| Name | Jejal |
|---|---|
| Last Name | Bathi |
| Home Address | 615 McCallie Ave Chattanooga, TN 37403 United States |
| Organization Name | University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) |
| Describe Your Role In The Organization | I am a full-time faculty in the College of Engineering at UTC teaching and researching urban water management. I am also the coordinator of Environmental Engineering Programs at UTC. This proposal is a collaborative effort among the UTC personnel and other community partners with close coordination with the City of Chattanooga personnel. |
| Organization Address | 615 McCallie Ave Chattanooga, TN 37403 United States |
| Website | https://UTC.edu |
| Best Phone Number To Reach You | 4234252789 |
| Alternate Phone Number | |
| Email Address | jejalreddy-bathi@utc.edu |
| Alternate Email Address | zcr277@utc.edu |
| Please Describe Your Project In Detail | Chattanooga (the City) while advancing in technology, there are some challenges such as urban flooding and sewer overflows that are yet to be resolved. Underserved communities disproportionately share the burdens of infrastructure shortcomings as these challenges are often more prevalent in those communities. In 2019, flooding in the United States cost taxpayers and insurance companies over $20 billion. In the Chattanooga area alone, it is estimated that 31,575 properties are currently at risk of flooding. In addition, the City is currently operating its sewer discharges under Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Consent Decree requiring upgrading its sewer operations to avoid sewer overflows. Traditional approaches for managing urban stormwater are falling short in terms of quantity and quality as the volume, intensity, and frequency of urban floods increase. Investments in green stormwater developments will not only alleviate the negative impacts of otherwise uncontrollable stormwater, but increase community education, participation, and collaboration. Via infiltration and redistribution of stormwater, green infrastructure (GI) (eg. rainwater harvesting, rain gardens) can mitigate flooding, combat pollution, and decrease sewer volumes if properly installed and maintained. This proposed public-private-academic collaborative project targets urban flooding and Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) mitigation through the use of localized GI and upgrading flood detention ponds in combined sewer districts. We propose to work with underserved socioeconomically depressed communities to address their needs and develop and implement multiple mini-projects. These projects use a triple bottom line approach to bring measurable social, environmental, and economic benefits, including workforce development, to the community while improving much-needed critical City infrastructure. Currently, the poverty rate in Chattanooga is 17.6 percent, which is higher than the national average. The proposed project target areas have significantly higher poverty rates. Cities that are looking to expand, improve, or implement GI without trying to focus on marginalized communities are only increasing the inequality gap. By implementing GI stormwater projects in more socioeconomically depressed areas, Chattanooga can bridge the gap. In summary, this project will engage the community in enhancing the City’s critical water infrastructure and equip communities with the tools necessary to empower themselves. This project will assist the City’s ongoing efforts in tackling urban water issues by building upon the City’s existing programs, utilizing data from this project to help guide stormwater policies, and implementing programs with visible results in a short span of time. We propose to build policy guidance and technical assistance on the principles of an integrated approach for stormwater and wastewater collection systems management, with a particular focus on how investment in the urban stormwater infrastructure can help underserved communities while providing solutions to stressed wastewater systems. An infrastructure assessment will take place in order to prioritize locations in low-income and minority neighborhoods that can receive a maximum benefit from the proposed retrofit infrastructure. Aging infrastructure, sewer overflows, projected weather patterns, and population movements will be scientifically analyzed to identify the areas of concern with possible maximum returns. For example, uncertainty in projected weather patterns will be minimized by assessing historical projections of climate variability with that of observed weather for the same period. Similarly, current land use and projected land-use change layers will be overlaid on top of the sewer collection systems and community social indices such that the program will not only target the current conditions but also prepare for the future. Program implementation will begin with desktop and field assessments to prioritize target program areas. The project team will conduct field surveys of communities identified by desktop assessment and develop data to design and implement retrofit infrastructure in private and public spaces. As part of the project field implementation, the program will use a site assessment tool, conduct several workshops for community engagement and skills development, and have post-installation monitoring. A simple web-based tool will be available to help citizens screen if their property has a retrofit opportunity for GIs. The developed tool can also be part of the City’s water quality program beyond this project period. Informational workshops to learn more about stormwater management, how the City’s incentive programs works, such as stormwater fee reduction, and GIs installation and maintenance training and resource availability will be conducted through public education aspects of this project. Urban farming (food gardens) and seed distribution will be topics of interest. A system for citizens to report progress and completion of the installation will be developed and used to calculate incentive benefits. Target Mini-Projects: The proposed mini-projects will be evaluated and implemented both on private and public spaces. Since not all GIs are applicable for implementation at all sites, each project site (each parcel) will be evaluated through desktop analysis and field surveys and the feasible GIs will be recommended for the site. GIs may vary for private and public sites. Private Sites: Rain barrels, downspout planters, rain gardens, trees, permeable paving, and urban farming (food gardens). Public Sites (parks and right-of-ways): Rain barrel, downspout planter, rain garden, trees, permeable paving in the right-of-way, open channels (grass swale/gravel), bioretention, and green roofs. CSO and Regional Scale Flood Control: The project leverages the existing effort between the City and UTC at Warner Park to demonstrate the application of Real-Time Controls (RTC) for monitoring and managing detention (flood control) ponds on a real-time basis such that effective flood control and water quality improvement can be achieved. This will be achieved by applying sensor technology for flow and water quality reading combined with machine learning techniques and hydraulic modeling of the water flows. Workforce Development: We plan to engage a three-pronged approach to job training, skills advancement, and workforce development. First, we plan to identify neighborhoods that are most at risk economically, environmentally, and socially. We will host a series of one-hour career day introductory sessions on the topics of landscaping, GI, and stormwater management. A panel of subject matter experts will speak to their specific industry, providing examples of “a day in the life” scenarios, answering questions, and engaging with the attendees. This process will allow attendees to gauge interest in a potential career path in one of the represented fields and allow us to register attendees to attend a more robust and intense hands-on training. Second, we will create the opportunity for employment for community members, who will be trained on how to evaluate sites and install and maintain sustainable green stormwater infrastructure. We expect to train at least five members from each of five previously chosen neighborhoods in hands-on workshops, beginning with the basics of site selection, soil and runoff characteristics leading to constructing small residential GI under the guidance of the City or other knowledgeable personnel. Plant selection and maintenance would also be included in these training workshops, which would last two to four days. If some individuals have experience in landscape maintenance, more in-depth training could occur to include native plant identification, design, and advanced maintenance. Participants will work with a mentor after the training workshops are completed and be expected to help teach a neighborhood workshop about GI. Participants will receive a certification after completing the program and will be qualified for additional job opportunities installing and maintaining GI. The selected attendees will receive pay for training and installation of their first rain garden or bioswale and any additional installations. This effort will serve to develop qualified applicants to become part of a full-scale workforce development model by green|spaces called Build it Green (BIG). Build it Green is a leadership and workforce development program that connects community members with untapped potential with opportunities in sustainable development. It was developed in 2018 through a partnership between Christian Shackelford with green|spaces and Chris Woodhull with Build Me a World. The program teaches about building high-performance homes and high-performance lives. BIG members work as a team to help each other thrive while they weatherize, insulate homes, build GI and work with partner contractors. Build It Green team members will be paid while they are in the month-long training program, and then they will be placed with a partner within the community for five months while continuing with their BIG training. All Build It Green members go through construction safety training, get OSHA 10 certified and have an opportunity to achieve their Stormwater Control Measures (SCM) Inspection and Maintenance certification as they will be trained by a BIG Team leader certified in SCM. Soft Skill and Life Skills Training: Trainees take part in hands-on learning experiences through community projects, service projects, and interactive mentoring sessions by regional leaders. While the technical training is often what brings people to BIG, the soft training curriculum holds the program together and helps people keep their jobs after graduating. Timeliness and communication are top priorities for those that hire our graduates, so we help BIG participants develop these skills through sessions on work-life scheduling balance, personal transportation, self-advocacy in the workplace, personal finance, and professional networking. To help participants live and work to the best of their abilities, BIG also includes a series of workshops that enable the integration and improvement of disconnected interpersonal skills: low self-esteem, trauma from Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), learned irresponsibility, and deeply rooted discouragement. This will help participants develop skills of self-reliance, internal motivation, a sense of camaraderie, and community participation. Our program will continue to use the TRIBE ONE method of convening neighbors impacted by crime to build confidence and build each other up. Participants apply this newfound confidence to build up the skills to tackle incrementally more difficult career pathway challenges. We will help BIG graduates explore entrepreneurial opportunities by offering training on conducting market research, starting new businesses, and working with a nonprofit. We will grow our BIG graduate outreach program through regular communication from Team Leaders, inviting alumni to return as speakers to new cohorts, requesting referrals for recruitment from future classes, and hosting alumni events to celebrate successes. Public Education: An integral part of the program will be public education. Among the first activities will be to hold community engagement workshops to brainstorm the needs and possible solutions with each neighborhood. In addition, workshops will be held to introduce GI to the community utilizing models to simulate stormwater runoff and the need for more infiltration to reduce flooding and sewer overflows. GI models will also be utilized. After these meetings, we will develop a neighborhood advisory panel to help guide the process of adding GI to the areas while training a group from the neighborhood to install and maintain the GI. The advisory panel will be comprised of individuals from each neighborhood who will meet monthly to ensure the project is progressing. There will also be handouts and video materials available on a publicly accessible website and distributed within the program’s communities. Urban farming workshops will also be offered if so desired by the neighborhood. City Water Quality, UTK Ag Extension, and WaterWays will all be taking part in public education. The City’s National Pollutant Elimination Systems (NPDES) permit has a public education requirement component. We expect to educate a minimum of 50 people in each of five neighborhoods through the bi-annual workshops, plus additional residents during the program. Additional outreach will be led by those chosen to go through the workforce training program. Urban Food Gardening: Harvested rainwater will be used for farming fresh vegetables in the citizens’ yards. Urban farming and seed distribution will be topics of interest. The program will educate the community on farming and raised beds, and provide seeds and any soil testing necessary so the citizens can grow their own fresh vegetables. The project tasks will include coordinating with existing Master Gardeners and 4-H programs by Hamilton County Extension Center (part of UTK-Agricultural Extension). Considering historical contamination of yard soils in some parts of the City, we propose the potential use of raised beds for gardening. Existing City Programs: These are some of the ongoing programs within the City. The proposed project will further develop based on these ongoing City efforts such that the proposed work will be more focused with higher intensity for targeted communities and has expanded scope. The more relevant existing programs are: RainSmart; MY TN Clean Water Starts Here; SLAP (Sewer Lateral Assessment Program); SRF Ponds Program; City-UTC GI Performance monitoring and CSO mitigation; GRN with Reflection Riding. Project Partners: The proposed project is a collaborative work of a public agency (City of Chattanooga), academics (UTC and UTK), and community partners (green|spaces and WaterWays). UTC’s water resources research team will coordinate the project with close coordination with the City staff. Since there are multiple departments and personnel part of the proposed project, we will have a City Program Coordinator that acts as a liaison between UTC, community partners, and the City departments. UTC: Program Manager (Dr. Jejal Bathi), Engineering - Environmental (Drs. Jejal Bathi and Jon Hathaway (UTK)), Transportation (Dr. Ignatius Fomunung), Structural (Dr. Joseph Owino); Computer Science (Dr. You Liang), Sociology (Dr. Chandra Ward); GIS (Nyssa Hunt); City: City Program Coordinator (Maria Price), Engineering- Water Quality & Project Management; Parks (Anna Mathis); Neighborhood Services (Stephen Lamb) green|spaces: Workforce Development (Michael Walton). WaterWays: Public Education & Workforce Training (Mary Beth Sutton). UTK-Agricultural Extension: Hamilton County Extension Center (Nancy Rucker) (Urban Food Gardening). Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC): External Project Assessor (Dr. Karina Bynum, TDEC) |
| Please explain how your project meets the requirements of the American Rescue Plan | Normally, vulnerable communities already experience stressful circumstances. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased stress on populations where there is a high prevalence of socioeconomic inequality. Social distancing, isolation, reduced workforces, childcare costs, and fear of an impending recession have led to heightened psychological stress predominantly in low-income communities and communities of color. Access to green spaces, especially urban home gardens, can mitigate mental distress. Our proposal can contribute to healing mental health among neighborhoods susceptible to pandemic stressors. Implementing GI can also increase community resilience against future lockdowns and pandemics. Moreover, the economic implications of the public health emergency include job loss, anticipated housing evictions, financial anxiety, food insecurity, financial burden of homeschooling, and general economic instability, which affects workers, households, small businesses, and industries. The financial hardship of vulnerable communities exacerbated by the pandemic showed higher risks of anxiety and depression. The disruption of food distribution, restaurant lockdown, product scarcity, and food delivery restrictions during the pandemic led to a change in consumption patterns and has highlighted the need for local sufficiency. Combining social innovation with GI implementation in marginalized communities can aid economic advancement, facilitate sustainable practices, engage citizens, and strengthen public resilience by creating an opportunity that favors local systems and people. Urban garden and cistern implementation will provide underserved communities the tools to be sufficient and will put money directly into the communities. Our proposal to implement GI in burdened communities will support public health like access to high-quality urban green spaces has positive behavioral and socio-psychological effects. Having access to green spaces has also been shown to reduce violence and aggression. Neighborhoods that experience high levels of stress also have increased crime rates. Increased stress from the pandemic has led to an increase in robberies and gun violence. GI initiatives in disadvantaged neighborhoods can mitigate exposure to violence and crime by decreasing factors such as stress, sadness, alcohol consumption, and unemployment. |
| Where would your project take place? | The primary target of this proposed project is to work in the low-income and minority neighborhoods in the urban core that have aging infrastructure. A scientific approach will be developed and adapted that will consider current infrastructure status, local flooding threats, CSO incidents, social and economic conditions, projected weather, and expected benefits. The project will target underserved communities, especially those with higher poverty rates such as Alton Park, Avondale, and East Lake, that have reported flooding issues. Ponds in Warner Park near the Zoo will utilize RTC controls on this public site within the CSO area. As part of the current work, the City and UTC collaboration has developed significant field data for the site. Also, mechanical pumps and pond release gates are in place at this site, making the site suitable for easy implementation of RTC controls that can provide flood and CSO control benefits. |
| How much will your project cost in total? | 1763000 |
| Do you have any matching funding sources from other local governments, private entities, non-profits, or philanthropic entities for your project? | Yes |
| Please describe the source and list amounts of any other funding. | The Build it Green program receives support from the Corporation for National and Community Service, local foundations, and private donors. If approved, green|spaces will match $100,000 of the funding for the project. |
| What portion of the project are you asking the city to fund? | $1,663,000 |
| If funded, when would your project start? | May 1, 2022 |
| How long would your project take to complete? | The proposed project has several tasks, and some of those tasks will be completed in parallel while other tasks are contingent upon completion of previous tasks. Details of major tasks and their time frame are presented under project progress. Overall, all the tasks will be completed in 2.5 years |
| What milestones would you use to measure your project’s progress? | Year 1: ● Review existing City programs and synthesize the data to define existing conditions ● Hold community engagement workshops and choose the advisory panel ● Develop neighborhood prioritization assessment ● Perform neighborhood infrastructure assessment ● Begin workforce training (Phase 1) ● Quantify neighborhood social, economic, and environmental conditions (basis for comparison) Year 2: ● Complete climate data analysis and set infrastructure design standards ● Hold public education sessions and urban farming training ● Complete site assessment online tool ● Field installation of mini-projects ● Continue workforce training (Phase 2) Year 3: ● Continue public education ● Field installation of mini-projects ● Continue workforce training (Phase 3) ● Evaluate social, environmental, and economic change ● Perform program assessment and recommendations ● Document program outcomes including proposed infrastructure design standards |
| How would you ensure accountability and transparency throughout the project lifecycle? | External Project Assessor: We propose to utilize an independent third party whose role is to observe part or all of project tasks and provide related feedback on technicality and applicability of the project tasks to the project team and, if necessary, to the City officials. Dr. Bynum is the Integrated Water Resources Engineer with TDEC and will be able to advise and guide the project team and the City in the right direction, not only for meeting the project objectives but also to provide larger oversight of the current and future regulatory expectations. City Staff as Project Partners: The proposed project is a collaborative effort between the City departments and community partners. The project tasks are set and accomplished with the active participation of the City staff, therefore, it is expected that the City staff will have continued oversight of the progress and opportunity to provide recommendations. Meetings and Reporting: There will be community participant–focused meetings and project team–focused meetings to plan and track the project progress. Monthly check-ins will occur with the neighborhood advisory panel to assess progress and make recommendations. The panel will also meet at least annually with the external project assessor and the City of Chattanooga Neighborhood Services Department to compare insights and decide the direction for future tasks of the project. Project teams (UTC, City, green|spaces, WaterWays) will meet every two months to review and report individual team progress. Consolidated quarterly reports listing accomplishments, budget expenses, and planned items for the next reporting period will be developed and submitted to the City. The project teams will also meet at least twice a year with the external project assessor to review the progress and direction. |
| If successful, how would your project benefit the community? | The following list details the major issues and how this proposal addresses those issues. A more detailed discussion of the community benefits appears below. Problems to address: ● Issue 1: Localized flooding (storm intensity is increasing, which may exacerbate these areas in the future; focus on those in more socioeconomically challenged areas) ● Issue 2: Combined sewer overflows (less overflows = less potential E. coli exposure, safer environment, etc.) ● Issue 3: Limited knowledge of water management and accessibility to grow fresh vegetables to improve public health ● Issue 4: Limited knowledge of water infrastructure (drinking, stormwater, sewage) and how personal actions impact water resources. ● Issue 5: Lack of skills to gain employment in the field of growing sustainable GI fields. How funding this proposal will address these issues: ● Site selection: Utilize existing City data (flooding areas) combined with a simple program to be developed by UTC and site evaluations performed by students with City oversight. ● Researching the extent of small project impact (roof drain disconnection, rain barrels, planter beds, small GI installation, etc.) on CSOs & localized flooding to better determine the effectiveness of each practice. ● Upgrade existing detention ponds with smart controls to mitigate regional flooding, improve receiving stream water quality, and help mitigate CSOs. ● Provide education to residents and exposure to existing City Water Quality programs and personal actions that could improve water quality and quantity. ● Leverage green|spaces to create the start of a larger workforce development program with an environmental focus. Utilize local residents to work in their own neighborhoods. Provide training on marketable in-demand skills. ● Conduct workshops leveraging the existing Master Gardeners and 4-H program to promote gardening in citizens’ yards to grow fresh vegetables. Sustainable practices are crucial in spanning the gap between environmental, social, and economic goals and will positively impact the welfare of the greater Chattanooga community. Social benefits provided by more natural areas include but are not limited to feelings of safety, improved physical and mental health, and strengthened community ties. While the presence of green spaces can contribute to well-being, accessibility is necessary to have a positive effect on community health. Therefore, project locations for the program are of the utmost importance. The proposed engagement of the community will increase social capital and cohesion by establishing common values for the greater good of the community. Air quality deterioration is a major concern in urban communities, however, urban greening can reduce harmful air pollutants. The addition of trees reduces heat island effects, promotes healthy air quality, reduces the amount of stormwater runoff, which reduces erosion and pollution in our waterways and may reduce the effects of flooding. GI implementation can help decrease the temperature in urban areas and may cut carbon dioxide levels. In fact, there is a heat-crime relationship that is much higher in neighborhoods with high poverty, less greenery, and older infrastructure. Urban greenery not only makes people happy, but it is also of significant impact as a source of monetary value for residents in low-income neighborhoods. Implementation of GI around residential properties has proven to increase property values, energy savings, and water consumption and hence reduced utility bills. Additionally, urban greenery can reduce the monetary cost of crimes, which is five times larger in high-poverty neighborhoods than in affluent ones. Access to nutritious food in their own gardens will uplift communities by producing positive health outcomes. In addition, the proposed project reduces urban flooding and CSOs and hence significant budget savings are expected for the City in managing such critical issues. |
| How will you attract community buy-in for your project? | We will work with City Neighborhood Services, green|spaces’ Empower program, and other stakeholders to contact neighborhood leaders and organize brainstorming sessions and neighborhood meetings. The goal is to involve the neighborhoods in the whole process to ensure the project is addressing what they need. The advisory panel will be composed of members from each of the neighborhoods who will help with outreach. Through public education, we will begin engagement through initial workshops for neighbors regarding benefits for the community and then through Green Infrastructure Training. By having certified installers and evaluators from the neighborhoods, outreach will be more organic, originating from within the neighborhood itself. |
| Name | Maria Price |
| Contact Information | mprice@chattanooga.gov |
| Name | Michael Walton |
| Contact Information | michael@greenspaceschattanooga.com |
| Name | Mary Beth Sutton |
| Contact Information | marybeth@mywaterways.org |
| Is there anything else you would like us to know about your project? | |