Water Resources Services

From storm water management to dam or bridge installations, Cooper Engineering Company, Inc. provides complete water resource services. Our water resource team can assist you with initial planning and layout, technical analysis, design, and construction of your natural or engineered system in a timely and cost effective manner.

Core Expertise

STORMWATER MANAGMENT

Construction site stormwater management and erosion control plans
Comprehensive stormwater planning/management
Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP)
Rain gardens
Erosion Control Design

DAMS

Dam inspections
Rehabilitation/replacement structure design
Dam failure analysis
Permitting/funding/grant assistance
Inspection, operation, and maintenance plans
Emergency Action Plans (EAP)
Hydrology & hydraulics calculations & reports

WATERWAY SERVICES

Hydrologic & hydraulic analysis
Flood elevation certificates
Regional flood elevation determinations
Culvert/bridge design and permitting
Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA)
Wetland mitigation site design

Highlighted Projects

Pokegama Lake Wetland Mitigation Bank

Cooper Engineering teamed with Merjent in creating the 90 acre Pokegama Lake Wetland Mitigation Bank for Pokegama Lake Restoration. Cooper Engineering’s role included pre-design surveying, grading design based on the desired wetland communities, construction plans that included grading, staging, erosion control, and earthwork calculations. Cooper Engineering also completed DNR construction stormwater permitting, completed an as-built survey of all work, and assisted with construction management, inspection, and photo documentation.

City of Spooner Master Stormwater Planning

Cooper Engineering was hired by the City of Spooner to complete a City-wide, comprehensive stormwater management
plan. The City of Spooner, in conjunction with Washburn County Lakes and Rivers Association (WCLRA), was awarded a Lake Planning Grant by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to complete the plan.

The City of Spooner’s incorporated area is 4.27 square miles. Waterbodies include isolated wetlands, the Yellow River Flowage, the Yellow River, Tony Lake, Rabbit Ear Creek, and Randall Lake. The Yellow River is a major tributary
to the St. Croix River. In 2012, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved the Lake St. Croix Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL).

The goal of the plan was to improve water quality, protect aquatic life and habitat, protect and enhance recreational activities, protect groundwater, prevent new contamination, minimize flood damage, and reduce phosphorous in the Lake St. Croix (TMDL).

The effort entailed analyzing the current stormwater pollutant loads to City water bodies and then devising a plan to reduce those loads. Work progressed through the following tasks:

Reviewed available topographic, aerial, storm sewer, soil, and zoning maps.
Created CAD maps utilizing the above data.
Utilized the maps to delineate watershed basins and identify point and sheet flow discharges to surface waters.
Field verified drainage patterns and watersheds and then confirmed City officials.
Using WinSLAMM, created pollutant estimate models of the base conditions (no controls or BMPs) of each watershed.
Created pollutant estimate models of current conditions (include the City practice of street cleaning four times per year) of each watershed.
Recommend BMPs to reduce pollutants delivered to waterbodies based on pollutant loading and land availability.
Created pollutant estimate models of the recommended BMP’s to determine potential pollutant reduction.
Created useable maps of the basins, outfalls, and BMP locations.
A public information meeting was held together with Cooper Engineering, the City of Spooner, and WCLRA volunteers and included a public education component on stormwater.
Completed a report summarizing the work, methodology, data, and recommendations.

Project success was facilitated by regular communication with the City of Spooner and WCLRA throughout the project.