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Best Management Practices (BMP) Construction Projects

1. Spring Street Rain Gardens (De-combination BMPs)

• Location – South side of Spring Street between 4th Street and Root Street.
• Purpose – Cleans and infiltrates stormwater runoff from Spring St. and adjacent property. Uses rain gardens planted with landscaped native plants and the existing sand and gravel beneath the rain garden to clean and infiltrate the stormwater.
• Size - Five 50 foot long rain gardens. The BMP area is 2700 square feet (0.062 acres).
• BMP Design - Fully treats the first 3/4 inch of runoff from 1.3 acres of residential street and adjacent property. Existing sand and gravel beneath the BMP provides excellent infiltration.
• BMP Benefit - Decreases the total volume of runoff by 72%. Removes 288 lbs of total suspended solids and 113 lbs of chemical oxygen demand per year.
• Status - Completed Spring 2010.

Photo source: City of Aurora, Public Works Division.

2. Bio-filtration Facility (Lincoln Avenue Parking Lot)

• Location – Northwest corner of Spring Street and Lincoln Avenue in the METRA commuter parking lot.
• Purpose – Cleans stormwater runoff from the parking lot before the runoff flows to the Fox River. Retrofit of an existing detention basin to provide bio-filtration using native plants and a sand filter to clean the stormwater.
• BMP Size - The BMP area is 3100 square feet (0.07 acres).
• BMP Design - Fully treats the first ¾ inch of runoff from 4.5 acres of commuter parking lot.
• BMP Benefit - Decreases the peak discharge rate by 25%. Removes 5,612 lbs of total suspended solids and 1,342 lbs of chemical oxygen demand per year.
• Status - Completed Spring 2010.

Photo source: City of Aurora, Public Works Division.

3. Stormwater Wetland Bio-swale (East Bank of the Fox River at 400 N. Broadway Ave.)

• Location – Along the bike path on the east bank of the Fox River across from the U.S. Post Office on Broadway Avenue.
• Purpose - Cleans stormwater runoff from an existing storm sewer before the stormwater flows into the Fox River. Uses a manufactured stormwater quality unit and a bio-swale planted with landscaped native vegetation to detain and clean the stormwater.
• BMP Size - The BMP area is 6500 square feet (0.15 acres).
• BMP Design - Fully treats the first¾ inch of runoff from 5.2 acres of Broadway Avenue and industrial parking lots.
• BMP Benefit - Decreases the peak discharge rate to the river by 80%. Removes 7,700 lbs of total suspended solids and 1,813 lbs of chemical oxygen demand per year.
• Status - Completed Spring 2010.

Photo source: City of Aurora, Public Works Division.

Naturalized Stormwater Management Corridor Plan (NSMCP)

• Purpose – A comprehensive analysis of the land use, topography, soil, stormwater and estimated pollutant load of the study area to determine recommended green infrastructure implementation; and to assess the impact of green infrastructure implementation on reducing the total stormwater runoff volume and pollutant load from the study area. Provides a plan for a naturalized, dispersed, stormwater management system within the study area.
• See the Naturalized Stormwater Management Corridor Plan for the Study Area: Link to NSMCP coming soon.

Stormwater Toolkit

• Purpose - Assist redevelopment projects with BMP selection and planning to meet stormwater management requirements.
• See the Stormwater Toolkit for the Study Area

Education and Outreach

• Purpose – Educate residents about NPS pollution, BMP implementation and how they can help reduce NPS pollution.
• See the Project Brochure: Link to GIIP Brochure coming soon.
• See the Rainbarrel Program Brochure
• See the Green Infrastructure Implementation Project Powerpoint Presentation

Photo source: City of Aurora, Public Works Division.