The primary purpose of the project was to convey water offsite; a secondary purpose involved on-site creation of artificial wetland habitat to be used for research, low-cost fish rearing, and educational outreach. The project included the construction of a 500-foot long (curved) earthen drainage channel (EDC) on undeveloped land at the Burley Creek Hatchery to handle and discharge the treated effluent water to nearby Burley Creek. Other components of the effluent discharge system included (1) a 12-inch below grade inlet pipe, (2) erosion control structures inside the EDC, (3) a flow control structure at the western edge of the riparian corridor of Burley Creek, which controls and directs effluent to (4) a meandering, earthen outfall channel that drains into Burley Creek detention requirements while setting the base conditions for later multipurposing of the Drainage Channel for scientific studies on tankless, naturalized fish stock rearing.

Utilizing in-house 3-D graphics capabilities for ensuring a cost-effective drafting and production effort, as well as the significant managerial experience gained through a familiarity with multitopic IDIQ contracting, RAI put together a team of experts in the fields required for the project’s complex scope. Through a series of open discourse meetings, both with and without NOAA science/tech clients, RAI wove together the relevant lines of inquiry and the resulting solutions to shape a project within the restrictive wetland boundaries around Burley Creek that met all of the scope demands.

Following the successful completion of the initial scope, RAI and its consultants were asked by NOAA to play significant roles in the final granting of the JARPA and Corps of Engineer permits