Blueprint Columbus Construction Management and Inspection

Blueprint Columbus is an integrated planning approach to eliminate sanitary and combined sewer overflows and address stormwater quality. The program involves the use of green infrastructure, roof water redirection, sanitary lateral lining, and sump pump installation. These four components are referred to as the “pillars” of Blueprint Columbus and collectively work to store and treat stormwater while also reducing inflow and infiltration (I&I) into the sanitary and combined sewer systems. Coldwater has been involved in providing construction oversight to Blueprint projects for the green infrastructure portion of the project since 2015 and continues to perform construction management and inspection services on active Blueprint projects.

Coldwater has performed construction management services for the initial round of Blueprint projects in Clintonville, the second round of projects in the Linden area, and the third round of projects within the Hilltop area of Columbus. Coldwater has assisted with construction-phase public outreach and green infrastructure standards development, preparation of planting plan standards, planting palette optimization, and reviewing resident plant species requests.

Coldwater has also been responsible for providing oversight on the planting for bioretention cells; this includes review of submittals, coordination with the landscape contractors, approval of substitutions, confirmation of compliance with the project specifications, performance of nursery inspections, verification of plantings, survivability inspections, and project closeout activities. Coldwater has worked with the City to ensure that the contractor is achieving the project goals related to plantings, that the green infrastructure plantings are maintained successfully throughout the establishment period, and that the plantings are healthy when turned over to the City upon project completion. Coldwater has also helped to develop the City’s Green Infrastructure Maintenance and Inspection Manual to ensure continued success of the constructed green infrastructure.