The city wants to hire a vendor to conduct a hydrological assessment of the surface waters and groundwater flowing through and beneath the 109-acre prairie property, according to the request for proposals.
The study will look at surface and groundwater quality and what impact future development could have on the site and provide recommendations to minimize or limit potential impact, said Mark Charles, Dayton’s sustainability manager.
“The proposals are due back to us again in the middle of May, so the work may be done in June,” he said.
The consultant will be expected to study and explain how groundwater moves through the property and research and provide a report about the kinds of storm water pollutants that can occur from commercial projects.
The consultant also “will prepare and present best management practice recommendations that mitigate and protect the ground and surface waters from any significant adverse impacts from future development on the property,” says the RFP from the city’s sustainability office.
Dayton officials earlier this year announced that the city would pay for a water and environmental study in an effort to limit or prevent any commercial development from potentially harming the site and its groundwater.
The RFP says Dayton is considering selling the property and is seeking mitigation strategies meant to protect the groundwater and surface water from pollution threats and major changes to water flows.
Dozens of people from across the Dayton region attended city commission meetings in the spring and late summer of 2019 to voice their objections to the city’s proposal to redevelop the prairie property.
One of their primary concerns was that a commercial project would harm a watershed that feeds into Wiles Creek, which goes through Aullwood Audubon Farm and Aullwood Garden MetroPark.
Dayton had a developer interested in the prairie property who proposed to invest $250 million and create hundreds of jobs, but city officials said they backed out.
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