$3.7 million drainage project to feature giant fountain

[thelakelander]

With a depth of 18 feet, the crater-deep pond being built off Riverside Avenue embodies the potential for redevelopment of the Brooklyn neighborhood near downtown.

When construction finishes in the next couple of months, the $3.68 million pond, paid for by the city, will be big enough to handle stormwater runoff from throughout the neighborhood. Developers won’t have to build smaller ponds for each project.

full article: http://jacksonville.com/business/2011-08-02/story/37-million-drainage-project-feature-giant-fountain?cid=hp-headlines

[duvaldude08]

HAHAHA lake we posted this at the same time. I put in another thread. LOL!

[Captain Zissou]

I'm not an engineer, but I feel like this is how drainage should be done.  One very deep and well maintained drainage pond for a large land area.  Not the dozens of small ponds you see littered all over our city.

[Captain Zissou]

Barry Allred, chairman and chief executive officer for Elkins Constructors, said downtown’s high vacancy rate is a problem for building new office space. Downtown had a 24.5 percent vacancy rate in the second quarter of 2011, according to CB Richard Ellis.

tufsu vs Stephen and Chris.  Round 1.  Fight!

[thelakelander]

Someone needs to introduce Barry Allred and CB Richard Ellis and explain those vacancy rates to JTA.  Some claim the JRTC office palace is dead but we need to make sure a wooden stake is permanently driven through its heart.

[blizz01]

So what qualifies as a Giant/Huge fountain?  I mean, I'm thinking Friendship II.

[dougskiles]

I'm not an engineer, but I feel like this is how drainage should be done.  One very deep and well maintained drainage pond for a large land area.  Not the dozens of small ponds you see littered all over our city.

You are correct.  A large storm water treatment facility serving a broad area is more effective.  By not requiring each development to set aside 15 to 25% of the lot for a pond, the overall developed footprint will be smaller and more dense (not sprawled out).  Once a lot is about 15% impervious, the surface runoff becomes harmful to the downstream water body.  Going up to 85% is not much worse.  Sadly, most of our recent development in the US restricted developers to about 75%.  The remaining 25% was then heavily irrigated and fertilized, become more of a detriment than a roof or pavement would have been.

In the late 90s, Jacksonville Beach put a large underground treatment system below Beach Blvd between 3rd and 1st St that covers all of their town center.  Very smart move.