St. Paul: Highland Bridge’s stormwater system filters, holds runoff

A new stormwater system at the Highland Bridge development collects run off and filters it before it can reach the Mississippi River.

Nathan Campeau, the vice president and senior water resources engineer for Barr Engineering, said the system removes phosphorus and trash. Traditional stormwater systems generally don’t do filtration and send water directly into rivers or lakes.

“So instead of just rushing off the site very quickly, we’re slowly releasing that clean water. So we’re first cleaning it through those different filtration mechanisms, and then we are holding it back in a pond, basically by filling up the bathtub and letting it slowly drain out,” Campeau said.

Cleaning 64 million gallons of water a year

The underground system cleans an estimated amount of 64 million gallons of stormwater annually. Campeau said the new system protects the Mississippi River and Hidden Falls Creek park from erosion.

Located at the former Ford Motors Assembly plant, the Highland Bridge development has a stormwater system with five rain gardens, five underground filtration centers that collect and treat the stormwater. The clean water will then go into a central pond which goes back in the stream, Campeau said.

The reworking of the system started as early as 2007, after it was announced that the Ford Motor assembly plant was closing, according to Melanie McMahon, interim director of the Department of Planning and Economic Development.

McMahon said the city of St. Paul worked with developer Ryan Companies and the Capitol Region Watershed District to put in plans to redesign the area after the plant left.

“It has been a decades-long process really with the plant closure in 2011, the vision for the site adopted in 2017, and then Ryan Companies closing on the land to become the developer in 2019,” McMahon said.

Along with the stormwater system, the development now has a pedestrian and bike paths and a plaza near Hidden Falls according to the city website.

Project Excellence Award

The stormwater system stood out to the Water Environment Federation, a non-profit association that provides education on clean water. Last week Monday, the Highland Bridge Project won the Project Excellence Award for its green stormwater infrastructure system. This is the first time a project in Minnesota has received this award.

The award is meant to highlight innovation in water projects. The applicants are judged based on certain criteria, like the complexity of the system, its relevance and other factors, according to the Water Environment Federation website.

McMahon said the system stood out for the award because it transformed an industrial area into an inviting public space that supports both recreation and improved water management.

“Taking this and turning it into a public amenity, something that is both sustainable, great for the environment, and something that you want to spend time around was a total flip from how stormwater is typically used in development projects,” McMahon said.

Bob Fossum, deputy administrator of the Capitol Regional Watershed District, said getting the national award was rewarding for everyone involved.

“To receive the national recognition that we did was very gratifying to be able to showcase this project on a national stage, which was nice,” Fossum said.

While the city won the award, McMahon said the area is still developing. She said she was glad the city won the award, but was happier that people had a place to relax.

“It was so amazing that you had this whole generation walking through the site, playing, on the playgrounds, going by the water feature, and they can’t even fathom that it could have been 120 acre concrete pad and factory,” McMahon said.

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