Westchester County Planning Department invites experienced consultants to submit bids to assist with the development of a watershed management plan for the Hutchinson River in Westchester County. The Planning Department will award a contract for these services to the lowest responsible bidder with the most expertise in fieldwork associated with watershed management planning. The consultant will work with Save the Sound and Westchester County Department of Planning to assist with the development of a watershed management plan for the ninesquare mile portion of the Hutchinson River watershed that lies within Westchester County, NY. The plan's approach will be based on the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S. EPA) Nine Element (9E) process for watershed management plans, while establishing a foundational understanding of flooding and resilience priorities within the watershed, which may be used during more robust flood and resilience planning in the future. The focus of the project will be on improving watershed health by identifying opportunities for watershed restoration, including both water quality and ecological improvements. The middle Hutchinson River is an impaired waterbody and is included on the Section 303(d) List for oxygen demand, pathogens, and oil/grease. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) lists urban stormwater runoff as a suspected source. This watershed plan will focus on impairments caused by urban stormwater runoff and will set forth strategies that may address future Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs). Assessments to be completed in the watershed will be determined by others when crafting the baseline assessment under a separate task as part of this project. Task A: Conduct a Watershed "Windshield" Survey As part of the larger project, the consultant will ground-truth findings from desktop analysis, modeling, and subwatershed analysis to be provided to it through targeted field visits to key locations throughout the watershed, such as areas with major water quality impairments, flood risk, highly valuable ecological resources, and key infrastructure. Task B: Conduct Watershed Field Assessments As part of the larger project, the consultant will conduct targeted field assessment efforts focused on identifying watershed improvement opportunities. Field assessments will target areas identified in Phase 1 and will encompass opportunities within the riparian corridors as well as upland areas, such as: Stormwater best management practices such as rain gardens, bioswales, permeable pavement, and stormwater wetlands. Stream restoration initiatives such as barrier removal, bank stabilization, riparian plantings, living shorelines, and floodplain reconnections. Habitat enhancement efforts such as reforestation, native plantings, and wetland restoration. Good housekeeping and pollution prevention opportunities in upland areas. The method of Contractor Selection has not been Determined at this time
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