Project Description
Civita Park is a 19-acre park in the City of San Diego within the Mission Valley Development of Civita. The park amenities include an amphitheater, civic center and community center, two basketball courts, dog park, waterfall and elevated walkways, playground a stormwater feature used for treatment of stormwater along the entire length of the park, and a waterfall and geyser feature utilizing stormwater from upstream tributaries.
The majority of the drainage from the overall Civita development, along with upstream off-site drainage areas, is collected and conveyed through a series of storm drain laterals into a main backbone storm drain system within Civita Park. Stormwater treatment is provided through a series of cascading stormwater treatment bioretention swales designed to meet local water quality and drainage standards. Low-flow diversion cleanouts were designed to redirect low-flows from the mainline systems into the above-ground swales, while allowing larger flows to remain in the below-ground storm drain system. The design includes grated inlets at the downstream end of each bioretention swale to collect surface flow and the perforated sub-drain below the amended soil layer. These treated flows were then discharged via storm drain laterals into the main line storm drain. To achieve a continuous aesthetic appearance between each of the bioretention swale segments, a series of small-drop structures and grate inlets were designed to allow for controlled runoff over smaller drop structures during both smaller and larger storm events. A combination of below-ground storage and above-ground storage is also provided at the terminus of the bioretention swales, sized for flood control detention, while also incorporating a gravity-fed geyser system. This included working closely with the landscape architect to ensure the architect’s vision was accomplished utilizing the current standards for parks within the city of San Diego.