Wildwood staff, consultants outline streamlined stormwater master plan to prioritize erosion fixes

Phil Blahn, a civil engineer with HR Green, and Paul Lukovalski, a civil engineer with M3 Engineering, presented a streamlined version of a stormwater management master plan to the City of Wildwood Planning and Parks Committee on Tuesday, Sept. 16. The presentation outlined a lower-cost approach intended to identify priority projects, produce conceptual designs and develop cost opinions to guide implementation and funding.

The consultants said the city’s earlier, more comprehensive plan had been estimated near $1.5 million; the streamlined scope proposed by HR Green and M3 would cost about $300,000 while still producing actionable project lists. “You can do a less expensive plan and still tap in the funding to help your problems,” Blahn told the committee. He and Lukovalski described an approach that combines existing local studies, public outreach and targeted technical analyses rather than exhaustive, citywide hydraulic modeling.

Why it matters: consultants and staff said Wildwood faces significant streambank erosion driven primarily by development that increases runoff volumes and speeds, and by local…