Flood control plan for Meriden Green

Challenge

The City of Meriden faced repeated and significant flooding throughout its downtown area. The catastrophic floods not only caused financial issues for the city, businesses, and residents; it created a downtown that struggled to be economically viable. SLR was retained to work with city officials to create a flood control plan for the entire 15-square-mile Harbor Brook watershed.

Solution

Numerous flood control strategies were considered to alleviate the stress of flooding for the city as a whole and specifically for the downtown area. As the plans progressed through the concept and design stages, our team began to provide creative solutions and to look for areas of opportunity for the city to alleviate flooding on Harbor Brook. The team worked collaboratively to work through the complexities of design and permitting of the 15-acre project.

Impact

The result was a plan that created a new city green that retains over 60-acre feet of floodwater. The project has been described as one of the most complex regulatory permits ever approved through the State of Connecticut. Holding to the original vision, the completed Meriden Green is the crown jewel of the city’s current and ongoing flood control and revitalisation efforts. The finished park is a prime example of what is possible when a truly collaborative design team matches the vision and commitment of a strong local proponent.