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A Q&A with Richard
Pinkham
Adjunct Research Scholar and Consultant
with Rocky Mountain Institute and the
author of "Daylighting: New Life For Buried Streams."
What is daylighting?
The term “daylighting” describes projects that
deliberately restore to the open air some or all of the flow of
a previously covered river, creek, or stormwater drainage. Daylighting
projects liberate waterways that were buried in culverts or pipes,
covered by decks, or otherwise removed from view. Daylighting
re-establishes a waterway in its old channel where feasible, or
in a new channel threaded between the buildings, streets, parking
lots, and playing fields now on the land. Some daylighting projects
recreate wetlands, ponds or estuaries.
Is the daylighting of streams becoming
a trend?
Yes. In the U.S. there are at least 20 daylighting
projects that have been completed since 1984, and currently at
least another 20 are in various stages of development. There is
a lot of activity and a remarkable sea change going on in the
way communities are viewing waterways. Over the past couple hundred
years, waterways were pretty much an afterthought and often considered
a nuisance when it came to the development and growth of a community.
But now, people are placing greater value on environmental amenities
such as natural waterways. People are also finding that there
are many positive economic benefits to restoring streams—it often
increases the vitality, and the property values, of surrounding
areas.
Why is daylighting becoming more popular
now?
There is a conjunction of several factors that
are making daylighting popular. We have a lot deteriorating stream
and stormwater infrastructure in the country today. As pipes fail,
we find that it is often cheaper to open a channel than to put
a new pipe back in the ground. There is also tremendous desire
in many communities to make the most of their environmental assets.
Restoring a stream that was lost gets a lot of attention and there
is a lot of desire to do that. There is also a growing concern
about water quality, and daylighting can improve downstream water
quality by exposing water to sunlight, air, soil, and vegetation,
all of which help process and remove pollutants. Daylighting can
also reduce flooding caused by under-capacity culverts, since
an open stream typically has a wider cross-section and a greater
channel depth than the pipe it replaces. This is important because
many pipes historically were not sized adequately to carry the
extra runoff that comes with upstream development. Another trend
is that people are becoming more aware that previous approaches
to water management are not always absolute. For example, people
know that some large dams are either coming down or that the prospect
of them coming down is being taken seriously. That helps spark
the idea that maybe the way the local stream has been handled
could be improved.
How long has the concept and practice
of daylighting streams been around?
It’s been going on for about two decades. A
few projects took place in the ‘70s. A seminal project occurred
in ’84 in Berkeley, California when 200 feet of Strawberry Creek
was brought out of a culvert and the stream was daylighted in
a new park that was created in an abandoned railroad yard. That
got a lot of attention and sparked other projects. Things have
really picked up in the last couple of years. What are some of
the intangible benefits that daylighting can bring? There are
really important intangible aspects to daylighting projects that
shouldn’t be underestimated. Daylighting is a pretty radical thing
to do—to bring up a stream that has been buried—and people find
a lot of power in setting right something they feel was previously
messed up. There is also the impact that water has on us emotionally
and psychologically. Often the more urban a project is, the more
significant that is. People are drawn to a place where they can
hear moving water. It can have a restorative and beneficial affect
on people and they really appreciate that in the middle of a city
environment.
Can daylighting work in urban environments?
Yes, in fact, daylighting is typically done
in urban and suburban areas which have higher infrastructure repair
costs and the biggest problems with urban run-off, stormwater
management, and water quality, all which can be improved with
daylighting. Urban areas are also the most in need of the other,
intangible benefits of daylighting such as bringing back a sense
of nature to heavily developed areas. Successful projects have
been done in many large urban areas such as Kalamazoo, Michigan
and Berkeley, which is currently studying an additional project
in the core downtown area. In addition, many cities are recognizing
the value of restoring their riverfront areas—seeing the success
of places such as Riverwalk in Austin, Texas—and the daylighting
of smaller tributary streams can often fit in well with those
larger riverfront projects. Also, daylighting of streams within
parks makes tremendous sense and there are often great opportunities
within urban parks for projects. It is true, however, that urban
projects are typically very expensive and it is often more difficult
to restore a stream in an urban area back to a more natural state.
Do many urban residents have a sense
of their community’s water resources?
Many people don’t realize that cities often
are located where they are because of rivers and streams, which
used to be a much more prominent part of the urban landscape.
You see the legacy today with the names of subdivisions and streets
and there is often a historic reason for that. Consider “Mill
Street.” It’s a common name in many towns for a road where a water-powered
mill was once located. And most people don’t understand how many
streams are actually running underneath their feet. There have
been some communities that have created “disappeared stream maps”
to help residents better understand where their water resources
went. A group of folks in Pittsburgh are currently doing an extensive
inventory on the three rivers that come together in Pittsburgh
(the Ohio, the Allegheny, and the Monongahela) to try and point
out to the community what an amazing asset those rivers are. As
part of that, we are discussing a daylighting project that would
be linked to the riverfront work in order to provide more public
access areas, greenways, and wildlife corridors.
What are the key components to a doing
a successful daylighting project?
It takes a team approach to do a project well.
It requires some technical expertise, people who understand water
flow and channels, and the engineers need to be sensitive to the
ecological aspects of these projects. You also need a biologist,
botanist, or landscape architect, as much of the success of a
project is related to the new vegetation along the restored stream
banks. It also requires a person or group that will champion the
project. You need someone who is excited about a specific project
and its best if that person comes from the neighborhood. It’s
also very important to have someone who understands the public
approval process and who can communicate effectively with stakeholders.
How important is community involvement
to the success of a project?
Local involvement tends to be critical.
The water management aspect of a daylighting project is a fairly
straightforward exercise. It has to be done carefully and well
from an engineering standpoint, but to even get to that point,
you have work closely with the community and address a lot of
concerns about a particular site. Neighbors and community stakeholders
usually have to work through a variety of concerns, such as how
the new channel will perform, what will it look like, and what
sort of natural and social changes the change to the stream might
bring to a specific local area. For example, when streams are
daylighted and the area is improved, it often means that the area
becomes more popular. For some neighbors, that’s not always a
viewed as a positive change.
Are daylighting projects expensive?
It depends on the situation. Projects
in urban environments tend to cost much more. Another key cost
factor is how much excavation is required. It also depends on
whether or not everything is paid for at its highest costs, such
as the design work, construction, restoration, and landscaping.
If everything is paid for at full market rates, than $1,000 per
linear foot of restored stream is not uncommon. But many projects
can be done—and have been—at far less cost than that. These projects
require technical design expertise and heavy earthmoving, but
clever project organizers in several cities have secured donations
of those services and used groups of volunteers for landscaping
and planting.
Does daylighting make economic sense?
There are a number of case studies where it
was clear that daylighting would be less expensive than putting
a culvert back in, so that’s one clear economic benefit. Another
is that property values have gone up substantially in the areas
around newly daylighted streams. People like to be near water
and are willing to pay more to be near water—as “riverfront” real
estate often demonstrates. Parks that are improved with daylighting
projects also draw more people, which can benefit near-by businesses.
Why did you compile and write the daylighting
report?
The report has two purposes. One is to show
that daylighting projects are exciting and doable and very worth
considering for a community. The second is to show that these
projects require an appropriate site, they require appropriate
design and they require a lot of community involvement. Daylighting
is an emerging and increasing phenomenon. It’s important that
projects be well done so that there aren’t any notable failures.
It is key that people know how successful projects should be done.
How can I get a copy of the daylighting
report?
"Daylighting: New Life for Buried Streams"
is available on-line in PDF format at no charge on RMI's website,
www.rmi.org . The illustrated, spiral-bound report may be ordered
for $12.00, plus shipping and handling, from RMI’s online bookstore,
or by contacting RMI’s publications department at 1-800-333-5903.
What is your experience with water resource management ? I work
on integrating multiple aspects of water resource management,
including water supply planning, water conservation, stormwater
management, wastewater treatment, and stream restoration.. At
RMI, I’ve managed many projects, including research studies, scenario
planning efforts, intensive design workshops, modeling studies,
and publications, all related to water resource management.
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