Photo courtesy of The Berger Partnership Engineers used a mix of naturalistic solutions such as “leaky berms,” “log weirs,” “rice paddies” and “willow-wattles” to direct stormwater through Seattle’s Magnuson Park.

The city of Seattle’s restoration plan for Magnuson Park called for a blend of active and passive uses on the site of a former naval air base. The design team integrated five new athletic fields with 28 acres of wetlands.

Critical to the transformation was a groundbreaking hydroperiod analysis developed by MKA to address complex questions: How can stormwater be made to flow across a nearly flat site? What is the optimum number, size, depth and location of ponds to attract and sustain the most diverse wetland habitats? Is it possible to collect, convey and cleanse 7 acres of off-site runoff before it enters the new wetlands? Will projected water-level fluctuations provide “edge habitat” sufficient to support a flourishing wetlands system?

The answer is a mix of naturalistic engineering solutions, guiding a daisy-chain flow of water around 11 acres of new playing fields and through 63 interconnected ponds to Lake Washington’s shore.

The project offers a new model for collaborative water resource design, analytical tools for sustainable water resource design, advanced applications of naturalist engineering interventions for water flow control, and a water management strategy that maximizes natural and human habitat.