As part of the Senior Design Capstone Course in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, students completed a regional hydrologic and hydraulic analysis of the watershed in the northwest and southeast areas of the City of Washington.

The City of Washington desired a comprehensive approach to stormwater management that blended facilities into the built environment and increased the amenity value of the surrounding land. The, then, adopted Comprehensive Plan stated, “As Washington grows, preserving natural areas can protect plant and animal habitats, increase value for adjacent properties, enhance the park system, and reduce flooding by providing natural stormwater management. A network of natural 'greenways,' enhances character and makes Washington a more attractive place to live and invest. Greenways protect wetlands, hydric soils, drainageways, and wooded areas.”

A suggested approach was to incorporate basins into park designs, such as those in a proposed Wellness Park design. One of the sites for the Wellness Park was at the confluence of several drainage ways and with appropriate detention basin design the basin could be a positive focal point.

Tasks consisted of the estimate of storm water runoff under present and future development scenarios, the location of a detention facility that would reduce the impact of flooding downstream, the design of an outlet structure and routing of the discharge, and aesthetic enhancements to make the basins focal points of proposed parks.