By PAULENE POPARAD

Meeting Wednesday, the Porter Stormwater Management Board hosted its final public input session, allowing engineers now to begin drafting a preliminary drainage master plan for the town.

A total of 19 problem areas have been identified including several places along Waverly Road, at Porter Beach, west of 23rd Street and in the Indian Trails subdivision north of Woodlawn Avenue.

Commented Stormwater Board president Steve Rohe, “That’s 19 areas that need to be prioritized and dealt with. That’s a start. You can’t operate in the dark.”

Agreed town Public Works superintendent Brenda Brueckheimer, “The more input, the better off we are.”

Last night Richard Cowsert of East Hjelm Road east of Coleman Street said a 12-inch metal culvert under Hjelm is inadequate resulting in water that at times covers the road. “Emergency vehicles could get through at an inch or so (of water), but it could cause an accident.”

A professional engineer, Cowsert suggested how the drainage might be improved near his home. He also said the area of Waverly Road and Knoelke Drive, identified at last month’s Aug. 29 public session, has a drainage problem as well.

Town engineer Hesham Khalil of Haas & Associates said another site that drains poorly is at the northwest corner of Waverly and Woodlawn. Porter has proposed building the Orchard Pedestrian Way hike/bike trail on the west side of Waverly; Khalil said they need a place for the water to go other than the railroad ditch, which might not be approved for drainage purposes.

Although a home on that corner is in the town of Chesterton, Khalil said the Orchard Way would be in the Waverly right-of-way under Porter’s jurisdiction.

As he did at the August stormwater meeting, Dean Price of Haas used a Google Earth satellite mapping program to locate and mark the areas of drainage concern. In addition to viewing the town from 3,000 feet above ground, Price used the contour map feature Wednesday to display elevations, in some cases clearly showing why water collects where it does.

Khalil said he hopes to have an interim master plan draft ready for review at the Stormwater Board’s meeting next month. The town is mandated to prepare a plan under the MS4 provisions of the federal Clean Water Act.

Regarding the Orchard Way, at Tuesday night’s Porter Redevelopment Commission $15,448 in claims were approved related to engineering work and consultant fees tied to its required studies. The town has received almost $1.5 million in grants for the trail that will link Woodlawn with U.S. 20, a portion of the trail passing through Porter’s Hawthorne Park.

Khalil reported he is trying to expedite a permit needed to span the Amtrack crossing on Waverly just north of Woodlawn. Normally the permit would take six months but Khalil said he’s hoping to cut that in half.

The Orchard Way includes construction of a pedestrian bridge across the Little Calumet River, which as a tributary of Lake Michigan requires a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Again Khalil said he’s trying to expedite the permit, which could take up to eight months if handled by the Corps’ Detroit office.

In 2006 the commission eyed a fall, 2007 trail groundbreaking. Now, construction isn’t slated until 2008.

Posted 9/27/2007