years, one of HRSD’s biggest challenges has been combating the problem of Inflow and Infiltration, commonly referred to as I&I, which occurs when stormwater enters the wastewater sewer system – which is typically separate. This creates a problem during rainstorm events pushing increased flows to wastewater treatment plants and increasing the risk of sewage overflows. This is a problem faced across the country as sewer systems continue to age.
The Innovation
In 2018, HRSD began designing a 5.2-million-gallon, partially buried storage tank in response to I&I concerns and to reduce the risk of wastewater sewer overflows. This tank’s purpose is to serve as a temporary holding facility for wastewater combined with stormwater that migrates into wastewater pipelines until elevated conditions in the pipeline subside. Typically, these elevated conditions are caused by rainstorm events. Once the elevated conditions in the wastewater pipes subside, the contents of the tank are discharged back into the sanitary sewer system for conveyance to the wastewater treatment plant. A tank of this size requires a lot of lands, so HRSD partnered with the City of Virginia Parks and Recreation Department to make this project a reality and this is where the innovation kicked in!
The Construction
HRSD constructed this storage tank on property within an existing City park; however, the partially buried design allowed for the innovation of creating a 30,000-square-foot skate park on the top surface of the tank for use by the general public and park visitors! Construction began in 2019, and crews worked continuously throughout the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic to complete the project in the Summer of 2021. Several sustainable infrastructure elements were incorporated into the design of the storage tank. These elements include a green, vegetated roof, rainwater harvesting, Bioretention areas, skylights, environmental educational displays and artwork, a drain pump station and deluge pumping system and odor control system – especially important at a public park! Drone footage of the construction process can be seen here.
The Legacy
This project incorporates something for everyone. Skaters enjoy a Snake run and two-level bowl with waterfall, five corners, and two hips, quarter pipe with extension Ledge runs, stair sets, wall rides, snake run, banks, hips, rails, and other custom ledges, a warm-up area and shaded viewing spots to take a break or watch the fun. Besides the new skate park, additional amenities for park visitors as part of the project include a new playground, new picnic shelters and family restroom facilities, and additional parking spaces. This innovative project served both the community’s recreational needs as well as the community’s infrastructure demands in a unique and innovative way. The Design-Build Institute of America recognized this project with a 2022 National Excellence Award, an achievement that both HRSD and the City of Virginia Beach are proud to receive. Laura Kirkwood, who served as the project manager for the Providence Road Offline Storage Facility and Woodstock Park Improvements Project shared a few words with me about her experience managing the project:
“Working on wastewater collection system projects, it’s easy for me to see how each project benefits the community and ultimately helps preserve the environment for future generations by keeping the wastewater in the pipeline. I am very proud of the important work that HRSD employees and our external staff – engineers and contractors – do every day. And while most people understand the importance of a sanitary sewer collection and treatment system, most of our projects just don’t get the community very excited (in a good way); the construction can be disruptive at times and the community typically does not interact with the final product, a pipeline, pump station, etc. The Woodstock Park project is very unique because we chose to occupy a shared space with the City and ultimately the community’s park-goers. The project designers thoughtfully blended a 5.2 million gallon storage tank within Woodstock park, which gave us the opportunity to preserve a forested area, minimize the visual impacts to the nearby neighbourhoods, to give back a really fun park amenity – a 30,000 square foot skate park – to the community, to provide educational signage throughout the park and to help the City renovate their park. I feel very fortunate to have been part of the early process to gain the City’s buy-in on the concept, to work with HRSD Operations staff to develop facility requirements and to collaborate with the Design-Builder and the entire project team to come up with creative solutions to meet the needs of HRSD, the City and the community. I say it’s a “once in a career” project, but it’s helped me to think more creatively on all my projects and I hope this project will also inspire others to construct critical infrastructure projects that enhance communities in a myriad of ways.”
-Laura Kirkwood, Project Manager, HRSD
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Author: Matt Fanghella, PE, CFM
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