Herrera provides a full range of mitigation options for projects that impact natural resources.

Our mitigation experts develop solutions for impacts on aquatic and upland environments including marine areas, estuaries, lakes, rivers, streams, wetlands, and terrestrial wildlife habitats. We focus on working with clients early in the planning and design of the project to avoid and minimize impacts wherever possible. Where impacts are unavoidable, we offer a variety of solutions including preservation, enhancement, restoration, and creation of habitats to offset project impacts. We assist our clients with selecting appropriate mitigation sites on or off the project site.

Our mitigation and restoration experts are biologists, landscape architects, and engineers who collaborate on mitigation design. Typical projects involve installing large woody debris in streams, creating rearing and spawning habitat for fish, excavating soil in support of wetland creation, amending soil, installing snags for bird habitat, and planting native vegetation communities.

Throughout the design of mitigation projects we coordinate closely with regulatory agencies to insure that the project meets their approval. To ensure successful mitigation, we prepare monitoring, maintenance, and contingency plans for mitigation sites.

Key Projects

• South 277th Street Reconstruction Phase III: Wetland and Floodplain Compensation Mitigation Plan – King County Department of Transportation
• Tacoma-to-Lakewood Sounder Commuter Rail Project: Wetland Mitigation Plan – Sound Transit
• Grapeview Loop Road Improvements: Wetland Mitigation Plan – Mason County Department of Public Works

Herrera’s marine science projects have a proven record of success, integrating biology into planning and engineering design of habitat restoration and shoreline stabilization.

Our integrative approach allows us to create solutions that minimize impacts and maximize social and environmental benefits. We conduct marine and estuarine habitat and water quality studies, including sampling, identifying habitat and species, and analyzing water and substrate. We offer a full range of services across the timeline of a project from conceptual planning and analyses through project design and permitting, to post-construction effectiveness monitoring.

We have demonstrated expertise across a range of disciplines pertinent to marine development and habitat restoration projects, including estuarine and marine ecology, fisheries, water quality, and toxicology. We are experienced with eelgrass monitoring; diving surveys; fish sampling and biometrics; studying benthic organisms, marine vertebrates and invertebrates, and marine algae; habitat surveys, and impact analysis.

Key Projects

• Sounder Railway Marine Impact Mitigation – Sound Transit, Washington
• Geoduck Survey and Report for the Vashon Wastewater Treatment Plant, King County – King County, Washington
• Quillayute River Estuary Fish, Crab, and Benthic Intertidal Study – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle, Washington
• Shoreline Improvement Design Assistance, Biological Assessment, Agency Coordination, and Eelgrass Monitoring Plan – Private client, Whidbey Island, Washington
• Estuary Functional Assessment for Nearshore Marine and Intertidal Habitat Areas Associated with the Everett-to-Seattle Commuter Rail Project – Sound Transit, Washington
• Estuarine and Stream Habitat Assessment for Island County’s Freeland Outfall Improvements at Holmes Harbor – Island County, Washington

Herrera scientists have extensive experience classifying riparian and upland wildlife habitats and mapping habitats using geographic information systems, computer-aided design, and global positioning systems.

Our biologists conduct surveys and document status, distribution, habitat requirements, and potential habitat for a wide variety of wildlife species, including birds, mammals, and amphibians. Using our years of local experience, we evaluate key habitat components and develop species-specific wildlife preservation, enhancement, and habitat creation projects such as planting plans and bird nesting sites. Herrera biologists also develop monitoring and maintenance plans for habitat creation and restoration projects.

Key Projects

• Bumping River Road Biological Resources Report – Federal Highway Administration, Western Federal Lands Highway Division, in Yakima County, Washington.
• Brightwater Regional Wastewater Treatment System project Environmental Impact Statement chapters for plants, animals, and wetlands – King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks, Wastewater Treatment Division, Washington
• Grisdale Road Improvement Project Biological Resources Report including marbled murrelet, spotted owl, amphibian, and terrestrial mollusk surveys – Federal Highway Administration, Western Federal Lands Highway Division, on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington
• Wildlife Study and Habitat Assessment for a 10 – acre Cougar Mountain Property – Private client, Bellevue, Washington
• Wildlife Assessment – Private residence, King County, Washington
• Cascade Warm Lake Road Improvement Project Biological Resources Report – Federal Highway Administration, Cascade, Idaho
• Wildlife Study and Habitat Survey – 136th/Redmond Way Bypass and Stabilization project, Redmond WA – City of Redmond Public Works Department

Development and restoration projects must consider potential effects on fisheries and aquatic resources. Herrera’s fisheries biologists and environmental scientists have key expertise in fish population and habitat studies, impact analysis, and habitat restoration that contribute to project success.

Our fisheries services include baseline marine, estuarine, and freshwater habitat assessment; analysis of impacts on fish, shellfish, invertebrates, and other aquatic life; essential fish habitat analysis; fish population estimates; marine fisheries ecology; habitat restoration; ecological impacts of dredging and contamination; and short- and long-term monitoring. Our integrated team of marine and fisheries biologists and environmental scientists have expertise with a range of fish population, habitat, and water quality assessment techniques, including snorkel surveys, electroshocking, gut content analysis, and biometrics. We are regionally recognized for our ability to assess the effects of development and restoration projects on fish populations and their supporting ecosystems, and we have a demonstrated record of success using these skills to achieve client objectives.

Key Projects

• Lake Youngs Reserve Ecological Technical Studies – Seattle Public Utilities, City of Seattle, Washington
• Hoh River Reach Analysis and Instream Fish Habitat Assessment – Washington State Department of Transportation
• Stream Habitat Surveys and Culvert Barrier Assessments – Lewis County, Washington
• Landsburg Diversion Steelhead Passage, Smolt Behavior Studies – City of Seattle, Washington

Herrera’s modeling group has extensive expertise with hydrologic and hydraulic modeling.

Our staff works on cutting edge projects for which out-of-the box thinking is required. Herrera conducted a modeling study of a low-impact development subdivision in Seattle, WA at a time when modeling procedures had not yet been developed region-wide. The objectives of the modeling were to support engineering of the stormwater management facilities, including bioretention swales, porous pavement, compost amended soils, and gravel pocket parks; and to predict whether the development would meet state and local regulatory requirements. Our modeling for that project was subsequently included in the flow control modeling section of the Puget Sound Action Team Low Impact Development Technical Guidance Manual for Puget Sound.

Our recent advanced hydrologic and hydraulic modeling studies include dam break analysis, dam enlargement design, design of on-site and regional capital facilities, and development of local and state flow control policy. Our engineers regularly use the following models: HEC-RAS, HEC-GeoRAS, HEC-HMS, XP-SWMM, WWHM2, KCRTS, HSPF, MGS Flood, StormShed, DAM BREAK, Infoworks-CS, and HY8. We also have extensive CAD and GIS capabilities and routinely integrate these technologies into our modeling studies.

Key Projects

• Low Impact Development Technical Guidance Manual by Puget Sound Action Team, WA – Contributing author
• High Point Revitalization – City of Seattle, Seattle Public Utilities
• Ozette River and Lake Ozette Modeling Study of Large Woody Debris – Makah Indian Tribe
• Thornton Creek Water Quality Channel – Seattle Public Utilities
• Rainwise Stormwater Incentives Package to encourage onsite low impact development features – Seattle Public Utilities
• South Park Conveyance Improvements – Seattle Public Utilities

Herrera has extensive expertise in surface water hydrology and engineering to support a wide range of water resource projects including river reach analyses, regional watershed master planning, design of stormwater flow control and treatment facilities, stormwater planning and design for low impact development projects, wetland studies, flood frequency analyses, and flood risk assessments.

We use continuous simulation hydrologic modeling techniques for small- and large-scale catchments including HSPF, XP-SWMM, Infoworks CS, MGS Flood, WWHM3, KCRTS, and HEC-HMS. We also use single-event modeling techniques as applicable, depending on local regulatory requirements. Single event models regularly used include StormShed, SBUH, and XP-SWMM (event mode).

Key Projects

• Cispus River Reach Analysis – Lewis County Department of Public Works
• Bogachiel River Reach Analysis – Washington State Department of Transportation Environmental Affairs Office
• Manitou Beach Salt Marsh Restoration Feasibility Analysis – City of Bainbridge Island
• SR 518 Widening – Washington State Department of Transportation
• Southeast Issaquah Bypass Environmental Impact Statement – City of Issaquah Public Works Department
• Low Impact Development Technical Guidance Manual by Puget Sound Action Team, WA – Contributing author
• Lakewood RainCatchers – Pilot project to test cost-effectiveness of rain gardens, vegetated swales, and drainage cisterns; Seattle Public Utilities Engineering
• High Point Revitalization – Low impact development design support and modeling for urban subdivision/mixed use development; City of Seattle, Seattle Public Utilities
• Rainwise Stormwater Incentives Package to encourage onsite low impact development features – Seattle Public Utilities

]]> http://www.herrerainc.com/hydrologic-analysis/feed/ 0 http://www.herrerainc.com/underwater-investigations-and-engineering-inspections/ http://www.herrerainc.com/underwater-investigations-and-engineering-inspections/#comments Mon, 26 Mar 2007 23:30:51 +0000 smaxwell http://localhost:8888/herrerainc-old/underwater-investigations-and-engineering-inspections/

Herrera’s diving staff conducts underwater scientific and engineering investigations in both navigable and non-navigable waterways using SCUBA and underwater communication technology.

Our underwater diving team consists of a diverse group of certified divers that includes registered professional engineers, certified scientific research and rescue divers, and divers trained in HAZWOPER. Engineering and scientific diving requires specialized equipment and training. Herrera’s diving program includes an in-house dive manual, which complies with WAC 296 -37 Standards for Commercial Diving, WAC 296-37-525 Medical Release (hyberbaric conditions), and WAC 296-37-520 (CPR and First Aid). In addition, our divers are preapproved by the Seattle Department of Transportation for Level 1 and Level 2 underwater surveys.

Herrera divers provide engineering design and construction materials inspection; conduct underwater surveys (bathymetry, sonar, and visual), underwater communications, underwater documentation (underwater video, remote sled video, and digital photography), aquatic plant mapping, macrophyte assessment and removal; and data collection to establish and implement experimental protocols. Herrera divers are familiar with Bridge Inspector’s Training Manual 90, Washington State Bridge Inspection Manual (Underwater), National Bridge Inspection Standards (Underwater), and underwater survey protocols of the Puget Sound Estuary Program.

Key Projects

• Structural and Operational Assessments of Over 350 Stormwater and Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Freshwater and Marine Outfalls – City of Seattle
• Hylebos Waterway Bridge Rehabilitation Project – Underwater Inspection – City of Tacoma
• Landsburg Dam Diving Inspection of Spillways – City of Seattle
• Willow Creek Stormwater Outfall Extension Project – City of Edmonds
• Underwater Bridge Inspections – City of Seattle

Herrera’s interdisciplinary design capabilities include traditional civil design services such as site development, solid waste, wastewater and remediation; innovative stormwater management design tailored to site-specific conditions; as well as restoration design including stream and river restoration, wetland restoration, bank stabilization and estuarine/shoreline design.

All of our designs are based on well tested engineering principles and analysis and extensive knowledge of regulations, codes, and operational considerations.

Key Projects

• Sweyolocken Pump Station Upgrade – King County
• Cedar Hills Regional Landfill Area 6 Closure Design – King County
• South and North Transfer Station Fuel System and Drainage Improvements – Seattle Public Utilities
• SR 518 SeaTac Airport to I-5/I-405 Interchange Project Hydraulic Analyses and Storm Drainage Systems Design – Washington State Department of Transportation
• Homestead Creek Residential Low Impact Development Project – Private Developer, Snohomish County, Washington

Herrera’s restoration projects include work in habitats in many of the ecosystems found in the western United States.

Our biologists, geologists, and engineers provide full start-to-finish project services from initial concept planning through site selection, design, and permitting to construction management and post-construction monitoring. Employing a flexible situation-specific approach to each project, our staff creates solutions that best meet our clients’ project and program needs. We specialize in bioengineering techniques that use innovative technologies such as engineered logjams. Our staff develops and implements durable and cost-efficient solutions that successfully integrate into the biological and physical landscape.

Key Projects

• Aquatic Habitat Restoration Concept Design in Tryon Creek and Lower Columbia Slough – City of Portland
• Willows Creek Bypass and Stabilization Preliminary Design – City of Redmond, WA
• Chico Creek Instream Restoration – Kitsap County
• Pullen Creek Fish Passage and Restoration Design Project – Taiya Inlet Watershed Council
• Skookum Creek Restoration Plan and Design – Squaxim Island Tribe
• Lents Interceptor / Johnson Creek Aggradation Project – City of Portland, Bureau of Environmental Services, OR
• Big Spring Creek (Montana) Remedial Investigation / Feasibility Study – Private Client
• Bronson Creek (Oregon) Enhancement – Clean Water Services, Oregon
• Rickreall Creek Restoration Design and Construction Services at the Delbert Hunter Arboretum – City of Dallas, OR
• Albany Santiam Canal Bank Erosion Project and Canal Operations Plan and Field Assessment – City of Albany, OR

Herrera scientists have a broad range of experience in shoreline master program and critical area protection program updates.

Our scientists are published and have contributed to the scientific literature considered best available science in wetlands, fish habitat, and geomorphology. Shoreline and critical area protection programs require the application of the latest scientific knowledge as it applies to the specific types of natural resources in each jurisdiction.

We provide our clients with innovative solutions to balance the regulation of property with critical areas protection. In addition to assisting jurisdictions in revising regulations, Herrera has worked with jurisdictions to develop programmatic alternatives that would meet requirements for critical areas protection. Herrera has also prepared the SEPA documentation needed for adoption of new plans and regulations.

We have provided inventories of shoreline and critical area resources, including channel migration zones, floodplains, streams, wetlands, and nearshore marine habitat that are integral to science-based planning required by the Growth Management Act to update shoreline and critical areas protection.

We have assisted many jurisdictions and clients with identifying restoration opportunities for wetlands, intertidal areas, rivers, and streams, and has extensive experience implementing restoration projects.

Herrera assisted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in evaluating the 2003 Shoreline Master Program Guidelines for compliance with the Endangered Species Act. We evaluated how the guidelines would affect development activities in the shorelines of all coastal counties in Washington State. We developed a set of recommendations for local jurisdictions to help ensure compliance with the Act and protection of listed species. Herrera scientists are versed in Ecology’s guidelines for preparing shoreline characterizations for SMP updates and their integration in Critical Area protection.

Our range of local, state, and federal experience related to management, regulation, and protection of shorelines and critical areas makes Herrera uniquely suited to help clients efficiently identify and update their shoreline master program and critical area protection programs.

Key Projects

• Manitou Beach Salt Marsh Restoration Feasibility Analysis and Preliminary Design – City of Bainbridge Island
• Frye Cove Bulkhead Replacement Beach Enhancement – South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group
• Ala Spit Development of Nearshore Process and Habitat Protection Plan – Island County
• Columbia Slough In-Stream Habitat Enhancement Scoping – City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services
• Rockaway Beach Shoreline Road Stabilization Study – City of Bainbridge Island
• Washington State Shoreline Master Program Guidelines Programmatic Biological Assessment – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management

Herrera looks at basin-scale processes that affect reach and project site conditions and delivers analysis and recommendations that address issues ranging from threatened infrastructure to degraded habitat.

Our river science and geomorphology group is devoted to restoring rivers and floodplains for future generations. We provide environmentally sensitive alternatives for protecting infrastructure and property and restoring habitat. Herrera’s interdisciplinary staff addresses the complex issues associated with river engineering and restoration, including detailed quantitative analysis and hydraulic modeling; biological assessments and restoration plans; determining channel migration zones; design, specifications, and cost estimates; construction management; and long-term project monitoring. Our clients benefit from designs based on state-of-the-art science and engineering that meet permitting requirements.

Key Projects

• Gales Creek and Tualatin River Dike Stabilization Project – Clean Water Services
• South Fork Nooksack River Refuse Site Project – Nooksack Indian Tribe
• Lower Tolt River Floodplain Reconnection Project – Seattle Public Utilities
• Auburn Narrows Floodplain Habitat Restoration Project – King County
• Emergency Response for Nisqually River Erosion Control and Channel Migration in Mount Rainier National Park – National Park Service

Herrera’s scientists look at basin-scale processes that affect reach and project site conditions and deliver analysis and recommendations that address issues ranging from threatened infrastructure to degraded habitat.

Our river science and geomorphology group is devoted to restoring rivers for future generations. We provide environmentally sensitive alternatives to protecting infrastructure and property. Our interdisciplinary staff addresses the complex issues associated with river engineering and restoration, including detailed quantitative analysis and hydraulic modeling; biological assessments and restoration plans; design, specifications, and cost estimates; construction management; and long-term project monitoring. Our clients benefit from designs based on state-of-the-art science and engineering that meet permitting requirements.

We take restoration projects from planning and analysis through design, permitting, and construction.

Key Projects

• White River Bypass Reach Hydraulic and Geomorphic Analysis of Flow Diversion – Puyallup Tribe of Indians, Fisheries Division
• Geomorphic Assessment of the Grays River Watershed – Bonneville Power Administration
• Cispus River Geomorphic Reach Analysis – Lewis County
• White River Reach Analysis and Emergency Response Action Plan for Route 410 – WSDOT
• South Fork Nooksack River / Lower Hutchinson Creek Geomorphic Assessment, Restoration Plan, and Design – Nooksack Indian Tribe Natural Resources Department and the Lummi Nation

Herrera develops innovative technologies such as engineered log jams (ELJs) to restore habitat and protect infrastructure. Our clients benefit from designs based on state-of-the-art science and engineering. Our ecologically focused designs meet permitting requirements and lead to construction that exceeds regulatory standards.

Engineered log jam (ELJ) technology emulates natural riverine processes to protect roadways and property in a way that provides net environmental benefit. ELJs offer a realistic alternative to traditional engineering practices such as rock riprap, and ELJs are more likely to achieve regulatory approval. We design ELJ applications for rivers of all sizes and freshwater and marine shorelines. ELJ designs have been successfully applied in urban and rural settings throughout regions in the U.S. and Australia. We collaborate with clients to ensure design safety and stability specific to the geographic and regional requirements of the project site.

Our Hoh River project won an American Council of Engineering Companies Gold Award and withstood extreme flows in 2006 flooding.

Key Projects

• Hoh River Logjam Design and Construction Services at U.S. Highway 101 – WSDOT
• Dungeness River Engineered Logjam Restoration – Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe
• South Fork Tolt River Large Woody Debris Placement Project Plans and Implementation – Seattle Public Utilities
• Design, Consultation, and Inspection of Three Engineered Logjams on the White River – Northwest Pipeline Corporation
• Quilcene River Engineered Logjam Installation Pilot Project Design and Construction Oversight – Skokomish Indian Tribe

Herrera’s services range from planning and analysis through design to post-construction monitoring. For our coastal engineering projects, we have a track record of integrating multiple disciplines including engineering, geology, ecology, water resource science, and planning to arrive at successful solutions for our clients.

We conduct coastal engineering projects and studies in shore-drift direction analysis, longshore sediment transport studies, coastal erosion, sedimentation and sediment budget studies, coastal geomorphology analysis, tidal prism modeling and analysis, inlet stability analysis, beach armoring impact assessment, and habitat restoration design.

Our engineers and scientists have project experience in coastal and tidal marsh geomorphology, hydrology, and hydraulics; wave and tidal hydraulics; design and assessment of shoreline structures; underwater monitoring and inspections; wave and boat wake analysis; and analysis, design, and construction services for restoration projects in coastal and estuarine environments.

Key Projects

• Simonson Boat Ramp and Outfall: Coastal Process Assessment, Biological Assessment, and Permitting Assistance – Island County
• Tide Marsh Restoration for Lund’s Gulch – Sound Transit
• Beach Sediment Survey of Puget Sound Shoreline in Thurston County – Thurston County Regional Planning Council
• Private Property Geomorphic Assessment and Mitigation Project – Private client
• US Highway 101 Willapa River Potter Slough Hydrologic and Hydraulic Analysis – WSDOT

Herrera has been a Pacific Northwest regional leader in the planning and design of construction site erosion and sediment control for over 15 years.

Our staff members’ diverse expertise in water quality, construction management, civil engineering, and stormwater monitoring enables us to tackle any issue related to erosion and sediment control on construction sites. We have assisted clients in developing technical guidance for the preparation of erosion and sediment control plans, developing guidance for the selection of erosion and sediment control measures tailored to particular site conditions, and compiling information on the full array of erosion and sediment control products and services that are available to them. Herrera’s experience in monitoring the effectiveness of erosion and sediment control measures at construction sites and monitoring water quality at construction sites provides invaluable insight into the techniques that are most successful under various site conditions. This insight strengthens our ability to anticipate erosion and sediment control problems and to develop effective design solutions for clients. Several of our staff members are certified erosion and sediment control specialists in the state of Washington.

Key Projects

• Erosion and Sediment Control Design for State Route 518 Widening – Washington State Department of Transportation
• Erosion and Sediment Control Products and Services Catalog – Washington State Department of Transportation
• Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan Template – Washington State Department of Ecology
• Link Light Rail Construction Monitoring – Sound Transit
• Third Runway Construction Monitoring – Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
• Construction Temporary Erosion and Sediment Control manual and code update – City of Seattle